San Francisco’s attempt to implement an equity grading policy, which involved lowering academic standards and inflating grades, has sparked a national controversy, raising serious questions about the role of transparency and accountability in education policymaking. The plan, which aimed to adjust grading benchmarks to make it easier for students to achieve high grades, faced immediate backlash from both political parties and educators. Under the policy, homework and most tests would not count toward final grades, with students allowed to retake final exams multiple times and submit late assignments without penalty. The proposed grade thresholds were notably lenient, with a score as low as 60 earning an ‘A’ and a score as low as 41 earning a passing ‘C’—a significant departure from traditional grading standards.
The controversy was exacerbated by the lack of public oversight in the policy’s rollout. According to reports from The Voice of San Francisco, the plan was buried in a three-word phrase on the last page of a PowerPoint presentation embedded in the school board meeting’s 25-page agenda. This deliberate attempt to obscure the policy’s details and avoid seeking approval from the school board or engaging the community fueled suspicions of secrecy and political maneuvering. The district’s Office of Equity, which was meant to oversee such initiatives, had not updated its definition of equity in nearly three years, further casting doubt on the transparency of the process. Critics argue that the policy’s covert implementation was not only a violation of democratic principles but also a disservice to families who were left uninformed about the changes affecting their children’s education.
The backlash intensified as the policy’s implications became clearer. Educators and parents raised alarms about the potential consequences of grade inflation, warning that it would disincentivize students from working hard and mastering the subject matter. In New York City, where similar grading reforms had been implemented, high school math teacher Janessa Tamayo reported a noticeable decline in student engagement and effort.