The Schenectady, New York school district has struggled with poor student performance for years. In 2022-2023, 95% of high school freshmen were three or more grade levels behind in math. More than half of middle schoolers lagged similarly in both reading and math, while high school attendance dropped below 79%.

The district’s response? A “grading for equity” policy that eliminates late penalties, allows unlimited test retakes, and requires principal approval for incomplete grades. The policy launched last fall.

Christopher Ognibene, a social studies teacher at Schenectady High School, calls it “almost academic fraud.” He points to a student who received B’s all year but scored just 43 on the New York State Regents exam. “Watered-down report cards mean nothing if students aren’t prepared for college,” he says. “There are due dates in the real world.”

Ognibene isn’t alone in his concerns. A new survey from the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and Rand Corporation found that most teachers oppose these policies, even though they’re now common nationwide.

The August report surveyed 967 K-12 teachers across the country in late 2024. Researchers found that more than half of schools use at least one “equitable grading” practice: unlimited retakes, no late penalties, no zeros, no homework grades, or no participation requirements. About 25% of districts use three of these practices.

Teachers are particularly frustrated with requirements to give partial credit on late work, with 81% opposing such policies. Many schools now guarantee minimum grades of 50%, regardless of effort.

“We have gone to the ‘do nothing, get a 50’ grade policy,” one anonymous teacher wrote. “Students have figured out that if they work hard for a quarter (usually the first), they can coast the rest of the year and get a D.”

This approach gained national attention last year when Hartford, Connecticut graduated an illiterate student who later sued the district. The student, Aleysha Ortiz, had completed assignments using voice-to-text on her phone. Hartford requires only a 60% score to pass and allows students to advance with 40 or 50 absences per year.

Carol Gale, president of the Hartford Federation of Teachers, believes these policies exist “simply to embellish graduation rates.”

The movement stems from a 2023 book called “Grading for Equity” by former educator Joe Feldman, who now consults with districts nationwide. Schools adopt these practices hoping to improve test scores, boost graduation rates, and close achievement gaps between racial and economic groups.

While some districts in Atlanta and Las Vegas are reversing course due to poor results, others remain committed. Gherian Foster, an activist with the Albany-based Black Abolitionist Directive who previously worked for Schenectady schools, supports the approach.

Foster argues that equitable grading promotes engaging classroom discussions over “outdated” teaching methods focused on test preparation. “Do we have to test them so much, or are there other ways?” she asks.

But for teachers like Ognibene, the fundamental problem remains unchanged. “Everybody wants a silver bullet,” he says, “but no book is going to fix what’s happening.”