Source: EdSource

As school communities embrace distance learning, districts are now trying to figure out how to fairly grade students for the rest of the semester while their campuses are closed and they get instruction online.

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Education Trust-West, an Oakland-based advocacy organization, has called on all districts to move towards a pass/fail system in order to minimize the impact that the closures could have on students’ academic careers. The San Francisco proposal is “one way to do it,” Executive Director Elisha Smith Arrellaga said via email.

The organization conducted a survey of parents statewide and found that disproportionate numbers of low-income, Latino and African American families lack the technology needed for remote learning. Rather than worsen those disparities, districts should focus on making sure all students have the materials they need to continue learning at home, Arrillaga said.

“We should all be looking towards how to reduce the slide in student learning and provide resources to students who are the most in need now, through the summer and for the next school year,” Smith Arrillaga said.