When Parents Only Focus on College Admissions, Essential Skills Can Slip Through the Cracks
Some colleges mull the idea of 'Ungrading' for freshman students
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"content": "\u003cp>Most parents want to help their children succeed. We check report cards, ask about homework and try to help our kids study. When that fails, we sometimes hire tutors. But in an era of rising grades, it’s easy to be misled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new study finds parents often assume everything is fine when their child’s report card shows mostly A’s even when standardized test scores slide. That assumption may underestimate the help and guidance their child needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an online experiment, researchers at Oregon State University and the University of Chicago created hypothetical fifth graders, whom they called Stacey and Robert, and asked more than 2,000 parents how they would advise the children’s parents to respond to different scenarios of grades and test scores. Test scores were expressed as percentile ranks on standardized tests, such as the annual state tests that public school children take each spring, so that parents could compare Stacey and Robert with those of other children nationwide. And study participants were given an imaginary $100 per week to “spend” however they wished. Options included enrolling the child in an after-school program, hiring a tutor or saving the money for a vacation or bills. They could also invest their own time, such as helping with homework or reading together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Parents advised increasing time and money spent when both grades and test scores were low. Parents were less likely to provide extra help or resources when grades were high and only test scores were low. The researchers found that parents were more likely to step in when grades were low but test scores were higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 70 percent of the parents said they trust grades more than tests for making decisions about their own child, and fewer than 9 percent said they had more confidence in tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The findings appear in a \u003ca href=\"https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6174458\">draft paper\u003c/a> that has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal and may still be revised. It was publicly circulated by the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As test scores have \u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/naep-test-2024-dismal-report/\">fallen\u003c/a> nationwide while grades have \u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-grade-inflation-lower-pay/\">risen\u003c/a>, the researchers believe that parents may be underinvesting in their children. “Parents are the key to children’s success,” said Ariel Kalil at the University of Chicago. “What you need is for parents to be making investments in their kids’ skill development, and you need that parental effort to be happening early and often. Anything that depresses parent investment is a problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kalil is concerned that this underinvestment in children is more pronounced in low-income communities, where, she said, high grades are often issued for below-grade-level skills. After the pandemic, schools struggled to persuade families to enroll in free tutoring and summer programs to make up for months of disrupted instruction. Many report cards showed solid grades, reducing the urgency for parents to act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paired with other recent research on long-term academic and economic consequences, this study strengthens the case that grade inflation isn’t harmless. Inflated grades may feel encouraging, but they can send false signals both to students, who may study less, and to parents, who may see less reason to step in. Ultimately, it not only hurts individuals, but American labor force skills and future economic growth, the researchers argue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kalil, a behavioral scientist, believes that parents have more confidence in grades because they are familiar and easier to understand. Meanwhile, score reports are complicated and even many well-educated parents are confused about scaled scores and percentile rankings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A survey that accompanied the online experiment revealed that a sizable share of parents don’t trust standardized tests. Forty percent of the parents in the study said that tests were biased. Almost 30 percent thought student scores were a reflection of family income. Fewer than 20 percent of parents thought tests captured their children’s skills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kalil says there’s another psychological phenomenon at play even for parents who understand and value standardized tests: the tendency to ignore bad news when it is paired with good news. “If the report card is all A’s, there’s a cognitive bias towards sticking your head in the sand and rejecting the bad information,” said Kalil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were hints in the data that Hispanic families were most trusting of grades and least trusting of test scores, while Asian families were more willing to heed test results. But few Hispanic and Asian parents participated in the survey, so these patterns were not statistically significant. (Almost 70 percent of the respondents were white and 20 percent Black.) Parents with at least a bachelor’s degree also paid more attention to standardized exams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solving the problem won’t be easy. The researchers say schools can do more to explain what test scores measure and how to interpret them, but better communication alone may not shift parents’ instincts. Reversing grade inflation would be the most direct solution, but that would require a broader shift across schools — something that is unlikely to happen quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, the burden is on parents to read report cards with a critical eye. When grades and test scores don’t align, it’s worth asking why. A strong report card can be reassuring, but it may not always tell the full story of what a child knows — or what help they might need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Contact staff writer \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/author/jill-barshay/\">\u003cem>Jill Barshay\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> at 212-678-3595, jillbarshay.35 on Signal, or \u003c/em>\u003cem>barshay@hechingerreport.org\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story about \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-parents-report-cards/\">\u003cem>parents and report cards\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/special-reports/higher-education/\">The Hechinger Report\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/proofpoints/\">\u003cem>Proof Points\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and other \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/newsletters/\">\u003cem>Hechinger newsletters\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Most parents want to help their children succeed. We check report cards, ask about homework and try to help our kids study. When that fails, we sometimes hire tutors. But in an era of rising grades, it’s easy to be misled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new study finds parents often assume everything is fine when their child’s report card shows mostly A’s even when standardized test scores slide. That assumption may underestimate the help and guidance their child needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an online experiment, researchers at Oregon State University and the University of Chicago created hypothetical fifth graders, whom they called Stacey and Robert, and asked more than 2,000 parents how they would advise the children’s parents to respond to different scenarios of grades and test scores. Test scores were expressed as percentile ranks on standardized tests, such as the annual state tests that public school children take each spring, so that parents could compare Stacey and Robert with those of other children nationwide. And study participants were given an imaginary $100 per week to “spend” however they wished. Options included enrolling the child in an after-school program, hiring a tutor or saving the money for a vacation or bills. They could also invest their own time, such as helping with homework or reading together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Parents advised increasing time and money spent when both grades and test scores were low. Parents were less likely to provide extra help or resources when grades were high and only test scores were low. The researchers found that parents were more likely to step in when grades were low but test scores were higher.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 70 percent of the parents said they trust grades more than tests for making decisions about their own child, and fewer than 9 percent said they had more confidence in tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The findings appear in a \u003ca href=\"https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6174458\">draft paper\u003c/a> that has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal and may still be revised. It was publicly circulated by the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As test scores have \u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/naep-test-2024-dismal-report/\">fallen\u003c/a> nationwide while grades have \u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-grade-inflation-lower-pay/\">risen\u003c/a>, the researchers believe that parents may be underinvesting in their children. “Parents are the key to children’s success,” said Ariel Kalil at the University of Chicago. “What you need is for parents to be making investments in their kids’ skill development, and you need that parental effort to be happening early and often. Anything that depresses parent investment is a problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kalil is concerned that this underinvestment in children is more pronounced in low-income communities, where, she said, high grades are often issued for below-grade-level skills. After the pandemic, schools struggled to persuade families to enroll in free tutoring and summer programs to make up for months of disrupted instruction. Many report cards showed solid grades, reducing the urgency for parents to act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paired with other recent research on long-term academic and economic consequences, this study strengthens the case that grade inflation isn’t harmless. Inflated grades may feel encouraging, but they can send false signals both to students, who may study less, and to parents, who may see less reason to step in. Ultimately, it not only hurts individuals, but American labor force skills and future economic growth, the researchers argue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kalil, a behavioral scientist, believes that parents have more confidence in grades because they are familiar and easier to understand. Meanwhile, score reports are complicated and even many well-educated parents are confused about scaled scores and percentile rankings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A survey that accompanied the online experiment revealed that a sizable share of parents don’t trust standardized tests. Forty percent of the parents in the study said that tests were biased. Almost 30 percent thought student scores were a reflection of family income. Fewer than 20 percent of parents thought tests captured their children’s skills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kalil says there’s another psychological phenomenon at play even for parents who understand and value standardized tests: the tendency to ignore bad news when it is paired with good news. “If the report card is all A’s, there’s a cognitive bias towards sticking your head in the sand and rejecting the bad information,” said Kalil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were hints in the data that Hispanic families were most trusting of grades and least trusting of test scores, while Asian families were more willing to heed test results. But few Hispanic and Asian parents participated in the survey, so these patterns were not statistically significant. (Almost 70 percent of the respondents were white and 20 percent Black.) Parents with at least a bachelor’s degree also paid more attention to standardized exams.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solving the problem won’t be easy. The researchers say schools can do more to explain what test scores measure and how to interpret them, but better communication alone may not shift parents’ instincts. Reversing grade inflation would be the most direct solution, but that would require a broader shift across schools — something that is unlikely to happen quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, the burden is on parents to read report cards with a critical eye. When grades and test scores don’t align, it’s worth asking why. A strong report card can be reassuring, but it may not always tell the full story of what a child knows — or what help they might need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Contact staff writer \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/author/jill-barshay/\">\u003cem>Jill Barshay\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> at 212-678-3595, jillbarshay.35 on Signal, or \u003c/em>\u003cem>barshay@hechingerreport.org\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story about \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-parents-report-cards/\">\u003cem>parents and report cards\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/special-reports/higher-education/\">The Hechinger Report\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/proofpoints/\">\u003cem>Proof Points\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and other \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/newsletters/\">\u003cem>Hechinger newsletters\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "easy-as-lower-pay-grade-inflations-hidden-damage",
