Jan. 27, 2006

A Different Take on Classroom ‘Fairness’

When David Horowitz talks about fair treatment of students in the classroom, perceived political bias is front and center. But put a bunch of professors together to discuss that subject, and grading tops the list.

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At a session entitled “Perceptions of Fairness in the College Classroom,” at the annual meeting of the Association of American Colleges and Universities in Washington Thursday, faculty members pondered the student who works his or her tail off, but never quite edges out some talented peers who rarely study but ace the test nonetheless.

When that hard working student gets an 89.3 percent, and 90 is an “A,” wouldn’t it be fair to just give him or her a nudge over the bar?

No way, according to Nyenty Arrey, assistant professor of chemistry at Capital University, in Ohio. Arrey was one of the faculty members talking justice at the “Perceptions of Fairness in the College Classroom” session of the annual meeting of the Association of American Colleges and Universities in Washington Thursday. “I grade by the key,” Arrey said, referring to a strict scoring system he set up. Faculty members at the session commonly cited grading, to no one’s surprise, as the prime contributor to feelings of injustice among students.

The remedy, according to many of the faculty members present, is to lay down the law early in the class. Arrey said he lays out a detailed rubric on his syllabus, and directs students to it. “You need that,” he said. “If it’s not clear, students will use that against you.”

Kim Kenville, assistant professor of aviation at the University of North Dakota, didn’t completely agree. “See, that’s just insane,” she said. “There has to be some flexibility.”

Trent Snider, a chemistry professor at King’s College, in Pennsylvania, questioned whether giving hard working students a little boost — or the occasional rounded-up grade – is so bad. “I would rather have that student that works nine hours and gets a C+ than one who works one hour and gets a B+,” he said. “Do those students really deserve to be graded the same?”

Even so, Snider said that, when setting up his syllabus, he errs on the side of making his grading policies look more difficult than they might end up being. “If you’re [really tough] on your syllabus, if you back down, nobody will complain,” he said. “But you don’t want to go the other way.”

David Kravitz, associate professor of management at George Mason University, said that the effects of feeling unfairly treated have been documented in studies of workers. “Their performance goes down, and they are more likely to leave [their jobs],” he said, adding that there is no real data on how feelings of injustice affect students. “I think it’s reasonable to think that the same principles carry over to the classroom.”

In Array’s opinion, no professor should alter the grading rubric to impose their own sense of justice. “The students won’t be equal [in life after college] either,” he said. “Plus, it’s not how many hours you spent with your book open, it’s what you got out of it.”

Kenville said that she encounters a bump in the fairness road whenever she assigns a group project. “When one student in a group isn’t doing anything, do they all deserve the same grade?” she asked. In an effort to remedy the problem, Kenville is borrowing a teaching lesson from The Donald. She developed a system that will allow students to vote members of their project groups out of the group if they don’t pull their weight. She has not used it yet, but said that she will for the next group project.

Kenville also asked her colleagues how to deal with a student who she thinks has a learning disability, “but obviously doesn’t want it documented,” she said.

Mark Sheppard, vice president for academic affairs at Shepherd University, in West Virginia, said that if a student “doesn’t want it documented,” then, as far as the institutions is concerned, “they don’t have it.”

Of course, what conversation about classroom fairness would be complete without a bit about Horowitz’s Academic Bill of Rights? Kravitz said that, obviously, the political leanings of a professor should not color their grading. “The question, in some ways,” Kravitz said, “is can professors have an opinion.” He said that, in a chemistry class, perhaps, political opinions could rightly be called irrelevant, but “not in a sociology class. Whatever the case, it’s important to let everyone know they’re welcome in the conversation.”

Apparently, faculty members have feelings too, and some of them turned the conversation about unfairness away from students feelings, and toward their own. A few faculty members bemoaned “entitlement culture” among students. A collective groan overtook the room when one faculty member described a student who, rather than complaining to her face, “caught up with the president in the dining hall.”

— David Epstein

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Comments

marginal value

How hard a student works is impossible for an instructor to know. All the instructor has to go on is a student’s self-reporting.

To reward a vociferous whiner with an inflated grade is an injustice both to that student and to those who study diligently and quietly. Such talents are appropriate to a life as an employee, but much less so to a life as an entrepreneur, consultant, or scientist.

