Joe Feldman

Joe Feldman is an education consultant, author, and founder of Crescendo Education Group, where he leads the Equitable Grading Project and works with K–12 schools, districts, and colleges to develop grading and assessment practices that are more accurate, bias-resistant, and motivating. He has worked in education for over two decades as a teacher, principal, and district administrator, beginning his career as a high school English and American history teacher in Atlanta Public Schools and later serving as the founding principal of a charter high school in Washington, D.C. Feldman has held roles including Director of Charter Schools for the New York City Department of Education, Director of K–12 Instruction in Union City, California, and Fellow to the Chief of Staff for U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley.

Feldman is the author of Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms (first published in 2018, with a second edition released in 2023), as well as Teaching Without Bells: What We Can Learn from Powerful Practice in Small Schools. His writings on grading, assessment, and equity have appeared in outlets such as Education Week, Kappan, Educational Leadership, District Administrator, and Black Press USA. He holds a