"title": "Easy A’s, Lower Pay: Grade Inflation’s Hidden Damage",
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"content": "\u003cp>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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does this disconnect matter? Maybe higher grades motivate students to show up to school every day and learn. Perhaps harsh grading discourages them. Maybe we should stop obsessing over academic rigor and focus instead on other qualities we want to foster: good attendance, behavior, participation and cooperation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new study delivers an uncomfortable answer. It finds that lenient grading, or grade inflation, is actually harming students, leading not only to worse academic outcomes but also reducing their employment prospects and future earnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study, “\u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CcS_caQP701I92FeB6ZYlT1C7hjnFEWo/view\">Easy A’s, Less Pay: The Long-Term Effects of Grade Inflation\u003c/a>,” was presented in February 2026 at the Harvard Graduate School of Education by economist Jeffrey Denning of the University of Texas at Austin. A draft paper was co-authored with researchers from RAND, the University of Maryland and the University of Georgia. It has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal and may still be revised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But its findings are striking and build the argument against raising grades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_66114\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2002px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-66114\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2026/02/Average-Grades-Hechinger.png\" alt=\"Chart showing the upward trend of grades\" width=\"2002\" height=\"1512\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2026/02/Average-Grades-Hechinger.png 2002w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2026/02/Average-Grades-Hechinger-2000x1510.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2026/02/Average-Grades-Hechinger-160x121.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2026/02/Average-Grades-Hechinger-768x580.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2026/02/Average-Grades-Hechinger-1536x1160.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2002px) 100vw, 2002px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Slide from Feb 3, 2026 presentation by economist Jeff Denning at Harvard Graduate School of Education\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Students who experienced more lenient grading were less likely to pass subsequent courses, posted lower test scores afterwards, were less likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college, and earned significantly less years later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The economic cost is not small. Denning estimates that when a teacher doles out grades that are substantially higher (0.2 or more points on a 4-point scale, the difference between a B and almost a B-plus), a student in that class loses about $160,000 in lifetime earnings, measured in present dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s the effect of a single teacher, in a single year. If a student encounters several grade-inflating teachers, the losses add up.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Evidence from two very different places\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The researchers examined students in two settings: Los Angeles and Maryland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Los Angeles Unified School District provided data on almost a million high school students from 2004 to 2013, a period when graduation rates hovered just above 50 percent. The student population was more than 70 percent Hispanic, and failing grades were common.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maryland’s data followed about 250,000 high school students from 2013 to 2023. Graduation rates exceeded 90 percent, and the student population was more racially mixed. Maryland’s data allowed researchers to track college enrollment, employment and earnings, while the Los Angeles data ended with high school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite these differences, the pattern was the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students taught by lenient graders — defined as teachers who gave higher grades than expected based on standardized test scores and prior student performance — did worse later in high school. In Maryland, where there was data through college and into the workplace, these students were also less likely to attend college or be employed, and earned less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seeing the same pattern in two very different systems strengthens the case that this is not a fluke of one district or one policy regime.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>When leniency helps and when it doesn’t\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The study makes a crucial distinction. Teachers who still kept A’s challenging, but only made it easier to pass — turning failures into low passing grades — did help more students graduate from high school, particularly those at risk of dropping out. That short-term benefit is real. For some students, passing Algebra I instead of failing it can keep them on track to graduate and possibly enroll in community college.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the benefit stops there. Those students do not show long-term gains in college degree completion or earnings. The leniency helps them clear a hurdle, but it does not build the skills they need afterward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By contrast, general grade inflation (teachers who raise grades across the board, from C’s to B’s to A’s) shows no upside and hurts students’ chances of future success.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Why good intentions backfire\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The study cannot directly explain why higher grades lead to worse outcomes. But the mechanism is not difficult to imagine. In a class with a lenient grader, a savvy student may quickly realize she does not need to study hard or complete all the homework. If she earns a B in Algebra I without learning how to factor or solve quadratic equations, the knowledge gaps follow her into geometry and beyond. She may scrape by again. Over time, the deficits compound. Confidence erodes. Learning slows. In college or the workplace, the consequences show up as lower skills and lower pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Denning put it during the presentation, there appears to be a “causal chain” of harm, even if he cannot measure directly how much less students are studying or how behind they’ve fallen.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Don’t rush to blame teachers\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Raising grades isn’t always an individual instructor’s decision. A \u003ca href=\"https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/equitable-grading-through-eyes-teachers\">2025 survey\u003c/a> documents the frustrations of many grade-inflating teachers who 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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lenient graders are not bad teachers. The study finds they are often better at improving non-cognitive skills. Their students behave better, cooperate more, and are less likely to be suspended. Still, in this study, that’s not translating into better life outcomes, as one would hope.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stricter graders tend to be better at raising students’ test scores in math, reading and other academic subjects. Despite that correlation, that doesn’t mean all tough graders are good teachers. Some are not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is early research. More studies are needed to understand whether there are similar workplace costs from college grade inflation. And there are questions about whether boys react differently than girls to inflated grades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers struggle to get students to engage in learning, which is full of setbacks, frustration and boring repetition. Maybe low grades won’t inspire students to do this hard work. But this early evidence suggests that inflated grades aren’t doing them any favors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Contact staff writer \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/author/jill-barshay/\">\u003cem>Jill Barshay\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> at 212-678-3595, jillbarshay.35 on Signal, or \u003c/em>\u003cem>barshay@hechingerreport.org\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story about \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-grade-inflation-lower-pay/\">\u003cem>grade inflation\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/special-reports/higher-education/\">The Hechinger Report\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/proofpoints/\">\u003cem>Proof Points\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and other \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/newsletters/\">\u003cem>Hechinger newsletters\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Easy A’s, Lower Pay: Grade Inflation’s Hidden Damage | KQED",
