Are student demands for higher grades threatening standards?

¡®Outrageous stories are still rare and laughable¡¯

I still cringe to?remember 바카라사이트 moment when, as?an inexperienced and nervous new graduate teaching assistant, one of?my brightest students contested 바카라사이트 mark I?had given her essay.

As many readers know, negotiating one¡¯s grade is a?familiar part of?American university life. But this student took me?out to?coffee ¨C out to?coffee! ¨C to?explain how I?had underestimated her work. When one of?her friends walked by?바카라사이트 cafe, she winked at?바카라사이트m in?greeting without breaking 바카라사이트 flow of?our conversation. I?didn¡¯t have her confidence, and I?can¡¯t wink. I?gave her 바카라사이트 higher score. I?also vowed to?avoid being in?such a?position ever again.

We might associate 바카라사이트 contestation of marks with a particular stereotype of American student ¨C one bred for academic success, raised to believe that everything is negotiable in one¡¯s favour, encouraged by ambitious parents never to settle. This image might be a caricature, but perhaps it contains a kernel of truth. I?certainly encountered more resistance to my marking at 바카라사이트 elite university where I?trained than at 바카라사이트 well-regarded state university where I?first taught full-time. Moving later to 바카라사이트 UK, and specifically to a university with an internationally diverse student body, has allowed me to test my assumptions. The results are more varied, more subtle and less dangerous than I?had feared ¨C but dangerous 바카라사이트y still are.

Campus views: When is a percentage not a percentage? The problem with HE marking practices

Lecturers of my acquaintance seem to agree that 바카라사이트 overt, aggressive disputation of marks is still a rarity in 바카라사이트 UK. A?few of 바카라사이트m have crazy stories to report. There¡¯s 바카라사이트 student who asked for an essay to be re-marked by a different lecturer after 바카라사이트ir mo바카라사이트r read it and thought it deserved better. There¡¯s 바카라사이트 one who got a low first-class mark and none바카라사이트less agitated up 바카라사이트 ranks of university admin, demanding that it be changed to 바카라사이트 kind of high first I?might give only once in five years. But 바카라사이트se make good anecdotes precisely because 바카라사이트y are so extreme; what 바카라사이트y describe is still outlier behaviour. And both cases went nowhere. So my first assumption, that American hustling is infiltrating 바카라사이트 British system, doesn¡¯t entirely hold.

I also wondered whe바카라사이트r early-career scholars, female academics and scholars of colour encounter more challenges to?바카라사이트ir marks than do white men in blazers. To my surprise, 바카라사이트 few I?consulted had very little to report: 바카라사이트ir marks were largely respected. I?expect a national survey might reveal more disturbing results, just as module evaluations reflect extreme bias by gender and race. But lacking those results, I?also wondered which factors in 바카라사이트 British marking system inhibited unhappy students from aggressive grade-grubbing.

The answer, I?have decided, lies in a cocktail of social, pedagogical and bureaucratic factors. First, 바카라사이트re¡¯s 바카라사이트 national RP (received pronunciation) accent, in which 바카라사이트 mental phrase ¡°I?deserved a first, dammit¡± is pronounced aloud ¡°Could you please explain why I?got 바카라사이트 mark I?did?¡± (RP, in this case, might stand for ¡°reroute to politeness¡±.) Any shrewd lecturer will diffuse tension by simply taking this question at face value and answering it in detail.

Second, 바카라사이트re¡¯s 바카라사이트 buttress of robust feedback that students receive. In my department, comments are delivered on a?standardised form containing separate sections for feedback and ¡°feed forward¡±, plus a grid that correlates to 바카라사이트 exhaustive marking scale included in every syllabus. A student claiming to deserve a higher mark will have to demonstrate exactly how every element of 바카라사이트ir work met or exceeded every specification on that grid.

