Portland schools mull banning zeroes for cheating and not doing work: ‘Bigotry of low expectations’

Students in Portland, Oregon may soon be able to get away with cheating and not doing assignments, if Portland Public Schools implements new "equitable grading practices."

If adopted, the new practices will bring various changes such as new grading structures, not grading homework, not giving students failing grades for not completing their work or cheating, and not grading for "non-academic factors" such as behavior, participation, and effort.

"Not giving a student a zero when his or her work earned such a low mark actually harms that child," Jonathan Butcher, an education fellow at the Heritage Foundation told Fox News. "You hurt a student when you pass them on from one grade to another without asking that student to show that they can complete the work he or she is assigned."

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The initiative springs from grading practices implemented by some of the district’s schools during the COVID-19 pandemic that accommodated for "inequalities in access to curriculum and instruction," according to a handout first reported on by the Washington Free Beacon. 

The handout says the initiative’s goal is to standardize practices district-wide after the non-unified implementation "led to a mosaic of grading practices across schools and across the district that is confusing to students and families."

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"Given the dismal scores in reading and math on national comparisons after the pandemic, it is sad that a school district would exercise the soft bigotry of low expectations," Butcher said. "The district’s approach will harm students for life by not holding them responsible for their behavior and decisions."

The equitable grading practices are currently being workshopped and are expected to be implemented in the district by 2025, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

The hangout states that the focus for students should be for demonstrations of proficiency instead of rewarding students for "playing the school game."

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The handout draws its framework from Joe Feldman's book "Grading for Equity," including guidance such as: not giving students zeros, adopting a 0-4 scale instead of a traditional 0-100 scale, giving greater weight to recent performances, not including group work for grades, allowing retakes, developing rubrics, and more.

Under the framework, grades should be based on valid evidence and knowledge, "not on evidence that is likely to be influenced by a teacher’s implicit bias or reflect a student’s environment." 

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The "bias-resident" practices it lists to be implemented include using summative assessments, not grading homework or including it as part of a final grade, not penalizing late work, not offering extra credit, excluding attendance, effort, attitude or behavior in grade calculations, and providing alternative consequences for cheating rather than assigning zeroes.

The goals of the plan include determining what practices are already implemented across various schools, defining what the equitable grading practices will be, creating a road map for professional development for staff, implementing the practices in high school and middle schools and more.

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Butcher said the document "uses catchphrases from the woke lexicon" such as "implicit bias" and "culturally affirming." He added that such terms are "hard to define and are not supported by research as effective practices."

Portland Public Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment.