In Jay Mathews’ November 27, 2022 column entitled “Why don’t teachers complain to bosses about infuriating policies?“, he starts off by noting his observation:

Many teachers have complained to me about what they consider the harm done by new policies called standards-based grading. These are designed to reduce stress for struggling students. The reforms include prohibiting any grade below 50 percent and banning deadlines for homework.

Jay then goes on to share the perspectives of teachers who have (or should) bring their perspectives to administrators with the hope of overturning these new grading policies.

I find this teachers vs. administrators perspective to be problematic for several reasons.

The NEA (national teachers’ union) has positively promoted grading changes on their website, so this cannot possibly be some type of top-down and administration-only ideology.

Yet, as a former teacher and administrator, I can relate to the following:

1. If time/support is not being provided for teacher implementation then admin should step up.
2. If inconsistent implementation is problematic then admin should step in, and also:
3. Some “grading reform”changes are only half baked at the onset.

Here’s my thesis: It is time to move forward with effective grading practices that meaningfully communicate learning rather than pitting teachers vs. administrators (and vice versa).

Note: Mr. Mathews, we have corresponded via email several times during the past year, and if you are reading this column, thank you for taking the time to do so.