"description": "Analysis of more than a million high schoolers in two major cities shows the downsides of leniency in how teachers grade students. Some of that shift is coming from pressure by administrators. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does this disconnect matter? Maybe higher grades motivate students to show up to school every day and learn. Perhaps harsh grading discourages them. Maybe we should stop obsessing over academic rigor and focus instead on other qualities we want to foster: good attendance, behavior, participation and cooperation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new study delivers an uncomfortable answer. It finds that lenient grading, or grade inflation, is actually harming students, leading not only to worse academic outcomes but also reducing their employment prospects and future earnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study, “\u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CcS_caQP701I92FeB6ZYlT1C7hjnFEWo/view\">Easy A’s, Less Pay: The Long-Term Effects of Grade Inflation\u003c/a>,” was presented in February 2026 at the Harvard Graduate School of Education by economist Jeffrey Denning of the University of Texas at Austin. A draft paper was co-authored with researchers from RAND, the University of Maryland and the University of Georgia. It has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal and may still be revised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But its findings are striking and build the argument against raising grades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_66114\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2002px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-66114\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2026/02/Average-Grades-Hechinger.png\" alt=\"Chart showing the upward trend of grades\" width=\"2002\" height=\"1512\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2026/02/Average-Grades-Hechinger.png 2002w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2026/02/Average-Grades-Hechinger-2000x1510.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2026/02/Average-Grades-Hechinger-160x121.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2026/02/Average-Grades-Hechinger-768x580.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2026/02/Average-Grades-Hechinger-1536x1160.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2002px) 100vw, 2002px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Slide from Feb 3, 2026 presentation by economist Jeff Denning at Harvard Graduate School of Education\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Students who experienced more lenient grading were less likely to pass subsequent courses, posted lower test scores afterwards, were less likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college, and earned significantly less years later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The economic cost is not small. Denning estimates that when a teacher doles out grades that are substantially higher (0.2 or more points on a 4-point scale, the difference between a B and almost a B-plus), a student in that class loses about $160,000 in lifetime earnings, measured in present dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s the effect of a single teacher, in a single year. If a student encounters several grade-inflating teachers, the losses add up.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Evidence from two very different places\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The researchers examined students in two settings: Los Angeles and Maryland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Los Angeles Unified School District provided data on almost a million high school students from 2004 to 2013, a period when graduation rates hovered just above 50 percent. The student population was more than 70 percent Hispanic, and failing grades were common.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maryland’s data followed about 250,000 high school students from 2013 to 2023. Graduation rates exceeded 90 percent, and the student population was more racially mixed. Maryland’s data allowed researchers to track college enrollment, employment and earnings, while the Los Angeles data ended with high school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite these differences, the pattern was the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students taught by lenient graders — defined as teachers who gave higher grades than expected based on standardized test scores and prior student performance — did worse later in high school. In Maryland, where there was data through college and into the workplace, these students were also less likely to attend college or be employed, and earned less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seeing the same pattern in two very different systems strengthens the case that this is not a fluke of one district or one policy regime.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>When leniency helps and when it doesn’t\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The study makes a crucial distinction. Teachers who still kept A’s challenging, but only made it easier to pass — turning failures into low passing grades — did help more students graduate from high school, particularly those at risk of dropping out. That short-term benefit is real. For some students, passing Algebra I instead of failing it can keep them on track to graduate and possibly enroll in community college.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the benefit stops there. Those students do not show long-term gains in college degree completion or earnings. The leniency helps them clear a hurdle, but it does not build the skills they need afterward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By contrast, general grade inflation (teachers who raise grades across the board, from C’s to B’s to A’s) shows no upside and hurts students’ chances of future success.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Why good intentions backfire\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The study cannot directly explain why higher grades lead to worse outcomes. But the mechanism is not difficult to imagine. In a class with a lenient grader, a savvy student may quickly realize she does not need to study hard or complete all the homework. If she earns a B in Algebra I without learning how to factor or solve quadratic equations, the knowledge gaps follow her into geometry and beyond. She may scrape by again. Over time, the deficits compound. Confidence erodes. Learning slows. In college or the workplace, the consequences show up as lower skills and lower pay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Denning put it during the presentation, there appears to be a “causal chain” of harm, even if he cannot measure directly how much less students are studying or how behind they’ve fallen.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Don’t rush to blame teachers\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Raising grades isn’t always an individual instructor’s decision. A \u003ca href=\"https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/equitable-grading-through-eyes-teachers\">2025 survey\u003c/a> documents the frustrations of many grade-inflating teachers who 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.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lenient graders are not bad teachers. The study finds they are often better at improving non-cognitive skills. Their students behave better, cooperate more, and are less likely to be suspended. Still, in this study, that’s not translating into better life outcomes, as one would hope.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stricter graders tend to be better at raising students’ test scores in math, reading and other academic subjects. Despite that correlation, that doesn’t mean all tough graders are good teachers. Some are not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is early research. More studies are needed to understand whether there are similar workplace costs from college grade inflation. And there are questions about whether boys react differently than girls to inflated grades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teachers struggle to get students to engage in learning, which is full of setbacks, frustration and boring repetition. Maybe low grades won’t inspire students to do this hard work. But this early evidence suggests that inflated grades aren’t doing them any favors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Contact staff writer \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/author/jill-barshay/\">\u003cem>Jill Barshay\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> at 212-678-3595, jillbarshay.35 on Signal, or \u003c/em>\u003cem>barshay@hechingerreport.org\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story about \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-grade-inflation-lower-pay/\">\u003cem>grade inflation\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/special-reports/higher-education/\">The Hechinger Report\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/proofpoints/\">\u003cem>Proof Points\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> and other \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/newsletters/\">\u003cem>Hechinger newsletters\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "When Parents Only Focus on College Admissions, Essential Skills Can Slip Through the Cracks",
"headTitle": "When Parents Only Focus on College Admissions, Essential Skills Can Slip Through the Cracks | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The transition from high school to college has become a rite of passage laden with expectations – chief among them is the assumption that admission to a prestigious college is the golden ticket to future success. However, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/anahomayoun?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ana Homayoun\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, an academic advisor and early career development expert, challenges the belief that taking all AP classes, starting on the varsity team and being first string in orchestra guarantees the skills a student needs to thrive in college and beyond. “We all play a role in supporting students \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/58155/grades-have-huge-impact-but-are-they-effective\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">beyond grades\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, test scores and college admission,” she said. “I started to think about what are the key skills that are not just crucial for our livelihood but also for social and economic mobility.” In her book \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://anahomayoun.com/erasing-the-finish-line/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Erasing the Finish Line: The New Blueprint for Success Beyond Grades and College Admission,\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Homayoun draws from over two decades of working with students to show how the narrow focus on competitive college admissions has inadvertently sidelined necessary skills like organization, planning, prioritization and non-transactional relationship building. These assets, she added, are essential for success not only in college but also in career paths and personal relationships.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While there have always been students who were not ready for college, Homayoun noted that the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/after-the-pandemic-disrupted-their-high-school-educations-students-are-arriving-at-college-unprepared/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">pandemic has made this more common\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. “Particularly after the last few years, I will say that students’ skill sets aren’t as developed as they were in the past,” she said. Today’s students may struggle with managing their time effectively, building meaningful connections, and adapting to the challenges of a dynamic post-high school environment. Homayoun helps families establish a new approach to academic success and overall well-being that will sustain children in their journeys after K-12 education. She advises moving away from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62235/teens-are-overwhelmed-by-pressure-to-achieve-how-can-parents-restore-balance\">relentless pursuit of accolades\u003c/a> and places a renewed emphasis on social well-being and emotional development. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Given that there’s no one-size-fits-all path to success for any student, parents can support their child in \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">building strong habits and refining skills that have a lasting impact on long-term success.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> According to Homayoun, paying attention to kids’ energy levels, honing extracurricular commitments, and improving conversation skills yields benefits that extend far beyond gaining acceptance into college.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Pay attention to energy levels\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s common for parents to get caught up in a culture of comparison and wonder if their child is involved in enough activities for the college admissions process, especially during the transition from middle to high school, Homayoun pointed out. She urges parents to shift their perspective from time management, often driven by an unending to-do list, to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/60543/what-parents-need-to-monitor-about-teens-sleep-beyond-the-hour-count\">energy management\u003c/a>. Being attuned to a child’s energy levels empowers parents to understand their behavior patterns and support them in recharging when necessary. Homayoun said it can be as simple as asking three key questions: “What energizes you? What drains you? And how do you recharge?” