Portland Public Schools no longer allowed to issue ‘zeroes’ for cheating or missing work under new ‘equity’ grading guidance

The Washington Free Beacon reports that this new grading system strives to overcome "racial disparities" and "inequities" in grading and instruction, which the district first started to consider during the pandemic. According to the outlet, the guidelines are expected to be fully implemented by 2025.

The Portland Public Schools Equitable Grading guidance states that teachers are not allowed to issue "zeroes" to students who have either cheated or have missed assignments. Students are not to be penalized for late work and must be allowed to retake tests and redo assignments until they can demonstrate proficiency, according to the guidance.

In addition, teachers are not to include attendance and participation towards grades and are to decide a student's grade based on an equitable mean.

Portland Public Schools states in the guidance handout that "Historical data shows that there are racial disparities in our pass/fail rate in multiple subjects in both middle grades and high school. During the pandemic, we adjusted our grading to accommodate for some of the inequities in access to curriculum and instruction."

"This caused many teachers to begin the journey towards equitable grading but has led to a mosaic of grading practices across schools and the district that is confusing to students and families. We need to organize and consolidate our efforts towards common policies to more consistently and better support students and families with equitable grading," PPS said.

The new grading procedures, which were used in some schools last year and are anticipated to be used district-wide by 2025, are a reflection of left-wing efforts made across the nation to ensure "equitable outcomes" for all children.

Portland Public Schools reported a massive drop in enrollment and math achievement following the pandemic.