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San Francisco’s Shocking New School Plan Angers Even Liberal Parents

May 28, 2025

San Francisco’s Shocking New School Plan Angers Even Liberal Parents

Parents from all sides of politics are outraged following San Francisco’s school district announcement of a new scheme that involves reducing passing grades.

Superintendent of Schools Maria Su introduced the new ‘Grading for Equity’ initiative last evening. This plan eliminates homework and weekly tests, and permits students to pass with a minimum score of just 41, reducing the previous passing threshold of 61.

This follows arguments made by left-wing activists who claim that homework and testing unfairly impact students from lower-income families, thereby creating an unlevel playing field.

However, even those who lean liberal opposed the updated policy. Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from Silicon Valley with strong progressive beliefs, criticized the decision on X: “My father, an immigrant, questioned me about the missing 10% when I got a score of 90. He moved to America seeking opportunities to work diligently and strive for greatness.”

‘Achieving an A grade with only 80% effort and eliminating homework doesn’t equate to fairness — it undermines the American Dream and disregards each parent’s aspiration for their children to excel.’

According to
The Voice of San Francisco
The plan is scheduled to commence sometime this autumn.

Despite impacting over 10,000 students across 14 high schools, Su managed to implement the policy without it going up for a public vote.

The report indicated that the updated plan will basically remove homework and weekly tests from contributing to a student’s final semester score.

A pupil’s score will depend only on their end-of-term test, which they have the option to sit for several times.

Students may submit assignments tardily or skip classes altogether without impacting their final grades.

The current standards indicate that a student must achieve a score of 90 to obtain an A grade and secure at least a 61 to get a D grade.

The modifications imply that a score as low as 80 will now be considered an A grade, whereas a mark of 21 will equate to a D grade.

Democrat Garry Tan, a venture capitalist, also criticized the action vehemently. He stated, “The San Francisco schools are doing everything they can to ensure that all middle-income families who have the option to leave the city will do so as quickly as possible.”

‘”Grading for Equity” might turn out to be quite problematic, and perhaps this will benefit San Francisco’s private institutions and drive up property values in Burlingame.’

‘For education administrators who undermine our public schools with unjust and non-merit-based policies: BUSINESS IS THRIVING.’

‘An investigation into the Schools of Education responsible for these policies is necessary since they pose a significant threat to public schools across the board.’

Entrepreneur Chamath Palihapitiya commented: “On the surface, this is completely absurd. It’s also shameful that such an issue arises from what should be the leading technology hub globally.”

‘Nonetheless, this will significantly benefit property values in regions around SF.’

As reported by the source, the region reached out to Joe Feldman, who was instrumental in introducing a comparable approach in Placer County back in 2019.

In a 2019 piece published by the School Superintendents Association, Feldman stated: “The proportion of students getting Ds and Fs dropped—and this decline was even steeper among students of color and those with special educational requirements.”

The grade inflation, quantified by the frequency of A grades awarded, declined, with a sharper decrease observed particularly within the more advantaged student groups.

The accuracy of students’ grades increased rather than simply improving. Better grading methods notably narrowed the gap between students’ grades and their performance on standard tests covering the same material. This improvement was particularly pronounced and probable among students eligible for free or reduced-cost lunches.

‘Both students and educators noted calmer classroom environments along with more robust bonds between teachers and pupils.’

The Voice stated that the updated system will follow a model used in the San Leandro Unified School District.

In that particular school district, students can obtain an A grade with a score of 80 percent, and they can pass with a D at just 21 percent.

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