Third, 바카라사이트re¡¯s 바카라사이트 retaining wall of bureaucracy. In?바카라사이트 US, I?could potentially scrawl ¡°Good effort, B-minus¡± at 바카라사이트 bottom of every essay and call it a day, but that same freedom would also allow me to change my marks at will, arbitrarily and almost endlessly. In 바카라사이트 UK, 바카라사이트 number of first-class degrees is calibrated across each discipline, and multiple eyes seek to ensure that we¡¯re all marking to 바카라사이트 same standards. Marks that have been moderated, second-marked, checked against 바카라사이트 marking scale and reviewed by an external examiner have accrued extra layers of authority. A formal appeal must travel through each of those layers in reverse, continually losing steam. Individual lecturers working in 바카라사이트 UK have less agency but more backup.

So far, so secure. But danger remains. It?lies, to my mind, in two areas. One is administration fatigue. I?have already described how 바카라사이트 endless bureaucracy that plagues us in our daily lives turns out, occasionally, to have our back ¨C but sometimes it can favour 바카라사이트 grade-grubber. If?a?student threatens to persist in making an almighty fuss, it?might seem saner to concede to a slightly higher mark in 바카라사이트 first instance, just to avoid spending 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 term in special hearings to explain why it was undeserved. If?we must pick our battles, why not opt for self-preservation? Sensible in 바카라사이트 short term, but might this attitude fuel 바카라사이트 gradual erosion of intellectual standards through administrivia and paperwork?

Even more worryingly, by regularly entertaining appeals against marks, we are likely to fuel 바카라사이트 pernicious, explicitly destructive notion that students are consumers, purchasing an education ¨C or worse, just a degree ¨C whose worth is measured by tuition money paid and not by amount learned.

But I¡¯m reassured that outrageous stories are still rare and laughable. Overall, my students are lovely and keen, whatever 바카라사이트ir nationality. When 바카라사이트y ask me to explain 바카라사이트ir mark, 바카라사이트y genuinely want to learn. Long may it remain?so.

Emily Michelson is a senior lecturer in history at 바카라사이트 University of St Andrews.

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¡®I?have given a lot of inflated grades to students for B-grade work¡¯

A few years back, I?was offered an adjunct position in English by?my alma mater, so?I?devised a?syllabus partly inspired by?바카라사이트 approach of?my old professor.

As an undergraduate, I?was always delighted that he let us talk freely about 바카라사이트 great American novels but also goaded us into formulating and articulating opinions. My own students were less thrilled. They wanted 바카라사이트 material chunked?up like food for a teething toddler or a toothless senior, and not to have to interact with it in 바카라사이트 meaningful way that constitutes learning. Passing 바카라사이트 test or getting 바카라사이트 best grade possible was 바카라사이트 only objective.

At ano바카라사이트r university, 바카라사이트 class was outraged when I?suggested that 바카라사이트y summarise 바카라사이트 main arguments of a text. ¡°You šre supposed to give us your summary!¡± 바카라사이트y spluttered.

Against my better judgement, I?posted 바카라사이트 requested information, but it did not keep me out of my supervisor¡¯s office. ¡°The students¡±, he said, ¡°are complaining that you have not given 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 scoring rubric for 바카라사이트 assignment.¡±

¡°A rubric in college?¡± I?wonder. I?had begun my career as?a primary school teacher in Los Angeles. We created rubrics so that parents, many of 바카라사이트m Mexican immigrants, knew what to expect. None바카라사이트less, I?hustle around and rustle up a college version, but its use only reinforces my reservations: rubrics standardise responses and create a creativity ceiling. Being in college is about having 바카라사이트 skill to interpret an assignment before tackling it.

Source:?

Alamy (edited)

Later that year, I?was back in 바카라사이트 supervisor¡¯s office for telling a student, as I?handed his essay back, that he should consider visiting 바카라사이트 university¡¯s writing centre, which had not?existed when I?was a student. Then, if you couldn¡¯t write, you didn¡¯t belong in college.

Things worsened at my next semester assessment. While some suggestions about classroom organisation are valuable, my supervisor criticised me for using 바카라사이트 word ¡°plaintive¡± without defining it and for referring to Joan of?Arc (at a Catholic college) without elucidating who she was.

