Grades were never meant to do this much work.

In this episode, I reflect on how grading shifted from traditional point-based systems to standards-based grading and grading for learning — and how, in many schools, those frameworks eventually gave way to equity-driven policies that changed what grades actually represent.

I believe in equity. I believe in standards-based grading. But I also believe we need to be honest about what’s happening when grades stop communicating learning and start communicating compliance, survival, or optics.
We’ll talk about:

why grades feel meaningless to many teachers
how student apathy and entitlement didn’t come out of nowhere
why parents increasingly see grades as negotiable
and how teachers are caught between professional ethics and institutional pressure

I don’t have a solution by the end of this episode. What I do have is a growing concern that we’re avoiding a necessary conversation — one about accountability, motivation, and what we’re actually teaching students when effort no longer matters.

If you’ve ever wondered whether grading still serves students the way we hope it does, this episode is for you.

Chapters:
00:00 — Why Grades Don’t Mean What They Used To
03:00 — From Traditional Grading to Grading for Learning
07:20 — When Equity Grading Took Over
13:40 — How the System Went Off the Rails
22:05 — Where This Leaves Teachers and Students

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Got questions, feedback, or want to be on the show? You can email me at kim@teachersneedteachers.com

Ep 146 Why Do Grades Even Matter Anymore?