In many urban districts, the issue of grading practices continues to be a point of contention. My question is very simple: Is an A or B weighted the same in suburban districts? 

St. Louis conducted a local exchange between a Caucasian student from the suburbs (college-prep) and one of our African-American students from an inner-city comprehensive high school. Each student attended the other’s school for one semester- both AP students, at the top of their classes. Interestingly enough, the Caucasian student exceeded the AP teachers’ expectations in all academic areas, whereas the African-American student attending the suburban school’s AP classes scored significantly lower --- receiving nothing more than a C or D on all course assessments.

How is it that two AP students, racially different, one from the suburbs, the other from the inner-city, are receiving such disparate grades when they trade school environments? They are enrolled in the same AP classes; their teachers have received the same training through the state of Missouri, and yet the African American student receives poor grades in the suburban AP class only to return to his “home” urban district and continue to excel.  Does this beg the question: Are our teachers receiving adequate  cultural training to address the needs of all students?  As educators, are we being unfair to the students? Are we so ashamed of our internal beliefs that we are misguidedly dumbing down our expectations of “them?”  Either way, it seems to me that by not stepping up and addressing these often-masked issues, we are failing in our true mission --- to provide a quality, fair educational system for all students.

Paula Knight is Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction K-12, for the St. Louis Public Schools.

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