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Attention: Superintendent Chris D. Funk, Asst. Superintendent Matt Campbell, and Dublin Unified School District Administration

We, the concerned Parents and Students of Dublin Unified School District, are urging you to immediately put a stop to equity grading cohorts in Dublin schools. Dublin Unified has aggressively pushed the Equity Grading Philosophy based on unsubstantiated ideas in books like Joe Feldman’s ‘Grading for Equity’ which waters down education and do not represent the core values of DUSD to support all students' individual pursuits.

DUSD is known for its students’ excellence in academic, athletic and creative fields. The decision to adopt this new grading system was made without any concrete data to support its effectiveness in improving student growth and performance or the impact on their mental health. We cannot allow our students to be subjected to an experiment that is not rooted in evidence-based research.

DUSD decided to introduce new grading concepts based on idealism and completely devoid of empirical data in the name of EQUITY in 29 teacher cohorts across Dublin in 2022-23. This system was designed for schools that were failing. Dublin schools set themselves apart from the national trend of falling test scores and ended up with higher scores right after the pandemic. We should not be picking up grading or educational proposals created to support schools that were failing. Instead, we should be a role model for other school districts on how to do things right, and continue doing what we do best and aspire to do even better!

The district hired the for-profit consulting firm Crescendo Group, to train teachers and aggressively implement the policies in the 2022-23 school year and failed to be transparent by not communicating about these changes with the community. This school year(2022-23), there were 29 teacher cohorts that participated in this experiment. Next school year(2023-24), 105 teacher cohorts will be implementing this model, including many classrooms at our middle and high school sites. The absence of student, teacher, and parent buy-in is a grave injustice and undermines the basic principles of fairness, mutual respect, and trust we expect of DUSD and its leaders. The leadership plans to push cohorts with NO DATA, NO COMMUNICATION and NO BOARD APPROVAL, letting THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS get impacted by these changes. This includes high school students whose grades directly impact their college admissions, and are even more important now that SAT and ACT scores are not being considered.

The experiences shared by teachers and students involved in the pilot equity cohorts have raised numerous concerns. Teachers implemented the grading principles in varying ways, leading to increased bias and subjectivity in the grading process. The reduction in the number of retakes compared to what was promised at the beginning of the year, new grading scale 0-4 instead of percentage corresponding to letter grades A-F, and the dismissal of homework as a grading metric have disadvantaged students and hindered their ability to assess their progress accurately. During the pandemic and beyond, many schools have reported increased absenteeism and behavior issues that end up having detrimental effects on grades. Removing participation and behavior expectations in the classroom creates a negative environment for the teachers and students alike. Additionally, the increased weightage on test assessment for grades has heightened stress levels and negatively impacted the mental health of our students, especially those with test anxiety. Since it is a less disciplined grading system, it will also reduce the opportunity for students to learn and develop soft skills, like being responsible and accountable for their work. Additionally, it will make the college admissions process even more challenging for our high school students.

We demand that the district leadership provide comprehensive and transparent data regarding the outcomes of the cohort experiment during 2022-23, and organize a town hall to address parents’ concerns. Without substantiated evidence of success, it is unacceptable to subject more students to this flawed system next year. We strongly urge the district to halt the expansion of the cohorts and reconsider the implementation of this new grading practice with immediate effect, especially in the highly critical high school courses. Monitoring risk factors that affect student performance like attendance, homework, work habits, behavior etc. cannot be addressed by this grading system overhaul.

Do not take away the reward for rigor, hard work, and participation in the classroom! There can always be reasonable exemptions and opportunities for retakes, submitting late work, but it should be standardized and not subjective. We implore DUSD to prioritize the well-being, academic success, and future prospects of all our students. Let us work together to create an educational environment that fosters equality, fairness, and the development of essential life skills for ALL OUR STUDENTS.

Dublin Community, join us in signing this petition to save Dublin students from the detrimental effects of the "Not So Equitable" grading system. Together, we can make a difference and protect the educational rights and aspirations of our Dublin students!