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More than a GPA: Inside the movement to end letter grades in Jewish education

JL;DR SUMMARY Oakland Hebrew Day School, along with a growing number of Jewish schools, is replacing traditional grading systems with narrative feedback focusing on student growth. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish EducationJewish IdentityJudaic StudiesJewish Education Innovation ChallengeIntrinsic MotivationCollege AdmissionsGrading SystemsCompetency Based LearningStudent GrowthOakland Hebrew Day School

Places mentioned

Oakland, California, United States
"Oakland Hebrew Day school is part of a small but growing educational movement to abandon traditional letter or number grades."
Brooklyn, New York, United States
"At Luria Academy in Brooklyn, a Montessori-based Jewish day school that serves kids from pre-K through 8th grade, teachers write narratives about students progress over the semester."
Trenton, New Jersey, United States
"Stuart Nachbar, a Trenton, New Jersey-based college admissions adviser."

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Cairo Item ID 83412
Cairo Source ID 42
Retrieved 2026-05-27 05:30:51 UTC
Curated 2026-05-27 08:31:04 UTC