The education system in the United States has stopped grading students and instead uses a pass or fail system.
Posted by REAL AF with Andy Frisella, Checked
- Sources
- 3 contradict3 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 75%
REAL AF with Andy FrisellaOct 28, 2026
The claim that the US education system has stopped grading students and uses pass/fail instead is contradicted by the sources. Pass/fail arrangements were a temporary pandemic-era measure in some districts in 2020, most districts reverted to standard grading, and 2026 sources describe ongoing grading policy debates rather than a system-wide switch.
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What was said
… Doesn't make any sense. Yeah, well, and then you look at Z, you look at the education system here for the last 30 fucking years. you don't have to win to get a trophy, okay? Trophies are bad, actually, right? Like, everybody gets a trophy, okay? Um, we no longer grade you, we just pass or fail you. Ah, the courses were too hard, so we're gonna make them easier for you, okay? So what better way to develop a populace of people who are completely dependent on a government than to create a system that produces an entire populace of people that can't take …
REAL AF with Andy Frisella · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. A 2026 Fordham report says about half of K-12 teachers report their school or district has adopted an 'equitable' grading policy, which presupposes that grading is still happening nationally.[2]
Contradicts. A 2026 primary-source review states the U.S. Department of Education reports there is no nationally mandated grading system, and that the major national trend is standards-based grading, not pass/fail.[3]
Contradicts. A 2020 EdWeek report says that when school resumed in fall 2020, most districts reverted from pandemic pass/fail arrangements to their old grading systems.[4]
Supports. In spring 2020, many districts did adopt pass/fail or no-harm grading during pandemic remote learning, and some districts moved to pass/fail for the rest of the school year.[1][5][6]
Context. A 2025 review notes that efforts to adopt universal pass/fail during the pandemic met considerable pushback and that grading has persisted across eras, so pass/fail has not replaced grading nationally.[7]
Sources
7 sources: 1 fact-checker, 2 primary, 3 not rated, 1 tier 2
- 1Virus forced schools online, but many students didn't follow | AP Newsapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2[PDF] About Fordham - ERICfiles.eric.ed.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 3GRADING POLICIES IN EDUCATION - Publishingdigital.lib.washington.edu · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 4Should Schools Be Giving So Many Failing Grades This Year?edweek.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5Pass-Fail Raises the Question: What's the Point of Grades?nytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 6Schools skip A-F grades during coronavirus disruption, make ...cleveland.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7Grading Policieslivehandbook.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post