{"id":124463,"date":"2021-02-11T12:10:51","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T17:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=124463"},"modified":"2021-02-11T12:27:39","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T17:27:39","slug":"how-i-learned-that-grading-students-is-racist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-i-learned-that-grading-students-is-racist\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Learned That Grading Students Is Racist"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-i-learned-that-grading-students-is-racist%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=124463&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Math-Class.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>Grading is one of the few aspects of teaching that educators have complete control over. Even with increased government oversight into the curriculum of schools and powerful teacher unions, a unified grading system has yet to be developed.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There is a movement to push for more \u201cequity\u201d in grading and it calls for more uniform standards. And, it wouldn\u2019t be 2021 if denying these newfound uniform standards in grading was considered \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 racist.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In my course of research into \u201cracist\u201d grading systems, I came across the book \u201cGrading for Equity\u201d and the Crescendo Education Group (CEG). The book was written by Joe Feldman, who also runs CEG. Feldman was part of the Clinton Administration\u2019s Department of Education as well. CEG is a consulting firm that partners with schools to help teachers create \u201cequitable grading and assessment practices.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>For just $30.90 for the book, or $129 for a three-month crash course, you too can learn how inequitable grading can lead to \u201cracist\u201d policies and practices. According to the book, classrooms are not equitable until we address the inequitable foundations schools were built on.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Here\u2019s how I learned that grading students is racist.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Grading homework causes inequity<\/strong><span>&nbsp;<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>According to the book \u201cGrading for Equity,\u201d grading a student on their homework should not play a role in final grades. The Grading for Equity website offered a quiz to help me understand which grading practices are inequitable. The quiz did have correct answers and was grading me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The first question asked, how much weight a teacher should put on homework? The correct answer was to weigh homework as five percent of the grade and the grade should be based on completion.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cA student\u2019s performance on homework should not be included in the grade,\u201d the quiz<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/16GclDCZ8cXF8FEHKMuPhi4s_sOxx_vuVEVyjECuPW4c\/edit#\"><span>reads<\/span><\/a><span>. \u201cIncluding homework performance in a grade rewards students with privilege and punishes those without it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Not only does grading homework reward students with privilege, but it has also historically reinforced the meritocracy of the American hierarchy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHigher scores among white, wealthy Protestants and lower scores among immigrant groups and African Americans were used both to affirm the ideas of the United States as a meritocracy and to reinforce the validity of the existing hierarchy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In conclusion, grading homework would lead to different children getting different grades. Different grades are inequitable, therefore grading homework is racist.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Participation scores also cause inequity&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span>The book and quiz also taught me that evaluating students off of participation can make teachers susceptible to \u201cunconscious and implicit bias.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Teachers often use participation scores to incentivize students to contribute to the class discussion and be a \u201ccitizen\u201d within the classroom. Other reasons include creating opportunities for students who struggle academically to earn points for valuable \u201csoft skills,\u201d or to help students learn to listen and follow directions.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to the quiz, grading any form of behavior \u2014 including participation \u2014 leads to \u201cinaccurate, confusing, and even misleading\u201d grading.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In conclusion, some students may benefit from participation grades, while others may not. Different grades are inequitable, therefore grading students on their participation is racist.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Giving out a zero on assignments that aren\u2019t turned in is unacceptable<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span>The prologue of \u201cGrading for Equity\u201d described a young woman, Maria, who entered the principal\u2019s office in tears because she had a bad grade in math class. Maria said she \u201coften handed in homework assignments late or incomplete,\u201d though she performed well on exams. In the book, this was considered an example of inequity.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Maria had received zeros or low scores for failing to turn in assignments. The teacher was&nbsp; to blame for creating inequity by giving Maria a zero on assignments that were never turned in. Instead of giving a student a zero, teachers should take the time to understand why some students are unable to turn in assignments on time.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe teachers often assign students a zero in the gradebook if homework isn\u2019t handed in by the deadline,\u201d the book reads. \u201cHowever, we don\u2019t account for all the reasons that a student wouldn\u2019t turn something in on time.\u201d Examples of reasons students may turn in assignments late include after school activities and not enough lighting.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The author later admitted that teachers have created the no-excuses approach to late work to prepare students for real-world skills.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The author also encourages teachers to use a 0-4 grading scale in comparison to the traditional 0-100 grading scale. According to a testimonial from a teacher that participated in Grading for Equity programming, \u201cthe old grading scale where children can get a 0 out of 100, they\u2019re never going to succeed because the system is not made for them to succeed.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In conclusion, some students can\u2019t get their homework done on time even when their peers can. This leads to zeros on assignments and differing grades. Different grades are inequitable, therefore giving zeros is racist.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Another lesson that \u201cGrading for Equity\u201d taught me is that IQ tests are also racist.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIQ tests believed to assess intellectual character and disposition [and] \u2018justify\u2019 racist beliefs,\u201d a PowerPoint version of the book<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/presentation\/d\/1EVJpacWkQ4fb26eEc8Xgr-Mfg4S8cTwhWfZIAirA62A\/edit#slide=id.p30\"><span>reads<\/span><\/a><span>.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The book also taught me that teachers should allow students to retake all exams. If a student does poorly on an exam, they should be able to retake the assessment and replace the new score with the old score. Moving forward to a new unit when a student has done poorly on an exam is considered unacceptable. Averaging the score of the old test and the new test is also unacceptable.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Finally, the author let teachers know that they should forgive themselves for their racist grading because they didn\u2019t know any better.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe have never had the opportunity, resources, and support to examine our traditional grading practices, so we must forgive ourselves for inadvertently perpetuating outdated and even harmful practices.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion industry kicked into full swing. Many individuals and companies, such as Grading for Equity, have profited from this training industry by selling products and services that help schools become acceptably \u201canti-racist.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to a report by the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/culture\/the-wages-of-woke-2\/\"><span>Washington Free Beacon<\/span><\/a><span>, the author of \u201cWhite Fragility,\u201d Robin DiAngelo, made over $2 million from her book on \u201canti-racism,\u201d and charges exorbitant amounts to speak with companies and schools. A 60-90 minute keynote with DiAngelo would run $30,000, a two-hour work workshop $35,000, and a half-day event $40,000.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Businesses and schools concede to this steep price point in hopes of proving themselves sufficiently \u201cwoke.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<\/span><\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em><span>member<\/span><\/em><\/a><em><span>.&nbsp;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Grading is one of the few aspects of teaching that educators have complete control over. Even with increased government oversight into the curriculum of schools and powerful teacher unions, a &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1893194,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[6379,6378,4903,4072,3693],"class_list":["post-124463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-grading","tag-learned","tag-racist","tag-students","tag-that"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1893194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}