In the real world, how hard one works is of much less importance than the value of one’s output. If hard work were the goal, we could all spend our weekends pushing against a wall and become millionaires.

Only the value of one’s output matters in the real world. Grade inflation is like giving bonuses to unproductive employees, who spend long hours in the office accomplishing little.

Chydenius, Senior Fellow at Free Curricula Center, at 7:42 am EST on January 27, 2006

Marginal Cost

As a follow-up to my “Marginal Value” above, what is the expected cost of grade inflation to the instructor? If one protects the fragile self-esteem of a member of the Entitlement Generation by awarding a grade higher than what was really earned, one avoids arguments, grievance filings, calls from the dean, and libelous rants on RateMyProf.com.

Giving in to the urge to call an 88.7 an A gives one more time to focus on research.

We hate it, but we do it, because it makes the day go that much easier.

Chydenius, Senior Fellow at Free Curricula Center, at 7:55 am EST on January 27, 2006

grading is a political process.

Ironically, the professors that usually prattle on about how “strict” they are about grades are the first ones to bump up grades based on personal perceptions – that is, who they like. And in large schools where there are TAs, how can be professors be so sure that the TA isn’t somehow helping the cute girl that pretends to be interested in something. (Let’s face it, most girls are not that interested in science for its own sake.)

As much as we don’t want to admit it, grading is a political process. Sure we dress it up with legalisms, but when it comes down to it, kids without the social skills to convince people that they are smart are going to get lower grades than kids with such social skills. I would urge all parents, before sending their kids off to school, to make sure that their kids can schmooze with professors (in a way that the professor doesn’t know that they are being schmoozed.) It will make the difference between a 1st-tier law school and a 4th tier, and the difference between being a doctor or secretary.

Larry, at 8:11 am EST on January 27, 2006

critical thinking and creativity

While the discussion of rubrics and grading schemes is good and such are necessary, grading many assignments is not a matter of simply counting up the wrong answers and subtracting. Papers in English or History, art projects, assignments in media classes all require a measure of judgment on the part of the grader. At the end of the semester many instructors wonder as they consider the students on the bubble, was there something I didn’t see as I graded that earlier assignment or what about improvment over the course of the semester.

The seeming assumption in the article is that grading is simply a measure of performace at particular times and any relationship between those exercises is not relevant. Grading is and probably should be a difficult proposition for all involved.

Kurt L, at 9:11 am EST on January 27, 2006

Wow, Larry — “Let’s face it, most girls are not that interested in science for its own sake". That’s so true. Neither are blacks or Jews.

JMF, at 9:11 am EST on January 27, 2006

Girls and Grading

Larry:

Just curious: on what do you base your assertion that, “Let’s face it, most girls are not that interested in science for its own sake"?

You also grossly underestimate the basic social intelligence of most college faculty, who recognize readily when students are schmoozing them, and react not by handing them underserved As, but merely by thinking less of their integrity. Grade inflation is a problem, certainly, but not because professors are gullible to the point of being fooled by moderately intelligent nineteen year olds with more arrogance than shame.

JC, at 9:45 am EST on January 27, 2006

Where is this “real world"?

Those who argue that the “real world” is somehow more objectively fair, or that reward is based on “production,” apparently haven’t spent much time in the real world. Social and political bias are as prevalent in corporate America, in government jobs, in arts & entertainment, and in most other professional sectors as they are in school. A person’s social savvy, attractiveness, perceived intelligence or effort, self-proclaimed enthusiasm, or “connections” play as much, if not more, of a part in their success as actual intelligence, competence, and production. These are skills that our culture promotes and rewards from a very early age, so it shouldn’t be surprising that college students make use of every tool at their disposal to succeed or that professors are sometimes influenced by those efforts.

