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Making The Grade: How Should We Assess Students During A Pandemic? : 1A "If a student is not learning, that could be the fault of the system, not of the student," says education reporter Moriah Balingit. "[Grades] seem to measure what students have, not what they know."

Should we keep assessing students in a way that assumes they're all on the same level? Or is it time to do away with grades completely?

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Making The Grade: How Should We Assess Students During A Pandemic?

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Making The Grade: How Should We Assess Students During A Pandemic?

1A

Making The Grade: How Should We Assess Students During A Pandemic?

Making The Grade: How Should We Assess Students During A Pandemic?

Listen · 34:34
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/901346862/901413585" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
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A teacher starts to reset up her classrooms at Freedom Preparatory Academy in Provo, Utah. George Frey/Photo by George Frey/Getty Images hide caption

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A teacher starts to reset up her classrooms at Freedom Preparatory Academy in Provo, Utah.

George Frey/Photo by George Frey/Getty Images

Not every student is having the same experience at at home. Not everyone has the same access to technology, a quiet place to work or support from their parents. And that's always been true, but remote learning has made these disparities much more apparent.

Why should we keep assessing students in a way that puts them all on the same level? Is it time to do away with grades completely?

As a part of our "Homeworked" series, we spoke with Moriah Balingit, education reporter for the Washington Post, Jack Schneider, an assistant professor of leadership in education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the director of research for the Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment and Tanji Reed Marshall, director of preschool-12 practice at The Education Trust.

We also spoke with Gabi Holzer, a rising senior from Hyattsville, Maryland, and Ryan Arruda, a rising sophomore in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, about their experiences learning remotely.

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