Learning Out Loud

Andy, Cari, and Stefan are exploring equitable grading practices by reading through Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman. You can follow along this 7 part series by picking up your own copy of the second edition of Grading for Equity and joining our companion Canvas course for clock hours. Or, just listen along for fun!

In this episode, we read and discuss chapters 9 and 10, the first two chapters on bias resistance, and wrestle with the “real world” argument for late penalties, what to do about extra credit and cheating, and Feldman’s idea that important work should be required and everything else left out of the grade. We also ask what it would take for homework to feel like practice and what changes when grades come only from summative evidence.

Andy, Cari, and Stefan are exploring equitable grading practices by reading through Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman. You can follow along this 7 part series by picking up your own copy of the second edition of Grading for Equity and joining our companion Canvas course for clock hours. Or, just listen along for fun!

In this episode, we read and discuss chapters 6, 7, and 8, starting with Feldman’s bold challenge to the single letter grade and the three pillars (accuracy, bias-resistance, and motivation) that guide equitable grading. We then dig into the first accuracy practices: avoiding zeros, rethinking the 100-point scale, weighting more recent evidence, and what to do about group grades.

Andy, Cari, and Stefan are exploring equitable grading practices by reading through Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman. You can follow along this 7 part series by picking up your own copy of the second edition of Grading for Equity and joining our companion Canvas course for clock hours. Or, just listen along for fun!

In the third episode of the series, we read and discuss chapters 3, 4, and 5, making the case for change by exploring how traditional grades shape behavior more than learning and can undermine the risk-taking and growth mindset we say we value. We wrestle with the difference between assessing and grading, whether two teachers would ever assign the same grade, and what really motivates students when points aren’t the point. 

Andy, Cari, and Stefan are exploring equitable grading practices by reading through Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman. You can follow along this 7 part series by picking up your own copy of the second edition of Grading for Equity and joining our companion Canvas course for clock hours. Or, just listen along for fun!

In the second episode, we read and discuss chapters 1 and 2. We unpack how our grading practices are rooted in deeply held beliefs about students and teaching. We trace the history of grading back to Industrial Age systems designed for compliance, then grapple with the gap between what schools have become and what our assessment practices still demand.

Andy, Cari, and Stefan are exploring equitable grading practices by reading through Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman. You can follow along this 7 part series by picking up your own copy of the second edition of Grading for Equity and joining our companion Canvas course for clock hours. Or, just listen along for fun!

In this first episode, the team talks about the prologue, exploring how traditional grading practices can create predictable patterns of success and failure tied to student demographics. We unpack what equitable grading actually means and why changing how we grade requires examining what we truly value in our classrooms.

Andy, Cari and Stefan discuss the importance of providing students with agency but not forgetting crucial elements of structure!