This episode is the continuation of my conversation with college educators Maha Bali, Jesse Stommel, and Asao B. Inoue about the impact and implications of COVID-19 on college education.

Arthur Chiaravalli interviews Maha Bali, Jesse Stommel, and Asao B. Inoue on COVID-19 implications for the future of college and how we can put access and equity at the center of plans to resume.

Sheldon L. Eakins, Ph.D. is the founder of the Leading Equity Center and host of the Leading Equity Podcast. With over 11 years in education, he has served as a teacher, principal, and Director of Special Education. Dr. Eakins has a passion for helping educators accomplish equitable practices in their schools.

Sheldon L. Eakins, Ph.D. is the founder of the Leading Equity Center and host of the Leading Equity Podcast. With over 11 years in education, he has served as a teacher, principal, and Director of Special Education. Dr. Eakins has a passion for helping educators accomplish equitable practices in their schools.

This episode explores "Do No Harm" grading as a response to distance learning in the midst of COVID-19. Educators across the country are experiencing first hand how online distance learning exacerbates inequities in education. Students are struggling with more than access to proper technology and internet connectivity. There are inequities in supports, environments, and time constraints.

Seemingly overnight, K-12 education shifted from a system of compliance and conformity to an online enterprise, one that has the potential for authentic academic enrichment.

Joe Feldman is the author of Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms (Corwin). Joe has worked in education as a teacher, principal, district administrator, and is now founder of Crescendo Education Group, which since 2013 has supported schools in adopting assessment, grading, and reporting practices that improve equity outcomes in schools.

Nate Bowling an AP social studies teacher and emigrant to the United Arab Emirates. In his teaching, writing, and advocacy, Nate challenges the politics and policies that impact his students, his classroom, and society at large.

If we want teachers to focus less on grades and more on feedback and growth, don’t we as administrators need to do the same?

Summative conferencing allows all students to show growth and learning without having to fit a mold or set timetable.

Empowering our students isn’t easy and doesn’t happen overnight. It requires the teacher to clarify their beliefs that students are capable of much more than they’ve traditionally been expected to do. It requires “front-loading” expectations and providing students with permission to make mistakes and take risks in the classroom.

Although summative exams may be relatively infrequent, they have had an outsized impact on the quality of formative assessment, often all but eliminating their beneficial effects.