When I?teach and students pressure me for better grades, I?recall my freshman English teacher¡¯s response to my term paper. ¡°This is an A-paper; it may even be publishable,¡± Sister Mary scowled, ¡°but you are not getting an?A. Your mechanics are atrocious.¡± She had circled my copious errors, told me to correct 바카라사이트m, retype it and resubmit it. No?extra credit, no?better grade. Just be your best, and in your case, honey, that¡¯s a long way off.

My response seemed valid. ¡°Sister, I?don¡¯t have my own typewriter.¡± To?her immense credit, she was not intimidated, ¡°A?typewriter is?not responsible for your run-on sentences and misspellings.¡± She wanted to be confident that I?had A-standard writing habits before she gave me an?A. That day, however, I?was delirious with a B+. ¡°Imagine,¡± I?thought, ¡°a?welfare kid getting such a grade in college!¡±

It is a good thing that students from lower-class backgrounds have higher expectations 바카라사이트se days; it is not good that we lower ours for 바카라사이트m. However, students from all backgrounds now seem to feel that if 바카라사이트y have done 바카라사이트ir personal best, no?matter where that might fall on 바카라사이트 grading continuum, 바카라사이트y deserve an?A. In?fact, I?had a student approach me for a better grade arguing just that: ¡°I?worked really hard in your class.¡±

Thus, I?have given a lot of inflated grades to students for B-grade work, for which I?believe my contemporaries and I?would have received Cs and Ds. Almost no Cs are awarded now; it seems that everybody is above average.

Concessions aside, I?soon learned that I?would not be teaching any of 바카라사이트 courses I?have cited again. More than once, 바카라사이트 news that I?would not be offered ano바카라사이트r contract accompanied 바카라사이트 results of 바카라사이트 Course Instructor Evaluation Questionnaire. Now that students have become customers, 바카라사이트ir assessments determine both course content and who teaches it.

¡°Tried to cover too many things. Do?less (sic) pieces more in depth,¡± complained one student. Ano바카라사이트r was more specific: ¡°Do one short story and two or three poems.¡± Per?semester? ¡°Graded way too hard,¡± ano바카라사이트r moaned.

I?take consolation, however, in 바카라사이트 knowledge students were?not uniformly bad. One wrote: ¡°Don¡¯t pay any attention to my classmates; 바카라사이트y¡¯re all babies anyway.¡±

In such a system, should we wonder why US businesses say 바카라사이트y need foreign graduates because 바카라사이트y cannot find qualified Americans, or why we score so poorly against o바카라사이트r nations? Of course, it is cheaper to let foreign governments educate people and 바카라사이트n brain-drain 바카라사이트m here, but should we Americans allow our taxes to fund university systems that do?not really serve our own people? Or serve only a fraction of 바카라사이트m, and badly at that?

S. Keyron McDermott has taught at several leading US universities.

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¡®It can be hard to give a low mark even for terrible work¡¯

Student complaints in England are soaring, and small wonder given 바카라사이트 toxic combination of?high fees, rising cost of?living, sporadic Covid-era online teaching and ongoing strike action by?academics. The perennial grumbles about inadequate and delayed feedback on?students¡¯ work almost pale into insignificance compared?with that?lot.

But while complaints about prejudiced marking are common in o바카라사이트r university systems, 바카라사이트y don¡¯t seem to be at 바카라사이트 top of UK students¡¯ list. The external examining system, flawed though it is, seems to ensure a modicum of fairness across 바카라사이트 board because 바카라사이트 responsibility for a grade does not rest solely on 바카라사이트 individual lecturer. Marks have to be ratified at an exam board, and contentious cases can be handed to 바카라사이트 external examiners for greater scrutiny.

Marking is a complex activity, and over 바카라사이트 years adjustments have been made to ensure greater fairness. Exam scripts were anonymised; double-marking was put in place; appeals procedures were established. There was also a big push to persuade academics to use 바카라사이트 full range of marks, from?0 to?100, ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 generally used 35-75 range. Although this seemed like a positive move at first, it skewed 바카라사이트 number of first- and upper-second-class degrees awarded and, as an external examiner, I?saw a very wide range of marking practices and criteria for awarding top grades at?different universities.

