San Francisco Superintendent's "Grading for Equity" Plan Criticized

"Grading for Equity" Implementation

• 🎯 San Francisco Superintendent Maria Su is implementing a "Grading for Equity" plan affecting 10,000 students across 14 high schools.
• ⚠️ This plan, implemented without Board of Education approval, significantly lowers grading standards.
• 📉 Key components include deemphasizing timely assignment submission, completion, and attendance in final grades.

Critiques of the Grading System

• 🚫 The plan eliminates homework and weekly tests from semester grades and allows students to retake final exams multiple times.
• 📉 Under the new system, a score as low as 21% can result in a passing D grade, and 80% can earn an A.
• 🗣️ Critics argue this approach messages that certain students cannot excel and instead lowers standards, which is not true equity but "giving up on students."

Consultant and Financial Concerns

• 💰 The system is promoted by consultant Joe Feldman of Crescendo Education Group, who charges up to $10,000 per day.
• 📚 Feldman requires teachers to purchase his book for training and uses tactics to suppress criticism, such as directing others to "dilute the fairness seeker's voice."
• 💸 The San Francisco Unified School District faces a $100 million budget cut yet is spending significant sums on this consulting.

Impact on Students and Education

• 🎓 The "Grading for Equity" system can negatively impact class ranking, scholarship opportunities, and students' readiness for life after graduation.
• 📉 Data from schools that implemented similar systems show continued performance disparities among student populations.
• 💡 The speaker contrasts this with a belief in expecting and fostering excellence, citing a personal experience with a teacher who motivated students by believing in their capabilities.

Public Education and Accountability

• 🏫 The lack of transparency, including not informing the school board or parents, raises questions about the plan's legitimacy.
• 📉 Critics suggest this approach deteriorates the public education system, potentially driving parents away from public schools.
• 🚫 The speaker urges against falling for what they describe as a "grift" that harms students and public education.