Show Notes
What should grades actually measure? Should a student's grade reflect what they know—or how well they comply with deadlines, homework, participation, and extra credit? In this Essential Question, Jake Schulke and Morgan Torres-Unger-Castleberry explore one of the most fundamental questions in education: What is a grade actually supposed to measure? The discussion examines mastery-based grading, formative versus summative assessment, behavior-based grading, extra credit, homework, classroom compliance, and why so many grading systems unintentionally reward behavior instead of learning. They also discuss why students often ask, "How can I get my grade up?" instead of "How can I understand this better?" and what that reveals about the way we've designed school. Topics include: What grades should actually measure Mastery vs. compliance Homework, deadlines, and participation points Why extra credit often undermines equity Formative and summative assessment Student motivation and grading Standards-based and mastery-based grading Grading for Equity (Chapters 9–10) This clip is part of Episode 18 of Education Upgrade, a discussion of Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman and how grading practices influence learning, motivation, and student success. 📚 Book Discussed: Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman (Chapters 9–10) 🎙️ Watch the full Episode 18 for the complete conversation on grading, assessment, educational equity, and mastery learning. #Education #Teaching #EducationReform #GradingForEquity #MasteryLearning #Assessment #Teachers #EdChat #StandardsBasedGrading #EducationUpgrade
More from Education Upgrade with Jake Schulke
In this featured segment from Education Upgrade, Jake Schulke and guest Brett Barker examine how traditional teaching methods, large class sizes, and an emphasis on career preparation can limit meaningful learning. The conversation explores why students struggle to engage with English and social studies, whether conventional teaching practices encourage memorization over critical thinking, and how the structure of public education may contribute to these challenges. Watch or listen to the full conversation in Episode 19. Follow Education Upgrade for more conversations about teaching, learning, and rethinking education.
Can extrinsic rewards eventually help students become intrinsically motivated to learn? Dr. John McFarland (Dr. Mack) shares how he built “Fantasy French,” a gamified classroom system using experience points, levels, character classes, special abilities, and collaborative rewards. We discuss how students responded to the system, how it encouraged cooperation, and what happened as students began taking greater ownership of their learning. This featured segment comes from Episode 2 of Education Upgrade.
What do police searches communicate to students? Dr. Sebastián Sclofsky and I discuss school searches, student trust, discipline, and the difference between responding to a behavior and addressing what may be causing it. From Episode 11 of Education Upgrade.
What if teachers had more control over their own professional learning? In this featured segment from Education Upgrade, Dr. Derek Riddle discusses self-directed professional development and how teachers can identify their own learning needs, set meaningful goals, and seek out resources that help them improve their practice. We explore adult learning, reflection, teacher choice and motivation, and the many ways educators learn beyond traditional professional development. We also consider why even well-designed PD can fall short when it doesn't connect to what an individual teacher actually needs. Featured segment from Episode 12 of Education Upgrade: Why Teacher Professional Development Fails, and What Works Instead with Dr. Derek Riddle.
What does the research actually tell us about effective teacher professional development? In this featured segment from Education Upgrade, Dr. Derek Riddle explores the research on teacher professional learning, including six design features that shaped the field for decades: format, duration, collective participation, content, active learning, and coherence. We also discuss research that challenged that traditional consensus and an important factor that can get lost when professional development is designed: the teacher. What motivates teachers? What intellectually engages them? What makes professional learning meaningful? And how much voice should teachers have in determining what they need to learn? Featured segment from Episode 12 of Education Upgrade: Why Teacher Professional Development Fails, and What Works Instead with Dr. Derek Riddle.