Once, receiving an A meant that a student had excelled in their coursework. But now, receiving an A means access to advanced classes, scholarships and of course, college admissions.

No two school districts, or even two teachers grade in the exact same way. Which means that grade bias is a real problem. So two students that might have the exact same academic performance, could receive two very different grades. With all this emphasis on grades, are students missing out on learning?

Today on Where We Live, we talk about the history of grading, where the A through F system came from and how some educators are rethinking the way we grade students. We hear from one Connecticut school district that’s changing the way they grade their students. And we want to hear from you too, is grade anxiety keeping you or your student up at night?

GUESTS:

•  Ethan Hutt: Associate Professor of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, author of Off the Mark: How Grades, Ratings, and Rankings Undermine Learning (but Don’t Have To)
• Joe Feldman: author of Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms and CEO of Crescendo Education Group
• Dr. Thomas McBryde: Norwalk Deputy Superintendent
• Edgar Sanchez: Lead Research Scientist at ACT

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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