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Parents can monitor their child’s energy levels by assessing the activities they participate in and ensuring there is a healthy balance between activity and rest. For instance, a child might require more transition time when moving between activities or need solo time during the weekend to recover from a demanding week. A child’s energy profile may evolve over time. Circumstances such as an injury, breakup, or \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/59837/four-circles-of-self-care-a-tool-to-help-students-make-mental-health-a-daily-practice\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">mental health concerns can also have an impact on a child’s energy profile\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, whether temporarily or more permanently. Homayoun suggested that parents stay flexible and shift priorities accordingly.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s crucial to move away from the notion that there is something “wrong” with an \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62119/how-extroverted-teachers-can-engage-introverted-students\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">introverted child\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> who doesn’t socialize in the same way as their extroverted siblings or parents, said Homayoun. Embracing and respecting individual energy profiles allows each child to thrive in their own way, ensuring that they have the space and support to develop the skills and self-awareness necessary for a successful journey through education and beyond. While the race to college acceptance can push children to keep going until they burn out, shifting the focus to energy management helps parents support their child in a more sustainable and balanced approach to life.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Determine what is going to “take the B”\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In her book, Homayoun introduces the concept of “taking the B,” which means deciding which activities and obligations can take a back seat in one’s life. As children grow older, activities that were once minor commitments may start demanding more time and energy, leading to packed schedules that leave little room for rest, reflection and open-ended exploration. “I regularly see students who are in school from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and then have an activity from 3:30 to 6 p.m., and then need to commute home and complete one to three hours of homework,” wrote Homayoun. This kind of demanding schedule takes a toll on their energy, mood and motivation. It can foster a sense of never doing enough and an unceasing pressure to do more, which, in turn, can erode their self-esteem. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/59625/three-reasons-teens-need-later-school-start-times\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Valuable sleep time is often sacrificed\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> as schedules become increasingly packed. “For students, the notion of “taking the B” shouldn’t be about grades or test scores but rather daily and weekly allocation of energy,” wrote Homayoun. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Parental fears can often shape a student’s schedule, with concerns that reducing extracurricular involvement may limit future opportunities. However, Homayoun emphasizes that the “bigger, better” culture doesn’t necessarily benefit anyone. Rather than encouraging kids to do it all, she urged parents to help them assess their schedules and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/61739/when-should-you-let-your-kid-quit\">identify activities that can be scaled back\u003c/a>. This doesn’t necessarily mean quitting an activity entirely. For instance, if a student enjoys playing a sport but doesn’t want to commit to it at a high level, they can \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/59342/how-can-high-school-sports-better-serve-students\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">join a low-commitment recreational league\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Reducing a child’s commitments can enable them to experience greater happiness, improved rest and less burnout.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Build conversation skills\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many of the students Homayoun has worked with who have achieved the professional or personal success they aspired to possess strong conversation and small talk skills. “We get stuck in this faulty finish line of college admissions and the test scores and grades. And we think, ‘Oh, well, this kid is getting great grades, then they clearly are doing fine,’ but they don’t have the ability to connect,\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">” she said. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Developing better small talk skills can boost a student’s confidence in \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/58462/how-to-help-anxious-students-re-adjust-to-social-settings\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">navigating new social environments that might otherwise feel overwhelming\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Homayoun encourages students to engage in conversations with people from different generations, because conversations with peers or family members can be limiting. “A lot of students are like, ‘Oh, I’m talking about college admissions with my classmates.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, none of them have applied to college yet,’\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">”\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> said Homayoun.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For parents who are looking to build their child’s small talk skills, Homayoun suggested making it a game. During gatherings, whether they are family events or neighborhood barbecues, parents can challenge their child to initiate brief conversations with three new people. This practice not only helps in making eye contact, reading nonverbal cues, starting a conversation, asking questions, and wrapping up a conversation effectively but also improves their confidence in social situations.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Summer jobs that involve interacting with the public, like working at a grocery store or lifeguarding at a local pool, can help teenagers build their conversation skills. Additionally, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2120668119\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">research\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has shown that the more small conversations and interactions a person engages in, the more likely they are to experience increased happiness, as they establish meaningful connections with others and build a foundation of positive social interactions. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are many soft skills that children can benefit from developing. It may not require parents to add more activities to their schedule; rather, it could just mean fine-tuning their existing interests to help them thrive in the long run.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The transition from high school to college has become a rite of passage laden with expectations – chief among them is the assumption that admission to a prestigious college is the golden ticket to future success. However, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/anahomayoun?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ana Homayoun\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, an academic advisor and early career development expert, challenges the belief that taking all AP classes, starting on the varsity team and being first string in orchestra guarantees the skills a student needs to thrive in college and beyond. “We all play a role in supporting students \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/58155/grades-have-huge-impact-but-are-they-effective\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">beyond grades\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, test scores and college admission,” she said. “I started to think about what are the key skills that are not just crucial for our livelihood but also for social and economic mobility.” In her book \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://anahomayoun.com/erasing-the-finish-line/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Erasing the Finish Line: The New Blueprint for Success Beyond Grades and College Admission,\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Homayoun draws from over two decades of working with students to show how the narrow focus on competitive college admissions has inadvertently sidelined necessary skills like organization, planning, prioritization and non-transactional relationship building. These assets, she added, are essential for success not only in college but also in career paths and personal relationships.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While there have always been students who were not ready for college, Homayoun noted that the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/after-the-pandemic-disrupted-their-high-school-educations-students-are-arriving-at-college-unprepared/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">pandemic has made this more common\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. “Particularly after the last few years, I will say that students’ skill sets aren’t as developed as they were in the past,” she said. Today’s students may struggle with managing their time effectively, building meaningful connections, and adapting to the challenges of a dynamic post-high school environment. Homayoun helps families establish a new approach to academic success and overall well-being that will sustain children in their journeys after K-12 education. She advises moving away from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62235/teens-are-overwhelmed-by-pressure-to-achieve-how-can-parents-restore-balance\">relentless pursuit of accolades\u003c/a> and places a renewed emphasis on social well-being and emotional development. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Given that there’s no one-size-fits-all path to success for any student, parents can support their child in \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">building strong habits and refining skills that have a lasting impact on long-term success.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> According to Homayoun, paying attention to kids’ energy levels, honing extracurricular commitments, and improving conversation skills yields benefits that extend far beyond gaining acceptance into college.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Pay attention to energy levels\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s common for parents to get caught up in a culture of comparison and wonder if their child is involved in enough activities for the college admissions process, especially during the transition from middle to high school, Homayoun pointed out. She urges parents to shift their perspective from time management, often driven by an unending to-do list, to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/60543/what-parents-need-to-monitor-about-teens-sleep-beyond-the-hour-count\">energy management\u003c/a>. Being attuned to a child’s energy levels empowers parents to understand their behavior patterns and support them in recharging when necessary. Homayoun said it can be as simple as asking three key questions: “What energizes you? What drains you? And how do you recharge?” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Parents can monitor their child’s energy levels by assessing the activities they participate in and ensuring there is a healthy balance between activity and rest. For instance, a child might require more transition time when moving between activities or need solo time during the weekend to recover from a demanding week. A child’s energy profile may evolve over time. Circumstances such as an injury, breakup, or \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/59837/four-circles-of-self-care-a-tool-to-help-students-make-mental-health-a-daily-practice\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">mental health concerns can also have an impact on a child’s energy profile\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, whether temporarily or more permanently. Homayoun suggested that parents stay flexible and shift priorities accordingly.