According to the the Annie E. Casey Foundation:
“Equality requires that everyone receives the same resources and opportunities, regardless of circumstances and…assumes that everybody is operating at the same starting point and will face the same circumstances and challenges despite any inherent advantages ordisadvantages that apply to certain groups.”
“Equity considers the specific needs or circumstances of a person or group and provides the types of resources needed to be successful. It recognizes the shortcomings of this [equality’s] ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach and understands that different levels of support must be provided to achieve fairness in outcomes.”
And, as defined by the Cambridge Dictionary, “Fairness is the quality of treating people equally or in a way that is right or reasonable.”
That said…
*** Education Week’s Jill Barshay writes, “… Many grade-inflating teachers say that they feel pressure from administrators to comply with equitable grading policies that forbid zeros, allow unlimited retakes, and eliminate penalties for late work…”
*** In 2021, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed Senate Bill 744, suspending the policy that graduating high schoolers must demonstrate their proficiency in 9 essential skills in reading, writing, and math according to standardized tests. It will be in effect through the 2027-28 school year.
*** About timed math tests, Latrenda Knighten says, “My students had a breakdown. They were crying because they couldn’t do it that quickly.” And now, as the president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Knighten asserts, “Timed tests do not assess fluency and can negatively affect students and thus should be avoided.”
*** Says Education Week’s Elizabeth Heubeck: “[There’s been] a shift to grading policies that don’t give credit for completing homework,” with students’ declining motivation, procrastination, worse or incomplete grades, and less participation.
*** And so, according to Monitoring the Future, even back in 2021:
- 8th graders averaged just 36 minutes of daily homework, 17% less than in 2021.
- 10th graders spent on average 47 minutes, down from 60 minutes in 2021, and graders
- 45% of 8th graders are “no homeworkers,” along with 10.8% of 10th graders.
The result, says Barshay, “For more than three decades, grades in American schools and colleges have been going up, up, up. A’s are more common. Failure is rarer than it once was. At the same time, student achievement, as measured by standardized tests like the ACT and NAEP, has stagnated or declined. Grades say students are learning more. Tests say they are not.”
Indeed, on the 2024 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress), in reading, just 30% of 8th graders scored at or above the Proficient level; 33% scored at the Below Basic level.
- NAEP Below Basic Level: “Represents a fundamental inability to process the code in reading or a lack of proficiency in foundational skills.”
- NAEP Basic Level: “Represents partial mastery of fundamental knowledge and skills.”
- NAEP Proficient Level: “Represents a solid academic performance and competency over challenging subject matter.”
- NAEP Advanced Level: “Represents superior academic performance.”
*** Writes Fordham Institute’s Dale Chu, “Parents across the country are up in arms over their school systems’ equity initiative… In the late nineties, ‘equity’ was commonly understood as keeping a focus on outcomes and holding our students to high expectations, especially those living in marginalized communities… However, since then, ‘equity’ has been slowly bastardized and adulterated to such ill effect that it’s been rendered bankrupt of meaning. “
*** The recently presented Harvard study, “Easy A’s, Less Pay: The Long-Term Effects of Grade Inflation,” found that, “Students who experienced more lenient grading were less likely to pass subsequent courses, posted lower test scores, were less likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college, and earned significantly less years later.”
*** Belief in our public schools continues to decline, standing at these levels in 2025, according to a Gallup Poll:
- 33% of surveyed Americans said they’re content with the quality of the education students receive.
- 35% are “completely” or “somewhat satisfied.”
- 38% are “somewhat dissatisfied.”
- 24% are “completely dissatisfied.”
*** According to a 2025 Resume.org survey of hiring managers, just 58% said they would consider hiring a 2025 college grad, plus…
- 50% said recent grads were unprepared for the workforce and were difficult to manage.
- 80% said recent grads didn’t work out.
- 70% had to put them on performance improvement plans.
- 65% had to fire a recent grad.
Other issues revealed:
- 50% indicated a lack of motivation or initiative.
- 39% indicated a lack of professionalism.
- 39% indicated excessive phone use.
- 38% indicated poor time management.
- 37% indicated an attitude of indifference
Also mentioned: poor communication skills, difficulty handling feedback, and inability to adapt to their company’s culture.
In fact, says Resume.org’s career coach Irina Pichura, “Most students graduate with little exposure to professional environments, so, when they arrive at their first job, they’re often learning workplace norms for the first time.”
The result: 25% of these managers say they would avoid hiring a GenZer if they could.
Sound fair to you?
~ With thanks, Carol
