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Updated February 20, 2024

Schenectady City School District (SCSD) elected to lower student grading standards in order to meet its “equity” goals.

On August 31, 2023, Times Union reported, “In addition to welcoming new faculty and staff when the school year begins … Schenectady will also likely have a formal district-wide grading policy that administrators say will create a more uniform and equitable system to measure academic achievement.”

Superintendent Anibal Soler, Jr. commented that “every school is doing something different” when it comes to assigning grades to a student’s academic progress. Times Union said, at that time, board members were set to vote on the results of the research committee’s 12-year “grading equity” research project. SCSD’s 2022-23 Grading Committee wrote a letter stating:

“The Grading Committee will continue its efforts to develop a district grading policy that is both equitable and meaningful. [I]t is important to know that we, as a district, will be moving away from averaging and traditional grading practices that reflect student’s compliance over student motivation…”

The letter concluded that the “average student grades [are] discouraged, but not prohibited” until the Grading Committee can make a professional development recommendation for educators and administrators.

Times Union said, “Acknowledging that the word ‘equity’ scares some people, Soler said the equity piece ensures youngsters are not punished for behavioral or attendance problems, or other issues that may adversely impact their learning.”

Soler claimed:

“We want to make sure that when teachers give kids grades that they give kids grades on what they actually can demonstrate their ability to do, not penalizing them for certain things like attendance or behavior, but allowing them the opportunity to demonstrate that they know something or they don’t know something. And, we also wanted to make sure when kids get As on their report card, it truly means that they are an A student.”

Soler did not connect attendance with performance. However, a student’s presence in class increases the likelihood that they will gain and demonstrate knowledge. US News reports middle school reading proficiency is 8% and elementary reading at 18%. Math proficiencies show 32% and 33%. 

Please send information on Schenectady City School District to [email protected].  

Published – November 18, 2021

The Schenectady City School District is located in Schenectady, New York. The district has 15 total schools in operation with nearly 9,750 students enrolled.

SCSD is complying with Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul’s mask mandate. The mandate forces all students, staff, and visitors to wear a mask when inside school buildings. The mandate is also in effect regardless of vaccination status. Hochul has also mandated that school teachers and staff must obtain the COVID-19 vaccine.

SCSD has an Equity Department. The department says, “It is important that all staff internalize the mission of ensuring that Race, Economics and Disability will no longer serve as predictors of student achievement.” The department also says that teachers and staff must understand inherent bias by teaching a culturally responsive curriculum, and teachers need to profitably engage in self-reflection in order to gain understanding of their own cultural biases in teaching. Finally, teachers are instructed to “know the “other.”” The district defines the other as “The notion of a feeling of separateness and being outside of the majority population as defined by some dimension.”