Profs giving grades based on personal factors

[Coffeelover]

Lately, I've been hearing so much about college professors (undergrad, grad) who cherry pick students they like to give good grades to. And even in more competitive schools where administration literally walk through classrooms, observe students, looking for people they want to "weed out" based on purely subjective factors like how the person looks, what the student "seems like", etc. It makes me want to throw up! They should base your pass/fail strictly on academic standards only. We aren't paying for someone to judge our personalities or appearances. This kind of garbage goes on in the corporate world all the time, but I thought academia would be different. Apparently not.

So my question is, can you insist on anonymous grading at your university?

[rising_star]

What would anonymous grading even look like? I mean, for it to be anonymous, I'd have to not ever send in drafts, never take enough classes with a prof for them to know my writing style, and probably change my research interests...

[CarlieE]

Although I think "cherry picking" probably does occur on some level, I don't think it's a prevalent problem or a practice that is accepted or condoned. To do so would seriously undermine the credibility and reputation of that professor. And this directly or indirectly would affect their chances of getting tenure, getting hired etc.

Where did you hear these things?

I'm sure that some professors do "weed out" but, in my experience, the ones that do so, do this based upon the work of their students, not how they look or dress. I've had classes that start out packed full of students, but then, due to the work load and the tough grading there are maybe 5-10 of us left by the end of the semester. But, these students withdraw from the class of their own accord...

Perhaps these students who have complained feel that the professor isn't as "friendly" with them as with other students. That is possible, but that doesn't mean that the professor is giving them a better grade.

[StrangeLight]

1. "cherry-picking" does not mean what you think it does.

2. in graduate programs, you want your professors to know you. when they write you letters for grants or the job market, they need to be able to speak to your ability as a student, future professor, and researcher. graduate school is like an apprenticeship for becoming a professor. not only would it be nearly impossible to make that an anonymous situation, it's also highly undesirable. guess what? these professors form their opinions about you based on your work. they don't give a rat's ass about what you look like. whatever opinion they form about you, they do it through your writing, your participation in seminars, your lab work, as their TA.

3. if you feel as though a professor is judging your work negatively for something other than your academic merit, take the paper to the prof in his or her office hours and ask how you can improve in the future. just being proactive about seeking extra help, instead of assuming your grades are based on personal problems rather than the quality of your work, will go a long way to changing that professor's personal opinion about you. then, if you're right about them grading on who they like instead of academic merit, your grades will improve. my guess, however, is that if you're a really good student, any prof will see that. conversely, if you're an average student, they may grade a little more kindly to the students they like over those that they don't. easiest way to avoid this is to elevate your own work from average to good or great. then there won't be any question.

[Coffeelover]

What would anonymous grading even look like? I mean, for it to be anonymous, I'd have to not ever send in drafts, never take enough classes with a prof for them to know my writing style, and probably change my research interests...

You are given a number for your exam, you never write your name on any test. That's how it was done at one college I attended. Perhaps they'd had problems in the past with professors who couldn't see past their personal biases.

[eco_env]

You are given a number for your exam, you never write your name on any test. That's how it was done at one college I attended. Perhaps they'd had problems in the past with professors who couldn't see past their personal biases.

maybe that works in undergrad, but not graduate school. I did have a professor in undergrad who had us write our name on the back of our tests so he wouldn't see it when grading. I found it disturbing that knowing the identity of the student would somehow affect his grading.

[Coffeelover]

maybe that works in undergrad, but not graduate school. I did have a professor in undergrad who had us write our name on the back of our tests so he wouldn't see it when grading. I found it disturbing that knowing the identity of the student would somehow affect his grading.

One of my undergrad professors specifically TOLD us that he had personal biases against certain students, and he had us do something similar. I respect him for at least being honest and trying to do something about his biases.

[emmm]

This is not something I ever worried about. I know I had professors who liked me -- I've since become friends with some of them -- but at no time would I have expected that to affect their grading. How are they helping me by giving me inflated grades? In fact, I remember doing particularly badly on one section of a test with one prof. He just handed it back -- with the crappy grade and no comment. Fortunately, I'd done really well on the other section of the test, so the overall grade was not terrible. And I did get a lower than typical score on one final with a prof I liked -- but I was auditing her class, and I was teaching (giving a final of my own and grading projects) and attending a conference/workshop the same week as the final, which meant studying had last priority. So, the only thing that happened as a result of our friendship, in both cases, was that I felt more embarassed than I normally would have at performing so poorly. In both cases, I got the grade I earned. But I tend to like people with strong moral compasses, and I don't think I'd have gotten friendly with a prof who played favorites in the way you describe.

[bdon19]

As an undergrad, I've never really experienced any of these sorts of "cherry picking" professors. I have found that professors with whom I've developed strong relationships tend to expect more from me, and so they are actually harsher with their grading on me when they think I'm not living up to my potential. Of course, there have been times when having taken multiple classes with a professor has helped me to sit back and relax (i.e. not think about grades), but that's more because I know how the professor will grade me on participation, what they will expect to see from my papers, etc. than favoritism, per se. It's a two-way street, in my opinion...

[Coffeelover]

I've been in college and also vocational schools. The vocational school instructors were worse, perhaps because they weren't as professional. They definitely had biases. One instructor was even asking his female students out on dates and getting mad when they weren't interested. In one case, he asked out a married student and harassed her when she said no repeatedly. I had problems with this same instructor (although he didn't ask me out), and eventually we all realized this guy had serious problems. Let's face it, teachers are only human and they can have the same problems as anyone else. I also had a female instructor in a nurse aide program at a local college: she was biased against older students, but with young students, she would be motherly toward them and encourage them. With the older students, she would roll her eyes at us and make sarcastic comments. She started nit-picking at things we did during the clinical training at a hospital. We realized she was trying to grade us down.

I want to be able to identify problem professors early on, so that I can manage my relationship with them. I did not at first realize these instructors had personal issues, and I was blind-sided. I really don't have much background in human psychology.

[modernity]

This happens - and its not just about a person's work. If you think that people grade solely on work, especially in grad school, you're either very lucky, or naive. I've known professors who graded down at the end of a quarter based on personal decision, despite the fact that the grades proved a higher grade. Their response was "Its what I feel is deserved." And they had done this to several students.

You are right that its absolutely ridiculous, and that it shouldn't happen. However, the rest of the world is the same way. When you apply for jobs, interact with coworkers, etc. it will have as much to do with how you perform as it does your personality, how you present yourself, whether or not your values are in line, etc. It's just something we have to accept.

Also when it comes to undergrad - if you're the kid that never shows up to class/always walks in late, talks while the professor is lecturing, blatantly plays on FB in class, and in general acts like a disrespectful loon - I am sure its difficult for them not to be influenced when they are grading your paper. But again, its the same way outside of academia, if you behaved like this in a job, even if you still did well - you'd be risking disciplinary action.

[Coffeelover]

I am not talking about students who are blatantly rude in class, act looney or show up late. That is actionable behavior that can affect your grade, of course. I am referring to professors who just don't care for certain students, for personal reasons.