Listen to The Harvard EdCast podcast episode Grading for Equity (32:00) 

In my senior core capstone class for elementary education majors, we were recently asked to listen to The Harvard EdCast podcast titled “Grading for Equity”. The podcast featured Joe Feldman, who shares three vital points to ensure equitable grading. To explain these pillars, Feldman uses the example of traditional homework as a means of grading students’ performance and the dangers this practice poses.

Three Core Principles of Equitable Grading 

1. In equitable grading, the grades should accurately reflect a student’s academic performance. When assigning homework, how can a teacher ensure the student did the homework themselves? Maybe they were copied from a classmate, or got the answers from a parent or tutor? There is no way to know if the homework accurately reflects the student’s own knowledge.  

2. In equitable grading, the grading system reduces institutional bias and ensures grades reflect student learning, not implicit bias. Homework favors students who have resources at home, such as internet access, college-educated guardians, tutors, and quiet settings. These students are more likely to finish their homework than students without these resources. Accounting students’ homework is factored into their grades and is ultimately rewarded with resources. 

3. In equitable grading, the grades are motivational, fostering students’ intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic. Homework is assigned to help students practice new concepts. It is pivotal that students learn from their mistakes on these tasks, yet we punish them by factoring their homework into their overall academic performance grade. Ultimately, homework should be about the student practicing to succeed on the performance.  

Regarding these three examples of how homework contributes to inequitable grading, a suggestion is made that would exacerbate the inequity. An equitable alternative is to include only a student’s final performance in the final grade. While homework is necessary, it should not count toward a student’s grade because it does not accurately reflect the student’s overall achievement. Particularly in secondary education, there is a great deal of resistance to this idea, as several teachers worry that when points are removed from homework, students simply will not do it. However, Feldman found that once he implemented this method, his students began to recognize the importance of doing the homework if they wanted to comprehend the materials and perform better overall. When teachers assign homework for no points, students begin to internalize the relationship between homework and tests and recognize the importance of the homework itself.  

When Averages Mask Mastery  

Another idea that stood out to me in this podcast was that grades should reflect only how a student performed at the end of their learning, not the growing pains made along the way. Grades are often based on an average of a student’s performance throughout the learning process. This means that students are often negatively impacted by lower grades while learning a concept through graded homework or quizzes. Even if a student reaches mastery by the final assessment, their overall grade doesn’t reflect that mastery. This grading practice can be highly harmful and inequitable. For instance, suppose a student has access to outside resources, such as tutoring, or prior knowledge of a subject that others may not have. This student is more likely to earn high grades throughout the unit. In contrast, students without these resources and opportunities are less likely to achieve these grades immediately.  

Where Do We Go From Here? 

In all, this podcast shared a lot of valuable information regarding equitable grading. Educators at any level (e.g., elementary, higher ed) need to take the time to ensure that the grading practices they use are equitable and fair. Whether that be in how they are grading students, or what is being shown in their final grade, educators at any level must begin to focus on changing the current grading system to make it more neurodivergent-friendly and equitable. This blog post offered suggestions and solutions to the current grading inequity; now it’s time to start the process.  

More Resources 

A similar theme was addressed in a previous blog post written by my fellow CEL leadership team on alternative grading strategies. In this post, we discuss various strategies for grading that differ from the traditional grading system, including contract grading and ungrading. While these practices differ from the ideas suggested in the podcast, they center around the same concept that it is time for educators steer away from the traditional grading system, as it no longer focuses on students’ progress, but rather on the end product. For more information on this topic, check out the blog post:  

The Center for Engaged Learning also has a wonderful resource page on assessment and feedback. The site includes a descriptive explanation of the terms, their importance in regard to fostering engaged learning, further research-informed practices, and more. The resource page offers a variety of suggestions and further support to aid readers in the overall understanding of the concepts and how to make assessment and feedback equitable for everyone.  

About the Author

Kira Campagna is a 2024–2026 Center for Engaged Learning (CEL) Student Scholar, collaborating with participants in the CEL Research Seminar on Affirming and Inclusive Engaged Learning for Neurodivergent Students. She is majoring in Elementary Education with a minor in Environmental Education.

Learn more about the current Student Scholars.   

How to Cite This Post

Campagna, Kira. 2026. “Considerations for Equitable Grading.” Center for Engaged Learning (blog), Elon University. February 10, 2026. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/considerations-for-equitable-grading.