Changes in grading and homework policies turning education upside down

As bad as the pandemic was for student learning, if some current education fads continue, the future could be worse.

By now, almost everyone has seen reports about pandemic learning loss. A study published in January by the journal Nature Human Behavior found that children around the world lost more than one-third of a school year’s worth of learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most definitive study in the United States, the Education Recovery Scorecard, found students lost about a half of a year in math and one-quarter of a year in reading.

The pandemic may be over, but those academic declines may be just the beginning as some schools are now turning the very purpose of schooling on its head. Across the country, we are seeing schools de-emphasizing or banning practices that have long been the norm, such as homework, grades, attendance and academic recognition.

Numerous public school districts now prohibit teachers from giving students a score of less than 50% on homework, no matter what. Scores of zero — or any score below 50% — are prohibited, even if no work is turned in or if the student turns in plagiarized work. Other school districts, such as Prince George’s County, Maryland, mandate 50% credit if students show a “good-faith effort.”

The publication Edutopia reports: “These changes in grading policy are moving in tandem with national efforts to abolish letter grades.” In California, several big public school districts, including Los Angeles, still allow grades, but only A’s, B’s, and C’s. D’s and F’s are no longer allowed. But make no mistake, this is a national phenomenon. If you do a Google search for “eliminating grades in schools,” you will get millions of search results.

One Virginia high school has gone a step further, not just rewarding students who do no work but also penalizing students with high academic achievement. Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria withheld National Merit awards notifications from students and their families. These students did not learn that their hard work and study had placed them among the best in the country. Because the school did not tell them about the awards, they were unable to mention the honor on college and scholarship applications. This was no administrative oversight; it was on purpose.

One of the school officials who withheld the notifications offered this rationale: “We want to recognize students for who they are as individuals, not focus on their achievements.”

Even school systems that have built their reputations on academic rigor have changed their stripes. The renowned KIPP Public Charter Schools network, which had years of success preparing disadvantaged youths for college, dropped its motto, “Work Hard. Be Nice,” in July 2020. Why? According to its public statement, the motto “supports the illusion of meritocracy.”

What a tragedy for students to be told, “Don’t work hard. It’s all an illusion.” Many private independent schools that are predominantly white and predominantly wealthy are eschewing grades in the name of equity and wellness. A 2022 article in the Independent School magazine asserted, “Our traditional practice of grading everything students do inadvertently sows distrust, shame, and deceit.” Deceit? Education has indeed been turned upside down.

But not everywhere. Catholic schools still deliver letter grades. And across the country, Catholic schools emerged from the pandemic with relatively strong academic performance. As measured in last year’s National Assessment of Educational Progress, Catholic schools’ eighth grade reading scores increased during the pandemic, while public school scores declined. Catholic school students’ average scores remained higher than the average scores of their eighth grade public school peers in the assessment.

“If Catholic schools were a state, they would be the highest performing in the nation on all four NAEP tests,” Kathleen Porter-Magee, superintendent of Partnership Schools, a network of Catholic schools in New York and Ohio, tweeted in October.

Here in the Archdiocese of Chicago, we are achieving those strong academic results while serving a student population of every race, ethnicity, income level and faith. While each Catholic school is unique, you are not likely to find a Catholic school that gives credit for plagiarized work or zero effort. We believe that grading is an important tool for students and parents. We still believe in hard work and, for that matter, being nice too. Fortunately, we are not alone in these beliefs. You will still find many other public, private and religious schools that share them.

There may be a place in our society for schools that teach that meritocracy is an illusion. Some parents may want that kind of education for their child, but most parents will not.

The key for all parents is to ask questions of your child’s school. Do you award letter grades? Do you give credit when no work is done or when work is plagiarized? What is your policy on student attendance and tardiness? What are the consequences for students who break the rules? What does the school do to recognize and celebrate academic achievement? Do you believe students should work hard and be nice?

There is no one right answer to these questions. Opinions vary. But parents should know how their child’s school approaches education and should pick the school that best fits their own beliefs and their child’s needs.