Grading Principles in Pandemic-Era Learning: Recommendations and Implications for Secondary School Leaders

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in K-12 education, school leaders quickly pivoted from prioritizing continuous instruction and technology access to the output: grades. In response to these unprecedented times, secondary schools utilized “do no harm” grading methods, such as freezing previous grades and replacing letter grades with pass-fail. The purpose of this essay is to describe grading principles that secondary school leaders should consider during future pandemic era learning and to suggest implications based upon previous literature.