Fairfax schools implemented 'equity grading' to fight 'bias'

[ipatent]

Fairfax schools implemented 'equity grading' to fight 'bias'

"Equitable grading" practices vary based on how the concept is implemented, but the primary stated goal of proponents is to combat "institutional bias" and eliminate racial disparities in grade outcomes through a variety of tactics. Among the least controversial is the removal of grade penalties for late assignments and the ability to retake or redo assignments, often on an unlimited basis.

But proponents of the novel grading practices also advocate the elimination of "zero grades" by using a 50-100 scale. Under that scale, a student cannot receive a grade lower than 50, even if the assignment was never submitted, thereby creating a much higher grade floor and enabling students to achieve passing grades more easily.

 

[wrbtrader]

I see the advantages and disadvantages of an "equitable grading" system versus the traditional grading system.

The reality, I didn't experience it personally until I saw it used in graduate school to then learned it was being used in many graduate programs in most of the other elite education systems in the United States but I only read (heard) about it at the K-12 level.

Thus, many universities have been using "equitable grading" systems for many years but it is now trickling "down" to the K-12 level especially now that we're traversing from a Pandemic to an Endemic.
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...The problem with that, is that for the student who does well from the very beginning and gets A's on everything, their performance is fine, and their average is an A, but for the student who struggles at the beginning and gets very low grades, D's and C's and even F's as they are in the process of learning, and even on early quizzes when they demonstrate mastery on the test and let's say they get an A on the test, because they have those earlier grades that ostensibly were for assignments and assessments that were on the path to learning, that they were supposed to learn from, and that they weren't even supposed to have learned everything yet, when we include those early scores, it pulls down the final grades, so it actually misrepresents the level of mastery that a student has ultimately demonstrated.

The reason why that's so inequitable, is that for the student who, before coming to class, attended summer workshops or had parents who gave them a much richer educational environment because they had the time, and the education, and the money, or the students who had a great teacher the year before, they're going to come in at the beginning of that unit and do much better, and the student who hasn't had those resources and privileges is going to start lower. When you average a student's performance over time, you are actually perpetuating those disparities that occurred before that student came into your class. The alternative then, is that you wouldn't include earlier performances. You would only include in the grade how a student did at the end of their learning, not to include the mistakes they made in the process...

https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/19/12/harvard-edcast-grading-equity

https://kappanonline.org/standards-based-grading-equity-reform-feldman/

wrbtrader

 

[ipatent]

The reason why that's so inequitable, is that for the student who, before coming to class, attended summer workshops or had parents who gave them a much richer educational environment because they had the time, and the education, and the money, or the students who had a great teacher the year before, they're going to come in at the beginning of that unit and do much better, and the student who hasn't had those resources and privileges is going to start lower.

It's about 75% genetic, according to identical twin studies.

 

[wrbtrader]

It's about 75% genetic, according to identical twin studies.

Most twin studies suggest about 50%...not 75%.

Numerous twin studies have demonstrated that roughly half of the individual differences in academic achievement could be attributed to genetic factors. The same studies have also shown important contributions of both family-wide and individual-specific environmental factors. Molecular genetic investigations have thus far identified over a thousand genetic variants that are associated with educational attainment. Researchers are now using these discoveries to predict a wide range of different outcomes in external datasets.

Thus, research does show that about 1/2 of academic achievement is associated with IQ (intelligence) than any other single variable but the other 1/2 are equally important but as a joint contribution...

• Self-belief, health, behavior problems, personality, well-being, and perceptions of home and school as a collective of variables that represent about 50% that's attributed to academic achievement.

I believe the "equitable grading" system that I saw in use on the graduate level when I was in grad school versus the K-12 school systems that are now beginning to adopt similar grading systems.

• Most grad school programs are pass/fail and using equitable grading system at the top universities and maybe more so at any university.

Today, the K-12 school systems are playing catch up although I am not sure about the percentage of the top K-12 that are using an "equitable grading" system and I only know of one top K-12 school using an "equitable grading" system" that also has the top SAT/ACT/AP scores.

In addition, I'm not sure if an "equitable grading system" is what's needed to fix the declining SAT scores as shown below...

wrbtrader

 

[ipatent]

In addition, I'm not sure if an "equitable grading system" is what's needed to fix the declining SAT scores as shown below...

SAT scores have been increasing among every ethnic group. The average is going down because more blacks and Hispanics are taking the tests.

 

[wrbtrader]

SAT scores have been increasing among every ethnic group. The average is going down because more blacks and Hispanics are taking the tests.

Bullshit

In contrast, more disadvantaged students are poor, black, and Hispanic for average universities but not for the top universities.

With that said, I used the phrase bullshit because since the Pandemic...minorities and the poor are more likely to not submit (as in not take the test) for entrance into college.

• Reporting was "far higher … among applicants living in more affluent communities, as defined by local median household income in applicants’ local ZIP codes."
• Reporting rates "were highest in several Southern and Midwestern states and lowest in several Northeastern and Western states."
• Underrepresented minority students and first-generation students were less likely to report than were other students.
• While test scores declined for all groups, "more selective member institutions, both public and private, more often received test scores with applications than did less selective colleges."
• "Individual applicants sometimes employed different test score reporting strategies across their various applications," the report said. "Specifically, nearly one in four (24 percent) of applicants reported scores in some, but not all, of their applications (up from 4 percent last season)."

Test-optional and test-blind admissions (in which colleges will not look at test scores) have been growing in the last decade, but the practices truly took off in the last year as one impact of the pandemic.

• Taking the SAT or ACT was impossible for many students -- even students who had registered for the exams -- as the College Board and ACT were unable to administer the exams when many testing centers closed.

Many colleges and universities in turn decided not to require testing -- in some cases for a year or two, in other cases changing their policies permanently.

Here's the light bulb moment for you, if the poor / blacks / hispanics are less likely to submit SAT/ACT scores for the past few years during this Pandemic...

Why are the SAT/ACT scores declining for those other remaining ethnic groups ?

Hint: Think about the other 50% variables in collective that I mentioned in the prior message post that the twin studies identified.

wrbtrader

 

[nrstrader]

I am pretty sure lower SAT test scores is because the test itself has become harder and harder.

It is certainly far harder compared to when I took it 30 years ago. The reading passages are far longer and old style tests were trivial to eliminate wrong answers. New style tests will have 2 or 3 answers that sound right but to get the right answer there is a subtle difference.

We have to do this though because the point of the test is a competitive game for the colleges with the good brands.

I really don't see the problem of having kids get less failing grades. I am pretty sure most high schools are going to give you a diploma if you show up long enough no matter how much you don't learn. You aren't keeping a kid out of Stanford by having someone else not get zero's for skipping class. To pretend like they are making school too easy compared to 30 years ago is also completely delusional.

 

[ipatent]

I am pretty sure lower SAT test scores is because the test itself has become harder and harder.

Actually it is easier. The tests were "re-centered" a few decades ago to give everyone an additional 80 points on the verbal portion.

 

[Tony Stark]

Actually it is easier. The tests were "re-centered" a few decades ago to give everyone an additional 80 points on the verbal portion.

Actually it is harder

 

[Tony Stark]