Readings

Kathrina Schwartz, How Teacher Are Changing Grading Practices with an Eye on Equity

This article suggests several unconventional ways to bring equity to grading:

• Ending the “0” grade
• Grading on a 4.0 scale instead of a 0-100 scale
• Grading the best result rather than averaging performances across a semester
• Removing extra credit
• Removing compliance/behavior based grades (participation, homework, etc.)

Tony Winger, Grading What Matters

This article makes the case for focusing on competence rather than compliance in our grading. Winger, a high school educator, argues, “If we focus predominately on measuring students’ compliance and their ability to recall facts, our practices will interfere with our most significant purposes as educators. If we are to shift our focus to higher-level thinking, we must shift our grading practices.”

Media and Other Resources

University of Washington Center for Teaching and Learning, Addressing microaggressions in the classroom

Creating an inclusive environment must be a proactive practice rather than a reactive one in order to establish a trusting, safe community where all students can learn effectively. This extensive resource on how to think about and proactively address microaggressions can help you consider how to design just such an environment.