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s crucial to move away from the notion that there is something “wrong” with an \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62119/how-extroverted-teachers-can-engage-introverted-students\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">introverted child\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> who doesn’t socialize in the same way as their extroverted siblings or parents, said Homayoun. Embracing and respecting individual energy profiles allows each child to thrive in their own way, ensuring that they have the space and support to develop the skills and self-awareness necessary for a successful journey through education and beyond. While the race to college acceptance can push children to keep going until they burn out, shifting the focus to energy management helps parents support their child in a more sustainable and balanced approach to life.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Determine what is going to “take the B”\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In her book, Homayoun introduces the concept of “taking the B,” which means deciding which activities and obligations can take a back seat in one’s life. As children grow older, activities that were once minor commitments may start demanding more time and energy, leading to packed schedules that leave little room for rest, reflection and open-ended exploration. “I regularly see students who are in school from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and then have an activity from 3:30 to 6 p.m., and then need to commute home and complete one to three hours of homework,” wrote Homayoun. This kind of demanding schedule takes a toll on their energy, mood and motivation. It can foster a sense of never doing enough and an unceasing pressure to do more, which, in turn, can erode their self-esteem. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/59625/three-reasons-teens-need-later-school-start-times\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Valuable sleep time is often sacrificed\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> as schedules become increasingly packed. “For students, the notion of “taking the B” shouldn’t be about grades or test scores but rather daily and weekly allocation of energy,” wrote Homayoun. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Parental fears can often shape a student’s schedule, with concerns that reducing extracurricular involvement may limit future opportunities. However, Homayoun emphasizes that the “bigger, better” culture doesn’t necessarily benefit anyone. Rather than encouraging kids to do it all, she urged parents to help them assess their schedules and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/61739/when-should-you-let-your-kid-quit\">identify activities that can be scaled back\u003c/a>. This doesn’t necessarily mean quitting an activity entirely. For instance, if a student enjoys playing a sport but doesn’t want to commit to it at a high level, they can \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/59342/how-can-high-school-sports-better-serve-students\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">join a low-commitment recreational league\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Reducing a child’s commitments can enable them to experience greater happiness, improved rest and less burnout.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Build conversation skills\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many of the students Homayoun has worked with who have achieved the professional or personal success they aspired to possess strong conversation and small talk skills. “We get stuck in this faulty finish line of college admissions and the test scores and grades. And we think, ‘Oh, well, this kid is getting great grades, then they clearly are doing fine,’ but they don’t have the ability to connect,\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">” she said. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Developing better small talk skills can boost a student’s confidence in \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/58462/how-to-help-anxious-students-re-adjust-to-social-settings\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">navigating new social environments that might otherwise feel overwhelming\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Homayoun encourages students to engage in conversations with people from different generations, because conversations with peers or family members can be limiting. “A lot of students are like, ‘Oh, I’m talking about college admissions with my classmates.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, none of them have applied to college yet,’\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">”\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> said Homayoun.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For parents who are looking to build their child’s small talk skills, Homayoun suggested making it a game. During gatherings, whether they are family events or neighborhood barbecues, parents can challenge their child to initiate brief conversations with three new people. This practice not only helps in making eye contact, reading nonverbal cues, starting a conversation, asking questions, and wrapping up a conversation effectively but also improves their confidence in social situations.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Summer jobs that involve interacting with the public, like working at a grocery store or lifeguarding at a local pool, can help teenagers build their conversation skills. Additionally, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2120668119\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">research\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has shown that the more small conversations and interactions a person engages in, the more likely they are to experience increased happiness, as they establish meaningful connections with others and build a foundation of positive social interactions. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are many soft skills that children can benefit from developing. It may not require parents to add more activities to their schedule; rather, it could just mean fine-tuning their existing interests to help them thrive in the long run.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Some colleges mull the idea of 'Ungrading' for freshman students",
"title": "Some colleges mull the idea of 'Ungrading' for freshman students",
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"content": "\u003cp>SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Joy Malak floundered through her freshman year in college.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had to learn how to balance my finances. I had to learn how to balance work and school and the relationship I’m in.” The hardest part about being a new college student, Malak said, “is not the coursework. It’s learning how to be an adult.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That took a toll on her grades. “I didn’t do well,” said Malak, who powered through and is now starting her sophomore year as a neuroscience and literature double major at the University of California, Santa Cruz, or UCSC. “It took a while for me to detangle my sense of self-worth from the grades that I was getting. It made me consider switching out of my major a handful of times.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experiences like these are among the reasons behind a growing movement to stop assigning conventional A through F letter grades to first-year college students and, sometimes, upperclassmen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Called “un-grading,” the idea is meant to ease the transition to higher education — especially for freshmen who are the first in their families to go to college or who weren’t well prepared for college-level work in high school and need more time to master it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But advocates say the most important reason to adopt un-grading is that students have become so preoccupied with grades, they aren’t actually learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Grades are not a representation of student learning, as hard as it is for us to break the mindset that if the student got an A it means they learned,” said Jody Greene, special adviser to the provost for educational equity and academic success at UCSC, where several faculty are experimenting with various forms of un-grading.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a student already knew the material before taking the class and got that A, “they didn’t learn anything,” said Greene, who also is director of the university’s Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning. And “if the student came in and struggled to get a C-plus, they may have learned a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics respond that replacing traditional A to F grades with new forms of assessments is like a college-level version of participation trophies. They say taking away grades is coddling students and treating them like “snowflakes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By getting rid of grades, we get rid of crucial information that parents and students use to determine what they’re getting out of the expensive educations they’re paying for,” said Bradley Jackson, vice president of policy at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the momentum behind un-grading is in response to growing concerns about student mental health. The number of college students with one or more mental health problems \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032722002774\">has doubled since 2013\u003c/a>, according to a study by researchers at Boston University and elsewhere. Teenagers said that the pressure to get good grades was \u003ca href=\"https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/20/most-u-s-teens-see-anxiety-and-depression-as-a-major-problem-among-their-peers/\">their biggest cause of stress\u003c/a>, a 2019 survey by the Pew Research Center found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59960\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-59960\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-05-copy-scaled-e1664778839418.jpg\" alt=\"Two UC Santa Cruz students\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joy Malak, left, changed her major as a freshman at the University of California, Santa Cruz, while balancing grades with work and school. Serena Ramirez says she is often so stressed out about her grades in class, “I can barely focus.” \u003ccite>(Ki Sung/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“A lot of the time I’m just so stressed in the class that I can barely focus,” said Serena Ramirez, a UCSC freshman. “Now you’re an adult, you’re by yourself, you’re responsible for your grades. The additional stress of grades just sort of undermines the whole learning.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was also the case for Tamara Caselin in her freshman year at UCSC. She worked 40 hours a week on top of school and ended up changing her major, which was originally business management economics. “I felt that I was way too focused on my grades, that I wasn’t focused on my personal well-being,” said Caselin, who is now a junior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59956\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-59956\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"UC Santa Cruz student\" width=\"250\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-scaled.jpg 1707w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-160x240.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-1920x2880.