The recession has impacted American families and the schools their children attend like nothing in recent memory. Many families continue to struggle with the impact of joblessness. The number of homeless children and youth is staggering. Families struggle with access to health care, growing hunger and greater instability in the family unit.…

Little research is available specifically about grading practices in mathematics classrooms. However, there is research about grading practices in high schools, across content areas. Since their first use students, parents and others have assumed that grades are reliable measures of student achievement. "In short, most Americans have a basic trust…