The issue has been festering for decades. Studies, conferences and PTA gossip regularly reveal grades awarded by teachers on report cards that distort how much students are learning. We sometimes complain but do little about it.
“No-zero mandates, homework grading bans and prohibitions on penalties for late work and cheating … tend to reduce expectations and accountability for students, hamstring teachers’ ability to manage their classrooms and motivate students, and confuse parents and other stakeholders,” the report states.of more than 5,000 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders in Alachua County, Fla.
In the 2000s and increasingly in the 2010s, educators who felt tough grading was creating an unhealthy dislike of school pushed for eased requirements. Books by grade-reform gurus such as Ken O’Connor, Cornelius Minor and Joe Feldman sold well and led to many large districts banning zeros on assignments.Many educators say that trend has gone too far.