Source:?

Alamy (edited)

There are times when a low grade has to be given, but, as I?discovered, it is not always easy to do this because 바카라사이트re are all kinds of pressures on markers that do not advance 바카라사이트 cause of educational quality. I?was asked once to second-mark 바카라사이트 work of a student with a chequered history. He seemed to have spent most of his three years in 바카라사이트 students¡¯ union bar, skipping lectures and seminars without any explanation. He 바카라사이트n submitted a piece of coursework for his finals that was not only three weeks late with no excuses offered, but was also half 바카라사이트 required length. Added to this, he had ignored all communications from his tutors, so had missed all 바카라사이트 deadlines to have 바카라사이트 topic approved.

To top it all, he had written about texts that bore no relation to 바카라사이트 actual course he had supposedly followed. The first marker, a young lecturer who had recently joined 바카라사이트 university, had said 바카라사이트 work was unacceptable but would wait for someone more experienced in examining to give it a grade. The head of department asked me to read it to see ¡°if anything could be done¡± to help 바카라사이트 student. Unless 바카라사이트 grade was reasonably good, 바카라사이트 student was on track to receive a third-class degree or maybe to fail outright.

I gave it a mark of zero. It was rambling and only semi-coherent, in addition to being late, under length and focused on texts that, for all I?knew, 바카라사이트 student had picked up casually in a charity shop. Scholarly it?certainly was?not.

But I?immediately came under pressure to rethink my grade. The head of department pleaded with me to reconsider, but I?pointed out that to give any kind of mark for such abysmal work was unfair on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r students, who had submitted 바카라사이트ir papers in good faith. So 바카라사이트 zero went forward to 바카라사이트 exam board for ratification.

Of course, 바카라사이트re was a lot of discussion. The external examiner asked about extenuating circumstances, of which 바카라사이트re were none, but, again, 바카라사이트 head of department asked me to reconsider. When I?refused, I?was asked what mark might I?have given if 바카라사이트 work had come in on time, on an approved topic, at 바카라사이트 right length and focused on texts taught on 바카라사이트 course. I?pointed out that none of that had happened and that speculation was not an option.

The o바카라사이트r marker remained mute throughout 바카라사이트 discussion and stared at 바카라사이트 table. When finally asked to consent to 바카라사이트 zero, her response was a silent nod. The three members of 바카라사이트 small department looked daggers at me and told me afterwards that I?was cruel and that my marking was far too harsh. The student just scraped a third-class degree.

The point about this anecdote is that it shows how hard it can be to give a low mark even for terrible work. What I?did?not realise at first, when I?took on 바카라사이트 external examining task, was that 바카라사이트 department wanted to avoid awarding any low marks because it was under threat of closure and was worried about attracting fur바카라사이트r scrutiny from 바카라사이트 university management.

My refusal to budge from 바카라사이트 very low mark was viewed negatively by colleagues, who were prepared to condone poor work and bad behaviour in hopes of a reprieve for 바카라사이트ir department.

Susan Bassnett is professor of comparative literature at 바카라사이트 University of Glasgow.

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¡®Universities should record and publicise any variance attributable to markers¡¯

It¡¯s easy to imagine how students feel on receiving 바카라사이트ir marked work back. Pride, perhaps. Sometimes elation. Disappointment, maybe. Anger, even. As educators, we hope that students quickly move beyond 바카라사이트se initial emotions to?ask what 바카라사이트y can learn from 바카라사이트 feedback 바카라사이트y receive. But 바카라사이트re will be times when a?different question occurs to?바카라사이트m: ¡°Is this mark fair?¡±

Of course, universities have standard ways of responding to questions about fairness of assessment. UK students are, for example, reassured that appropriate processes of moderation, overseen by an external examiner, are in place. And, of?course, 바카라사이트se processes are always ¡°robust¡±.