The goal of grading is to offer both the students and the professors a framework through which to focus their efforts to either learn and succeed, or teach and evaluate. But that’s all it is: a framework. Within that “objective” structure lies a whole range of subjective perceptions and manipulations, and no amount of quantifying or regulating will do away with that element. Rather, teachers need to become more adept at recognizing, responding to, and correcting their own subjective biases. Students need to start valuing their actual learning and development over the superficial signs of success (i.e. a grade; this is NOT corporate America, it’s a learning environment, and should function as such). But that requires some actual thought and introspection, rather than increasingly narrow and formulaic criteria or grading scales. A number will never offer an adequate measure of performance in anything but the most quantitative of disciplines (and maybe not even there). So I’ll reserve the right to boost an 89.3 to an “A” if I feel that the student has demonstrated a strong grasp of the concepts and skills, regardless of their slightly deficient performance (or vice versa in the case of grades that are “rounded down").

Earl Grey, at 11:20 am EST on January 27, 2006

Keep propping up that metabolically challenged horse

Yet another article showing that many vexing problems with academia stem from the pernicious and almost entirely unquestioned practice of assigning grades.

People are not atoms. The amount a student learns is not quantized, with only specific levels correlating precisely to half-point GPA increments.

Grades impose precisely this phony quantized superstructure, creating a false sense of order and scientific-seeming validity over what is, in reality, a chaotic process full of paradoxes and surprises. Some of the “best” students retain nothing and, expert people-pleasers that they are, never use what they “learned” beyond the examination or final paper. Some of the (apparently) least capable students are the ones who, having struggled to understand, show evidence of persistent learning and application in subsequent courses and in their lives outside of the classroom.

The central problem of adulthood is attaining self-knowledge, and then using one’s self-knowledge to optimally apply one’s gifts and interests to solving problems—finding fulfilling work, learning how to learn, making a contribution to one’s community and society.

Nothing is quite so effective at destroying the developing adult’s skill at attaining self-knowledge as the practice of assigning letter grades. Thus, grading undermines students for life. It denies them the opportunity to do what they need to do most: building their own capacity for self-knowledge and understanding.

First, grading shifts the locus of assessment from the student to the external assessor; rather than building the students’ capacity for self-knowledge, this crucial skill is either atrophied or, usually, becomes quite perverted by the intense focus on gaming the assessment—learning how to schmooze.

Second, the professor—the one who professes, the one who teaches—cannot ethically assess his or her own students’ learning in the same term. Not only is the professor, essentially, grading his or her own work (what is a “D” or “F” but an implicit assertion that “I taught well, but this student did not learn well.") Further, grading “learning” during the term is non-sensical because if there is one thing that is clear it is that no one values what students do during the term; it’s what remains with them long after the term is over that matters.

JMG, at 11:20 am EST on January 27, 2006

Grade Inflation

http://www.ent.ohiou.edu/~manhire/grade/grades.html

Brian Manhire, at 11:25 am EST on January 27, 2006

As to girls: in my experience, most women think that “science is hard” or they want to get through biology classes so they can declare themselves to be “pre-med.” There are, indeed, some women that like science for its own sake, because of a lot of social factors, many don’t like it or just want to get an A and get on with their lives.

JMF, While stereotypes are generally politically incorrect, the sciences have not been dominated by black people in the same way that they have by Asians and Jewish men. (Black people seem to dominate college sports, however. I hope this isn’t based on a stereotype, and I hope that people will nevertheless bet on basketball teams made up completely of Jewish and Asian men.)

Kurt, For better or worse the same crap goes on in the sciences as it does in the humanities. Social skills will raise a grade.

While some claim that some subjects are “subjective” they seem to not like the idea of double-blind grading by multiple graders. Professors don’t seem to like the idea of not being able to give high grades to their favorites. So they resist this idea.

Anyway, folks, no matter how smart you think your kid is, just make sure that he can talk to the professors and convince them that they worked really hard and should get a grade, based on “subjective” criteria that is higher than they should. Otherwise they will have a low GPA.

Larry, at 11:40 am EST on January 27, 2006

I use the phrasing “performance measurement” instead of “grades” on my course syllabi. Included as well, is a matrix for the measurement of performance. I further inform students that their final grade is not what I give but what they make.

Some have disputed their grades, especially when they fell within that “bump up range,” but agreed with me in the end, that performance measurement comprised of intervals throughout the course, that I provide course summary measurement feedback continuously upon the completion of each milepost metric (tests and papers)and consequently, students drive their final destiny.

