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School districts across the country spent more than $9 million on equity consultants since 2014, with California as the biggest offender, according to a new report.
A total of 39 school districts across seven states spent $9,028,000 on consultants for equitable grading in the past 11 years, according to a new report from Defending Education.
Equitable grading is “a popular grading framework that seeks to address ‘inequities’ and ‘bias’ in education,” Defending Education said.
“It is rooted in the belief that all inequitable outcomes are the result of implicit and systemic bias (for example, white supremacy) and creates barriers to success for minority and low-income students,” the group said.
California was responsible for the bulk of the spending — the Golden State shelled out a total of $7,733,000 for consultants that included equitable grading guidance.
One California district alone spent more than $4 million.
Modesto City Schools paid Creative Leadership Solutions and California Education Partners $4,297,000 since 2022 for professional development that included equitable grading practices, according to the report.
Of Modesto’s spending, about $3,937,000 came from federal funds, Defending Education’s report said.
The report counted $4,561,000 in total federal funds spent on equitable grading consultants.
One firm, Crescendo Education Group, consulted for at least 26 California school districts, including Los Angeles, as well as districts in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Mexico.
“There are serious concerns about consistency in K–12 grading practices — and unfortunately, equitable grading is the latest feel-good education fad to gain traction,” Rhyen Staley, Researcher for Defending Education said in a statement to The Daily Wire.
“This grading philosophy reflects far-left ideological biases while discriminating against merit-based behaviors that are proven to lead to success. Discouraging hard work and meritocracy harms all students — but it’s especially damaging to the lowest performers,” Staley said.
Liberal public school advocates often argue that school districts are underfunded, especially those in urban areas. However, the report shows that large school districts in blue cities paid big money for equitable grading consulting,
New Mexico was the second-biggest spender in the report, with Albuquerque Public Schools spending nearly $600,000 on consulting that included equitable grading.
Chicago Public Schools spent just under $180,000, and Boston Public Schools spent more than $102,000.
Other major school districts that forked over consulting fees included Connecticut’s New Haven Public Schools and Ohio’s Springfield City School District.
While school districts have been spending taxpayer dollars on how to make their grading practices more “equitable,” American children’s grades have sloped downward in recent years.
Reading and math scores plummeted during the COVID pandemic. Parents and teachers hoped kids would learn more quickly to catch up after remote learning ended, but those hopes have not been realized.
As of last year, four years after the pandemic hit, students continued to decline in reading and made little improvement in math, according to the national exam known as the Nation’s Report Card.
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