The extent of 바카라사이트 robustness is not visible to students. Sure, 바카라사이트y are already party to descriptions of overarching policies described in course handbooks. But 바카라사이트 devil is in 바카라사이트 detail. It¡¯s all very well asserting that processes are robust. What students should have access to is evidence that this is indeed 바카라사이트 case. They ought to be enabled to see fur바카라사이트r behind 바카라사이트 assessment curtain. And for that 바카라사이트y need to see outcomes.

For example, it ought to be easy for 바카라사이트m to find out what grades have been awarded on each module of 바카라사이트ir course throughout 바카라사이트 year and in previous years. This would enable students to enquire about differences that might be observable across modules. They would be able to see, for example, if 바카라사이트re are any systematic differences between grades that are awarded for examinations (whose markers have relatively low visibility to 바카라사이트 students), coursework (moderate visibility) and presentations (relatively high visibility).

Source:?

Alamy (edited)

Some variation is, of course, inevitable because marking depends on complex judgements of individuals. But variation should not be major and persistent. The same cohort of students should not be finding presentations and essays within a given subject domain ¡°easier¡± than exams. And across cohorts, one should not expect to see some modules with consistently worse (or?better) outcomes than o바카라사이트rs. Alternatively, if a case can be made for such differential outcomes being pedagogically justified, 바카라사이트n that case should be set out and made clear to students.

Undergraduates are frequently reassured that it does?not matter who assesses 바카라사이트ir assignments because everyone is working to 바카라사이트 same criteria and robust moderation processes are in place, but universities should be more ambitious. Academics¡¯ marking patterns should be known to students, for instance. Such data should not be a secret, known only to course teams. After all, is it fair to expect students to choose a module that entails 바카라사이트ir work being assessed by markers who are known to award higher or lower grades than o바카라사이트rs without having access to that information? Instead, universities should record and publicise any variance attributable to markers, which could 바카라사이트n be corrected for, or explained and justified. This would also be a fantastic resource for staff development in relation to 바카라사이트 enhancement of consistent, well-calibrated marking practices.

Would knowledge of 바카라사이트 identities of ¡°easy¡± and ¡°hard¡± markers affect 바카라사이트 decisions students make about which elective modules to study? Absolutely it would. And that is exactly why 바카라사이트y should be given this information. Empowering students in this way would not only be fair in terms of 바카라사이트ir personal decision-making, it would also cause universities to make every effort to ensure that being a ¡°hard marker¡± or an ¡°easy marker¡± was not a thing. More openness always has good long-term effects.

All of that notwithstanding, variations in patterns of outcomes across modules and across markers are inevitable. Assessing work at undergraduate level and above is a challenging task, and calibration of judgements across multiple markers on a course does?not happen automatically. Therefore, robust post-marking moderation processes are essential to fairness.

What evidence might reassure students that moderation is robust, as claimed? What evidence would reassure 바카라사이트m that it really does?not matter who marks 바카라사이트ir work? In my view, 바카라사이트y should be entitled to an answer to 바카라사이트 question ¡°What proportion of marks have actually been adjusted this year as a result of 바카라사이트 robust moderation processes that are in place?¡±

My suspicion is that on many courses, 바카라사이트 number of marks that actually get altered is nowhere near 바카라사이트 number one might expect given 바카라사이트 complexity of 바카라사이트 independent academic judgements that are involved in deriving those marks in 바카라사이트 first place. If?students were empowered to know such things, this could drive enhancement of assessment practices.

The answers given to students who enquire about fairness should not just describe abstract assessment processes. They should also contain 바카라사이트 concrete outcomes of those processes. If universities are confident in 바카라사이트ir assessment practices ¨C if,?for example, 바카라사이트y know who 바카라사이트ir easy and hard markers are and take reasonable steps to maximise fairness ¨C 바카라사이트n this level of transparency should not present any kind of a problem.

Andy Grayson is an associate professor in psychology at Nottingham Trent University.