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tamara Caselin worked 40 hours a week during her freshman year at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “I felt that I was way too focused on my grades, that I wasn’t focused on my personal well-being,” says Caselin, who is now a junior. \u003ccite>(Amanda Cain for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Covid-19 pandemic made things even worse. It “brought to light the stressors students have in their lives,” said Nate Turcotte, an assistant professor in the Department of Leadership, Technology and Research at Florida Gulf Coast University who is using assessments other than grades. That’s why some of the nation’s most prestigious universities switched from letter grades to “pass” or “fail” at the outset of the crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pandemic era’s wide-scale disruption also makes it a good time to consider changing long-held educational practices, said Robert Talbert, a math professor at Grand Valley State University who is co-writing a book about new ways of assessing students and has tried some in his own classes\u003cem>. \u003c/em>“Everything seems to be on the table right now. Why not throw in the grading system while we’re at it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Responded Jackson: “To say that because we’ve been through a very difficult and trying time, we now need to give up forever into the future these objective criteria that we use in order to determine whether students are improving — that seems to me to be a tremendous overreaction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to those at UCSC, a small but growing number of faculty and some academic departments at universities and colleges nationwide are experimenting with alternative kinds of assessments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although they’re not eliminating grades, some instructors in the University of California, Davis, Department of Mathematics are letting students decide between taking verbal and written exams, for instance, and giving them a choice of how much those exams and homework count, said Tim Lewis, the department’s vice chair for undergraduate matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These efforts are meant to improve learning outcomes, as well as to be fair and advance equity, especially for new students and transfer students,” Lewis said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The developments in California follow a March report to the University of California Board of Regents’ Academic and Student Affairs Committee that \u003ca href=\"https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/mar22/a3.pdf\">traditional grading methods could perpetuate bias\u003c/a>; it encouraged schools to explore new means of assessment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several colleges and universities outside of California already practice unconventional forms of grading. At Reed College, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reed.edu/registrar/pdfs/grades-at-reed.pdf\">students aren’t shown their grades\u003c/a> so that they can “focus on learning, not on grades,” the college says. Students at New College of Florida complete contracts establishing their goals, then get written evaluations about how they’re doing. Evergreen State and Hampshire colleges forgo letter grades in favor of written evaluations. And students at Brown University have a choice among written evaluations that only they see, results of “satisfactory” or “no credit” and letter grades — A, B or C, but no D or F.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It takes stress and anxiety away and it prioritizes their mental health. But more importantly, it prioritizes their learning,” said Turcotte. “Instead of ‘What did I get?’ it’s ‘What did I learn?’ There’s a freedom to explore, a freedom to take chances without this fear of, ‘Am I going to get marked down for this?’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>MIT has what it calls “ramp-up grading” for first-year students. In their first semesters, they get only a “pass,” without a letter; if they don’t pass, no grade is recorded at all. In their second semesters, they get letter grades, but grades of D and F are not recorded on their transcripts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Starting any university is challenging to get acclimated academically to a new environment and it’s a big change for most students because for many of them it’s their first time away from home or at a new school,” said Ian Waitz, MIT’s vice chancellor for undergraduate and graduate education and a professor of aeronautics and astronautics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a desire to have that acclimation to the entire environment happen in a less abrupt way, where people have more of an opportunity to get calibrated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many proponents of un-grading say it addresses the unfairness of a system in which some students are better ready for college than others, have to balance school with work or are first generation and feel extra stress to perform well as a result of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59955\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-59955\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"UC Santa Cruz student\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-768x512.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amaya Rosas, now a junior at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is the first in her family to go to college. “That’s a lot of pressure, and I hear a lot, like, ‘How are your grades?’ ” she says. \u003ccite>(Amanda Cain for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“That’s a lot of pressure, and I hear a lot, like, ‘How are your grades?’” said Amaya Rosas, who also attends UCSC and is the first in her family to go to college. She said she feels as if “I need to get good grades because I don’t want to let everybody else down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Greene said students who come from lower-income families are the most vulnerable to anxiety from grades. “Let’s say they get a slightly failing grade on the first quiz. They are not likely to go and seek help. They’re likely to try and disappear.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some drop out altogether. “One of the things that they say again and again — it’s kind of heartbreaking — they say, ‘I wasn’t satisfied with my academic performance,’ ” Greene said. “You know, they’re not saying, ‘I hated the school’ or ‘My teachers were terrible.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What grades often actually show, said Turcotte, “is if someone is food insecure or comes from a home without the support that other individuals have. There are a lot of educators out there and parents and people involved in education who are wondering how can we better help our students while also recognizing the complexities of their lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students who work while in school are also “less likely to do the extra work to get things done perfectly, or they may have had to take an extra shift at work or they don’t have transportation so they’re late for class,” said Susan Blum, a professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame and the editor of “Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead).” By comparison, she said, higher-income classmates “had Ph.D. historians teaching them in their fancy high schools.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59957\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-59957\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"UC Santa Cruz student\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-768x512.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">During her first year in college, Olivia Disabatino says she “felt like a deer in the headlights.” Disabatino is now a junior at the University of California, Santa Cruz. \u003ccite>(Amanda Cain for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When she was a freshman, Olivia Disabatino “saw that I didn’t necessarily have all the resources that other students had when it came to just being prepared for college.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Disabatino, now a UCSC junior double-majoring in psychology and anthropology and also the first in her low-income family to go to college, said: “I kind of felt like a deer in the headlights.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of that is conducive to learning, said Joshua Eyler, director of faculty development at the University of Mississippi, who is also working on a book about grades, called “Scarlet Letters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Grades inhibit students’ creativity and their desire to take intellectual risks,” said Eyler.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, they’ve become “a magnet for student anxiety,” said Adam Light, an assistant professor of physics at Colorado College. “ ‘I only got a 93? Why didn’t I get a 94?’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Light enters into contracts with his students about what tasks need to be learned. “ ‘Here are the things I think are important for you to get out of this class,’ ” he tells them. “And I ask, ‘What are your goals for this class?’ And we come up with consensus. Students know exactly what has to get checked off to get a better grade.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UCSC, which was opened as an experimental progressive campus built among a dense forest of redwoods, bay laurels and California oaks, previously let students choose whether or not to get letter grades. As the public university grew, it made grades mandatory in 2000. But some of its faculty have continued to promote un-grading.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of grades, for instance, psychology professor Barbara Rogoff’s students get narrative evaluations that assess their work as, among other things, “impressive,” “extremely well developed” or “uneven.” Only at the end of the quarter does she assign required letter grades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59953\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-59953\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Professor Barbara Rogoff\" width=\"250\" height=\"313\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-800x1000.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-1020x1275.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-160x200.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-768x960.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-1638x2048.jpg 1638w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-1920x2400.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barbara Rogoff, a psychology professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, gives narrative evaluations instead of grades. Students’ work is assessed as, among other things, “impressive,” “extremely well developed” or “uneven.” \u003ccite>(Amanda Cain for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I can say, ‘This student did really well in their contributions to the class, but they struggled with their writing.’ If it’s a grade, you have to average those two,” said Rogoff, who specializes in cultural variations in learning. “It makes the teachers, the professors, look at themselves more as guides rather than evaluators.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for the students, they learn better if they’re not focused on grades, she said. Grades “make students concerned about how they look rather than dealing with the material.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s to say nothing of students who can game the system, said Talbert, at Grand Valley State. “When you see a grade on an assignment or report card, it tends not to convey a lot of information about what a student actually has learned. The grade itself has turned into the target. Learning is just a vehicle by which to earn a grade.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while he likes the idea of un-grading, Talbert’s own experience has made him question whether it’s necessarily a solution to inequity. Since the students in the algebra class in which he tried it were required to evaluate their own performance, he said, “What I found is that un-grading as a system is exactly as good as my students’ ability to self-assess. Those from more privileged backgrounds feel more competent to self-reflect, whereas other students struggle with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other realities also make it hard to change the longstanding tradition of letter grades. It’s how faculty themselves were largely judged as they went through college. Parents, high schools and university admissions offices put a premium on grade-point averages — an even greater one as many institutions make the SAT and ACT optional. Even car insurance companies give “good-grades discounts” to student-age drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s built into the system,” Rogoff said. “These are big forces that are working against getting rid of grades.