As for the learning disabled, aren’t we all? What about the cerebrally gifted who receive penalties for lack of participation or attendance because they do not tolerate boredom?

When performance measurement is standard across the board, it does not matter whether the student is a slow learner or fast burner. Performance measurement has qualitative and quantitative elements and underscores a systems thinking approach, which I would hope is also the bottom line because its root cause is integrity!

JW HUSSAR, Business Professor, at 1:01 pm EST on January 27, 2006

Larry, it appears that you’ve met some pre-meds. Good for you- but if you’ve paid attention, you’ll note that the lack of interest in science for it’s own sake is not limited to female students. Without regard to gender, most undergraduates (pre-meds in particular) in lower level science classes just want to collect their grades and move on. As we move up the ladder, the preponderance of female Ph.D. students and Postdocs in the biological sciences shows your comment to be absurd— a product, I hope, of your legendarily provocative sense of humor.

Hard-working students are not so hard to spot, nor are brown-nosers and whiners. The ability to identify each is one of the first skills a teacher picks up.

The trouble with grading is, as noted, that grades can not always perfectly represent achievement. A student who spends many hours studying will often gain a deeper understanding of the material than a gifted slacker. It’s fun to watch in the upper division classes, too, when the gifted slackers hit a wall, facing for the first time the prospect of material that is beyond their immediate comprehension, while the somewhat more limited students continue move steadily ahead, with the same determination and labor that they learned in the intro series.

Not to say that every schlub deserves and “A", but a tendency to reward hard work (when it is reasonably productive) seems to be one of the least horrible biases an instructor could bring into the classroom.

dan, at 1:55 pm EST on January 27, 2006

This “hard word” that professors like to reward is really just the ability of the student to convince people that they have been working hard. It is a talent that some have mastered. If a student can’t sell it, then he will get a lower grade. (Likewise, if a student is modest, he is screwed.)

But, it isn’t the only little lie that we tell. I am not above insinuating that I actually voted (and voted for certain favored candidates) to attract clients.

Larry, at 2:10 pm EST on January 27, 2006

Work

Well, I don’t see a problem with bumping up a grade in light of observations such as class participation and the like. The problem comes when gross adjustments are made on the basis of percieved effort. Problems occur in that many people who appear lazy in class work quite hard outside it — I don’t think enough professors and instructors of all types acknowlage that such a possibility even exists. Likewise with those who fake effort or cite false personal issues.

The other issue is the sense that people are to be rewarded for a factor other than performance. Indeed, performance can have some subjective measures, but we should seek to minimize them, rather than become apologists for them. Some people will, frankly, work very hard and simply not be able to do as well — and getting an “A for effort” should not turn into getting an “A” instead of a “C” on your transcript. Doing so allows the underqualified to go further than they may be capable of going on their own merits and risks putting them in over their heads.

Kevin, Undergraduate, at 3:21 pm EST on January 27, 2006

Performance Grade

I like the use of “performance measurement” in a previous comment. The phrase could be defined to include an analysis of the student’s mastery of the materials studied (in or out of class), effort in the classroom, and willingness to engage their peers and professors about the issues discussed in class. In this way capacity, potential, and willingness—the traits of a learner—are all evaluated.

Ro, at 3:55 pm EST on January 27, 2006

ruined

“Nothing is quite so effective at destroying the developing adult’s skill at attaining self-knowledge as the practice of assigning letter grades. Thus, grading undermines students for life.” —————————————————————I hated the whole process of grading—but this has to rank as the week’s champion “Over-the-Top” declaration.

normalvision, Prof. of English (ret.), at 11:45 pm EST on January 27, 2006

Grading Attitudes by Academic Discpiline

I wonder whether the attitude towards “objective” vs, “subjective” grading differs by the prof’s academic discipline?

For example, within the b-school environs, the finance and accounting profs are much more inclined to have hard cutoffs (i.e “get an 89.5 and it’s a B, get a 90 and it’s an “A") than the those in the marketing or management departments.

Any thoughts?

The Unknown Professor, at 10:00 am EST on January 28, 2006

Is Larry is a plant, designated to heat up the conversation? He deserves an A for effort and consistency.

