Criteria for an Equitable Grading System

The field of science education has made great strides in implementing the Next Generation Science Standards in order to fulfill the vision for science education established in A Framework for K-12 Science Education. Progress has been made developing high quality instructional materials with embedded strategies that support equitable learning opportunities for students and beginning to shift assessment practices to those that value and support diverse sensemaking. While this progress is hopeful, it fails to support our students, particularly those most in need of our support, if grading practices remain unchanged.

The criteria in this document distinguish between criteria for grades as a product and criteria for grading as a process. Grades are the result of the grading process and in order to have an equitable system, both the process of grading and the grades that are the result of that process must change.