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But grades may not be the real problem, said Michael Poliakoff, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. He pointed out that only 25 percent of high school students who took the ACT test last year \u003ca href=\"https://leadershipblog.act.org/2021/10/2021-ACT-Achievement-Data.html\">met all four college-readiness benchmarks\u003c/a>, which gauge the likelihood that they’ll succeed in first-year college courses; 38 percent met none. The composite score was the lowest in more than a decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By getting rid of grades, “I really fear that we’re shooting the messenger because we don’t like what we’re hearing,” Poliakoff said. It’s just setting up students “to slam into the wall, ultimately,” and end up with a “ticket-to-nowhere diploma that doesn’t represent the mastery of skills that will equip the person for success.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colleges and universities are already losing the confidence of the country, said his colleague Jackson. “To the extent that they take away standards and take away these objective indices of performance and reliability, they’re going to decrease the value of their own degrees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Greene, the UCSC special adviser to the provost, said that grades “are terrible motivators for doing sustained and deep learning. And so if we were to shift our focus on to learning and away from grades, we would be able to tell whether we were graduating people with the skills that we say we’re graduating them with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rogoff compares this to her own hobby: dancing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I got stiffer when I thought I was being watched and evaluated for how I was dancing,” she said. “It’s that sort of performance anxiety when you think people are watching you, and especially if you think you’re probably going to be judged badly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She added: “I learned how to get past the self-judgment and the judgment of other people and just enjoy the dancing for the dancing. And I think that’s what my students experience in my class, where I’m helping them see that there is something important about what we’re learning in this class and that that’s a bigger thing” than grades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story about un-grading was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/special-reports/higher-education/\">\u003cem>The Hechinger Report\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education, in collaboration with KQED in San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003cem>Sign up for our \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://eepurl.com/c36ixT\">\u003cem>higher education newsletter\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "There’s a growing movement to stop assigning conventional A through F letter grades to first-year college students with the purpose of easing the transition to higher education — especially for those who are the first in their families to go to college or weren’t prepared for college-level work.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Joy Malak floundered through her freshman year in college.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had to learn how to balance my finances. I had to learn how to balance work and school and the relationship I’m in.” The hardest part about being a new college student, Malak said, “is not the coursework. It’s learning how to be an adult.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That took a toll on her grades. “I didn’t do well,” said Malak, who powered through and is now starting her sophomore year as a neuroscience and literature double major at the University of California, Santa Cruz, or UCSC. “It took a while for me to detangle my sense of self-worth from the grades that I was getting. It made me consider switching out of my major a handful of times.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experiences like these are among the reasons behind a growing movement to stop assigning conventional A through F letter grades to first-year college students and, sometimes, upperclassmen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Called “un-grading,” the idea is meant to ease the transition to higher education — especially for freshmen who are the first in their families to go to college or who weren’t well prepared for college-level work in high school and need more time to master it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But advocates say the most important reason to adopt un-grading is that students have become so preoccupied with grades, they aren’t actually learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Grades are not a representation of student learning, as hard as it is for us to break the mindset that if the student got an A it means they learned,” said Jody Greene, special adviser to the provost for educational equity and academic success at UCSC, where several faculty are experimenting with various forms of un-grading.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If a student already knew the material before taking the class and got that A, “they didn’t learn anything,” said Greene, who also is director of the university’s Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning. And “if the student came in and struggled to get a C-plus, they may have learned a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics respond that replacing traditional A to F grades with new forms of assessments is like a college-level version of participation trophies. They say taking away grades is coddling students and treating them like “snowflakes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“By getting rid of grades, we get rid of crucial information that parents and students use to determine what they’re getting out of the expensive educations they’re paying for,” said Bradley Jackson, vice president of policy at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the momentum behind un-grading is in response to growing concerns about student mental health. The number of college students with one or more mental health problems \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032722002774\">has doubled since 2013\u003c/a>, according to a study by researchers at Boston University and elsewhere. Teenagers said that the pressure to get good grades was \u003ca href=\"https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/02/20/most-u-s-teens-see-anxiety-and-depression-as-a-major-problem-among-their-peers/\">their biggest cause of stress\u003c/a>, a 2019 survey by the Pew Research Center found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59960\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-59960\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-05-copy-scaled-e1664778839418.jpg\" alt=\"Two UC Santa Cruz students\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joy Malak, left, changed her major as a freshman at the University of California, Santa Cruz, while balancing grades with work and school. Serena Ramirez says she is often so stressed out about her grades in class, “I can barely focus.” \u003ccite>(Ki Sung/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“A lot of the time I’m just so stressed in the class that I can barely focus,” said Serena Ramirez, a UCSC freshman. “Now you’re an adult, you’re by yourself, you’re responsible for your grades. The additional stress of grades just sort of undermines the whole learning.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was also the case for Tamara Caselin in her freshman year at UCSC. She worked 40 hours a week on top of school and ended up changing her major, which was originally business management economics. “I felt that I was way too focused on my grades, that I wasn’t focused on my personal well-being,” said Caselin, who is now a junior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59956\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-59956\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"UC Santa Cruz student\" width=\"250\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-scaled.jpg 1707w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-160x240.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-06-copy-1920x2880.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tamara Caselin worked 40 hours a week during her freshman year at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “I felt that I was way too focused on my grades, that I wasn’t focused on my personal well-being,” says Caselin, who is now a junior. \u003ccite>(Amanda Cain for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Covid-19 pandemic made things even worse. It “brought to light the stressors students have in their lives,” said Nate Turcotte, an assistant professor in the Department of Leadership, Technology and Research at Florida Gulf Coast University who is using assessments other than grades. That’s why some of the nation’s most prestigious universities switched from letter grades to “pass” or “fail” at the outset of the crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pandemic era’s wide-scale disruption also makes it a good time to consider changing long-held educational practices, said Robert Talbert, a math professor at Grand Valley State University who is co-writing a book about new ways of assessing students and has tried some in his own classes\u003cem>. \u003c/em>“Everything seems to be on the table right now. Why not throw in the grading system while we’re at it?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Responded Jackson: “To say that because we’ve been through a very difficult and trying time, we now need to give up forever into the future these objective criteria that we use in order to determine whether students are improving — that seems to me to be a tremendous overreaction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to those at UCSC, a small but growing number of faculty and some academic departments at universities and colleges nationwide are experimenting with alternative kinds of assessments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although they’re not eliminating grades, some instructors in the University of California, Davis, Department of Mathematics are letting students decide between taking verbal and written exams, for instance, and giving them a choice of how much those exams and homework count, said Tim Lewis, the department’s vice chair for undergraduate matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These efforts are meant to improve learning outcomes, as well as to be fair and advance equity, especially for new students and transfer students,” Lewis said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The developments in California follow a March report to the University of California Board of Regents’ Academic and Student Affairs Committee that \u003ca href=\"https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/mar22/a3.pdf\">traditional grading methods could perpetuate bias\u003c/a>; it encouraged schools to explore new means of assessment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several colleges and universities outside of California already practice unconventional forms of grading. At Reed College, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reed.edu/registrar/pdfs/grades-at-reed.pdf\">students aren’t shown their grades\u003c/a> so that they can “focus on learning, not on grades,” the college says. Students at New College of Florida complete contracts establishing their goals, then get written evaluations about how they’re doing. Evergreen State and Hampshire colleges forgo letter grades in favor of written evaluations. And students at Brown University have a choice among written evaluations that only they see, results of “satisfactory” or “no credit” and letter grades — A, B or C, but no D or F.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It takes stress and anxiety away and it prioritizes their mental health. But more importantly, it prioritizes their learning,” said Turcotte. “Instead of ‘What did I get?’ it’s ‘What did I learn?’ There’s a freedom to explore, a freedom to take chances without this fear of, ‘Am I going to get marked down for this?’