8 Strategies to Grade With Equity
Every teacher aspires for students to succeed in their classroom and to have an equal chance to do so. Every student comes to school with their circumstances, which can result in them having an advantage or disadvantage when it comes to their academic success. It can be challenging for teachers to meet every child where they are and give them what they need at each moment.
One way that teachers can ensure success for all kids, without lowering expectations, is to ensure they are grading with equity.
Cate Reed, seasoned administrator, current Senior Vice President of Teach For America, and Possip Reporter, outlines strategies to help teachers grade with equity.
Ensuring students can be successful means remembering that while every child may have similar resources available in their classroom, all the supports students have outside of school are not always the same. Developing a playing field where all students can succeed at high levels is important – and possible! Ensuring equitable grading promotes fairness and inclusivity in educational settings.
Here are eight strategies to help you grade more equitably:
1. Clearly Define Expectations
Some students may have families at home with easy access to the internet who can look up strategies for support, or access the online school portal. Others may not. Providing clear and detailed grading criteria for assignments and assessments, in writing, and requiring students to take it home with them, ensures that everyone has equal access to what they are expected to do.
This includes the specific criteria you will use to evaluate their work. Develop and use rubrics that outline the criteria for each level of performance. Rubrics help standardize the grading process and make it more transparent for students, ensuring everyone is assessed based on the same criteria.
