Grade Inflation is Killing K-12


I’ve been thinking about this a lot. The idea of grade inflation permeates K-12, and it’s dangerous. Imagine a well-behaved kid getting to 12th grade but barely being able to read and compute. The thought of this is horrifying, yet every year districts graduate students that fit into this category I described.

At RCS, we have to be different. We have to be better. One of the ways we can ensure that there are very few grade-to-ability discrepancies is by being hyper-focused on the quality of the assignments we give to students. Is it standards aligned? Does the writing assignments come with a rubric? Is the feedback meaningful? Do students understand the feedback? How have they implemented the input? These are all thoughtful questions that I’d like to consider as we think about grades in Q2.

Lastly, and most importantly, interim assessments measure the standards that you teach every day. They should guide some of your curriculum decisions regarding what should be prepared & retaught. If a student receives a grade of 40% on an interim assessment or does not show proficiency on Regents or stimulated state test, that child should not be walking home with an A in your course.

It is just something for you to keep us thinking!

With Gratitude,

~ Ankrum 

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