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>MIT has what it calls “ramp-up grading” for first-year students. In their first semesters, they get only a “pass,” without a letter; if they don’t pass, no grade is recorded at all. In their second semesters, they get letter grades, but grades of D and F are not recorded on their transcripts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Starting any university is challenging to get acclimated academically to a new environment and it’s a big change for most students because for many of them it’s their first time away from home or at a new school,” said Ian Waitz, MIT’s vice chancellor for undergraduate and graduate education and a professor of aeronautics and astronautics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a desire to have that acclimation to the entire environment happen in a less abrupt way, where people have more of an opportunity to get calibrated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many proponents of un-grading say it addresses the unfairness of a system in which some students are better ready for college than others, have to balance school with work or are first generation and feel extra stress to perform well as a result of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59955\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-59955\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"UC Santa Cruz student\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-768x512.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-04-copy-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amaya Rosas, now a junior at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is the first in her family to go to college. “That’s a lot of pressure, and I hear a lot, like, ‘How are your grades?’ ” she says. \u003ccite>(Amanda Cain for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“That’s a lot of pressure, and I hear a lot, like, ‘How are your grades?’” said Amaya Rosas, who also attends UCSC and is the first in her family to go to college. She said she feels as if “I need to get good grades because I don’t want to let everybody else down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Greene said students who come from lower-income families are the most vulnerable to anxiety from grades. “Let’s say they get a slightly failing grade on the first quiz. They are not likely to go and seek help. They’re likely to try and disappear.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some drop out altogether. “One of the things that they say again and again — it’s kind of heartbreaking — they say, ‘I wasn’t satisfied with my academic performance,’ ” Greene said. “You know, they’re not saying, ‘I hated the school’ or ‘My teachers were terrible.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What grades often actually show, said Turcotte, “is if someone is food insecure or comes from a home without the support that other individuals have. There are a lot of educators out there and parents and people involved in education who are wondering how can we better help our students while also recognizing the complexities of their lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students who work while in school are also “less likely to do the extra work to get things done perfectly, or they may have had to take an extra shift at work or they don’t have transportation so they’re late for class,” said Susan Blum, a professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame and the editor of “Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead).” By comparison, she said, higher-income classmates “had Ph.D. historians teaching them in their fancy high schools.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59957\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-59957\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"UC Santa Cruz student\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-768x512.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-07-copy-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">During her first year in college, Olivia Disabatino says she “felt like a deer in the headlights.” Disabatino is now a junior at the University of California, Santa Cruz. \u003ccite>(Amanda Cain for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When she was a freshman, Olivia Disabatino “saw that I didn’t necessarily have all the resources that other students had when it came to just being prepared for college.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Disabatino, now a UCSC junior double-majoring in psychology and anthropology and also the first in her low-income family to go to college, said: “I kind of felt like a deer in the headlights.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of that is conducive to learning, said Joshua Eyler, director of faculty development at the University of Mississippi, who is also working on a book about grades, called “Scarlet Letters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Grades inhibit students’ creativity and their desire to take intellectual risks,” said Eyler.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, they’ve become “a magnet for student anxiety,” said Adam Light, an assistant professor of physics at Colorado College. “ ‘I only got a 93? Why didn’t I get a 94?’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Light enters into contracts with his students about what tasks need to be learned. “ ‘Here are the things I think are important for you to get out of this class,’ ” he tells them. “And I ask, ‘What are your goals for this class?’ And we come up with consensus. Students know exactly what has to get checked off to get a better grade.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UCSC, which was opened as an experimental progressive campus built among a dense forest of redwoods, bay laurels and California oaks, previously let students choose whether or not to get letter grades. As the public university grew, it made grades mandatory in 2000. But some of its faculty have continued to promote un-grading.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of grades, for instance, psychology professor Barbara Rogoff’s students get narrative evaluations that assess their work as, among other things, “impressive,” “extremely well developed” or “uneven.” Only at the end of the quarter does she assign required letter grades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_59953\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-59953\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Professor Barbara Rogoff\" width=\"250\" height=\"313\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-800x1000.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-1020x1275.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-160x200.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-768x960.jpg 768w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-1638x2048.jpg 1638w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2022/10/marcus-ungrading-01-copy-1920x2400.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barbara Rogoff, a psychology professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, gives narrative evaluations instead of grades. Students’ work is assessed as, among other things, “impressive,” “extremely well developed” or “uneven.” \u003ccite>(Amanda Cain for The Hechinger Report)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I can say, ‘This student did really well in their contributions to the class, but they struggled with their writing.’ If it’s a grade, you have to average those two,” said Rogoff, who specializes in cultural variations in learning. “It makes the teachers, the professors, look at themselves more as guides rather than evaluators.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for the students, they learn better if they’re not focused on grades, she said. Grades “make students concerned about how they look rather than dealing with the material.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s to say nothing of students who can game the system, said Talbert, at Grand Valley State. “When you see a grade on an assignment or report card, it tends not to convey a lot of information about what a student actually has learned. The grade itself has turned into the target. Learning is just a vehicle by which to earn a grade.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while he likes the idea of un-grading, Talbert’s own experience has made him question whether it’s necessarily a solution to inequity. Since the students in the algebra class in which he tried it were required to evaluate their own performance, he said, “What I found is that un-grading as a system is exactly as good as my students’ ability to self-assess. Those from more privileged backgrounds feel more competent to self-reflect, whereas other students struggle with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other realities also make it hard to change the longstanding tradition of letter grades. It’s how faculty themselves were largely judged as they went through college. Parents, high schools and university admissions offices put a premium on grade-point averages — an even greater one as many institutions make the SAT and ACT optional. Even car insurance companies give “good-grades discounts” to student-age drivers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s built into the system,” Rogoff said. “These are big forces that are working against getting rid of grades.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But grades may not be the real problem, said Michael Poliakoff, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. He pointed out that only 25 percent of high school students who took the ACT test last year \u003ca href=\"https://leadershipblog.act.org/2021/10/2021-ACT-Achievement-Data.html\">met all four college-readiness benchmarks\u003c/a>, which gauge the likelihood that they’ll succeed in first-year college courses; 38 percent met none. The composite score was the lowest in more than a decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By getting rid of grades, “I really fear that we’re shooting the messenger because we don’t like what we’re hearing,” Poliakoff said. It’s just setting up students “to slam into the wall, ultimately,” and end up with a “ticket-to-nowhere diploma that doesn’t represent the mastery of skills that will equip the person for success.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colleges and universities are already losing the confidence of the country, said his colleague Jackson. “To the extent that they take away standards and take away these objective indices of performance and reliability, they’re going to decrease the value of their own degrees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Greene, the UCSC special adviser to the provost, said that grades “are terrible motivators for doing sustained and deep learning. And so if we were to shift our focus on to learning and away from grades, we would be able to tell whether we were graduating people with the skills that we say we’re graduating them with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rogoff compares this to her own hobby: dancing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I got stiffer when I thought I was being watched and evaluated for how I was dancing,” she said. “It’s that sort of performance anxiety when you think people are watching you, and especially if you think you’re probably going to be judged badly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She added: “I learned how to get past the self-judgment and the judgment of other people and just enjoy the dancing for the dancing. And I think that’s what my students experience in my class, where I’m helping them see that there is something important about what we’re learning in this class and that that’s a bigger thing” than grades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story about un-grading was produced by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://hechingerreport.org/special-reports/higher-education/\">\u003cem>The Hechinger Report\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education, in collaboration with KQED in San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003cem>Sign up for our \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://eepurl.com/c36ixT\">\u003cem>higher education newsletter\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
"airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"id": "here-and-now",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
"subscribe": {
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
}
},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
"imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
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},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown",
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