Is CPS’ new grading policy ‘equity-focused’ or ‘cruel’?

A debate has raged in the days since Chicago Public Schools released new grading and promotion guidelines last week over how best to keep educating students and reward them for their work while ensuring kids aren’t further harmed by health or economic circumstances during the pandemic.

The district touted its new policy as an “equity-focused grading plan,” and schools chief Janice Jackson said in a news release that it “allows students to improve their grades while ensuring their academic standing isn’t harmed due to circumstances beyond their control.”

The long-awaited guidelines were received with praise by some but criticism from parents and Chicago Teachers Union officials who said the system would lead to further inequities. Student newspapers at three of CPS’ top high schools joined together Monday afternoon in condemning the policy and calling on the district to change it.

CPS largely will be on a grading system that results in a passing grade or an incomplete, a change that was demanded by parents, students and teachers so no student would fail. But the biggest point of contention is that the policy affords only students with access to digital learning materials the opportunity for fourth quarter letter grades — those who can’t get online can only “pass” and won’t have a chance to improve their grades no matter how well they do.

CPS

High schoolers who only complete printed homework packets will get a “pass” mark and earn credit for the class but can’t improve their third quarter grades ahead of the college application process. High school students are given a cumulative second semester grade that reflects an average of their third and fourth quarter scores. A “pass” will leave their GPA unaffected.

That leaves students who were failing heading into the closures with no opportunity to pass their classes if they don’t have a computer or internet access. For seniors, that would mean a delayed graduation as they try to recover that credit over the summer. CPS is waiving some high school graduation requirements but leaving most grading criteria in place.

CPS has largely bridged a technology gap that saw one in three students of its 355,000 students without computer or internet access when remote learning started last month. But as of last week, there are still 13,000 kids without digital devices, even after CPS said it distributed more than 100,00 over the past three weeks, with high schoolers prioritized.

By the time those final students receive laptops in mid-May as officials expect, a month will have passed since the start of the fourth quarter.

“To be honest it’s not sitting well with me,” said Jennie Biggs, a CPS mother of three and the communications director for the parent group Raise Your Hand. “I know there are arguments being made against grades altogether in this entire thing, but grades not even being an option for only those kids just seemed really wrong to me.”

Elementary grades are typically an average of scores received over four quarters. This year, it’ll be an average of only the first three unless a student completes online homework and does well enough to raise their average grade. Kids without computers and those who do worse than their average will get a “pass” mark, and all elementary students will be promoted to the next grade level in the fall, regardless of their performance.

CPS

A discussion on the issue in Raise Your Hand’s Facebook group prompted more than 50 comments, including concerns the plan also wouldn’t motivate students. One parent said the policy “means a B is essentially the same as a D.”

“If they were trying to make grades a motivator again, this doesn’t work well,” she wrote. “A student can do nothing until their grade drops to a F, then do an assignment and get back up to a D/pass.”

CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates called the grading policy “Jim Crowish” for students who are trying their hardest.

“If we were just providing passes and incompletes for everyone, then that would make sense,” Davis Gates said. “But to put students who are already in a compromised situation, and even more so now, is cruel.”

LaTanya McDade, the chief education officer at CPS, said district officials were thoughtful to take into consideration how the policy would play out in various scenarios. The district reached what she sees as a good balance despite logistical barriers to offering grades to non-digital students, such as having teachers pick up homework packets and review them in a timely manner.

“This is a really complex situation. ... All districts are grappling with this,” McDade said. “What we found is that awarding credit for those students who are non-digital that are completing the learning packets and engaging with their teachers, them earning a pass would be the most equitable option.”

Many students, however, were critical.

In a joint editorial, newspaper editors from the Lane Warrior, the Payton Paw Print, and the Whitney Young Beacon said they “come together in condemning this deleterious policy, and demanding a replacement that completely eliminates failing grades and cannot, under any circumstances, adversely impact students.”

An online petition created by students also demands CPS move to a system that passes all students this school year but allows all kids to opt in for letter grades. The petition has more than 7,500 signatures.

“My dad used to work 45 hours a week and now he can barely get 30 hours,” student Angel Susano wrote. “He doesn’t make enough for bills and food so I started to work two jobs of a combined 50 hours so I can help with the bills. I can’t even do homework.”