In our educational system, grades serve a dual purpose.

During the learning process, grades serve as feedback for learners and families about what the learner knows and can do.

On a transcript, grades serve as a credential that can open or close opportunities, now and in the future.

Educators working to make grading more equitable for students must contend with these dual purposes. For many educators, grading wasn’t touched on in their teacher prep programs. And for many students, grades serve as a label that affects their sense of self worth — they might identify as being an “A” student or a “struggling” learner. It matters that we work to get this part of education right. Luckily, grading policies and practices are largely within the educator’s locus of control. Luckily, much research has emerged that points us in the right direction.

The Competency Collaborative’s framework for Competency-based Grading for Equity, Accuracy, and Social-Emotional Wellbeing benefits from and builds on the work of Joe Feldman’s wonderful book Grading for Equity.