A dismal scientist, at 11:45 am EST on January 28, 2006

Speech Communication

No matter how clearly I explain and demonstrate the rubrics to be used in assessing student oral performance(s), train the students in their use by their own critique of sample speeches on video, and include peer assessments as a portion of the earned grade on an assignment, some students will still accuse me of favoritism/unfairness in my grading?! I believe that many are used to gaining high scores for half-hearted or impromptu submissions/performances over the course of their academic experiences and quite simply cannot admit to themselves that what they have demonstrated is marginal at best. These are the same students that will then go on to supply horrible instructor ratings and negative comments on my teaching effectiveness surveys. In short, it would appear that many current students simply do not like being assessed whatsoever — unless it is a positive assessment (no matter what the quality of their work is).

Speech Teach

Speech Teach, Instructor at Troy University, at 12:45 pm EST on January 28, 2006

Unknown Professor, That would be interesting to find out, but I suspect that most people don’t want to be honest about it. Instead, I think a better gage is how much people resist double-blind grading with anonymous graders.

Dismal Scientist, I am not a plant. I just happen to see things differently than most people who want to fit into pigeonholes. (Also, since I am not currently working for an academic institution directly, but see plenty of the worst that academe has to offer, my perspective probably differs.)

Larry, at 4:00 pm EST on January 28, 2006

You’re right

Prof of English (ret), experienced at spotting needless inflation, wrote:

“Nothing is quite so effective at destroying the developing adult’s skill at attaining self-knowledge as the practice of assigning letter grades. Thus, grading undermines students for life."—————————————————————I hated the whole process of grading—but this has to rank as the week’s champion “Over-the-Top” declaration.

You’re right-that was over the top. Upon consideration, I would amend it to read

“Nothing else that professors do to students is quite so effective at destroying the developing adult’s skill at attaining self-knowledge as the practice of assigning letter grades. Thus, grading undermines students for life.”

Thank you for the correction.

JMG, at 5:25 am EST on January 29, 2006

Demonstrations, please

“No matter how clearly I explain and demonstrate the rubrics to be used ..”

Might I suggest, more actual demonstrations (e.g., video) of what you are looking for?

It is just comical how many faculty can write 100,000,000,000 words into a ‘rubric’ — but NEVER provide tangible, authentic examples.

That is so farcical as not to require any more explanation. Absolutely ridiculous.

R.A.S., at 4:05 pm EST on January 29, 2006

Cheating our students!

I am shocked to read that some faculty will bump some students’ grade up for “effort". Who do we think we are cheating? The very same student(s) we think we are helping! We should reward accomplishment, not how hard we think a student tried. Do we award the gold medal to the athlete who “tried hard” but did not attain a superior goal or to one who accomplished; to the team that palyed “hard” but lost the championship or to the one that actually did win. I think some faculty may be more concerned with students liking them, hence they want to “buy” that liking by giving out high grades freely. In the final analysis, what happens after the student leaves, with a superior transcript but what s/he actually knows is not reflected by the grades in the transcrip? We are preparing students to work and succeed in a global environment ... any wonder some of the “Third world” countries are beating us? Please, do not cheat your student(s) be cause you think they “worked hard", eve though that is not reflected in what they actually accomplished.

Dave N., at 3:06 pm EST on January 30, 2006

The difference between 90 percent and 89.3 9 (as mentioned in the article) is rather small in the scheme of things. I agree that the standards ought to be held strictly in order to be fair to all the students. But the students’ accomplishments in the class and the course is an amalgam of many things, including what they bring to the class. Some of them have a quick grasp and they are the ones who usually ace the course anyway. But there are others who show real commitment to learning, are curious about the material taught and its applications to the real world and thus add an important dimension to the class. If they participate in a beneficial manner, they do deserve some extra points, based on what was laid out in the syllabus. The grade does not have to jump from a B to an A, but certainly a fraction of a point cannot be reasonably added? This is also not about liking the student or not; many of us bend over backwards to make sure that we do not treat the unpleasant personalities harshly. With all those caveats in place, the students are better served and not cheated by not taking into consideration only raw scores. It is not “effort” per se for which they should be rewarded, but contributing to the class in their own positive way. I would think the world of work is not blind to such assets of their employees

Dismal Scientist, at 5:30 pm EST on January 30, 2006

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