DE-GRADING AMERICA’S CHILDREN: Half of all seniors now graduate with grades in the A range, making it by far the most common grade. Yet state-administered proficiency tests and SAT and ACT scores continue to decline year after year, according to Hannah Frankman Hood, founder of renegadeEducator.
Grade inflation, along with dumbed-down curricula and tests, persists throughout U.S. schools.
When teachers assess students, they must accurately report what students learn. Yet too often, this doesn’t happen.
Grading for Equity, written by Joe Feldman, a former teacher, administrator, and “educational grading consultant,” was published in 2018 and has since gained traction nationwide. RealClearInvestigations reports that Boston Public Schools approved a shift to equity grading in 2023. In Oregon, Portland Public Schools implemented similar grading reforms in 2025. Teachers in New York City, Los Angeles, and elsewhere have also been trained in equitable grading practices.