Rethinking Zeros in the Grade Book

What’s your take on eliminating zeros from the grade book? Does your school have a no-zeros grading policy? Even if it doesn’t, you probably have opinions about it. 

Setting 50% as the minimum grading threshold is a well-meaning effort to more accurately assess student learning, but it can also create new—and frustrating—challenges for teachers and students.

In this episode of School of Practice, teacher and instructional coach Tyler Rablin explores the tradeoffs of eliminating zeros from the grade book. We’ll hear from teachers in our community with firsthand experience navigating the policy, and discuss exceptional strategies for building motivation and accountability without relying on numerical penalties.

Related resources:

• Learn more about this episode
• Getting Rid of Zeros Won’t Fix the Grade Book
• Template: Tyler Rablin’s Late Work Contract
• Do No-Zero Policies Help or Hurt Students?
• Why the 100-Point Grading Scale is a Stacked Deck
• The Case Against Zeros in Grading
• How to Help Students Focus on What They’re Learning, Not the Grade
• Why Teachers Should Grade Less Frequently
• Research: “Equitable” Grading Through the Eyes of Teachers
• Research: Can We Trust the Transcript? Recognizing Student Potential Through More Accurate Grading