To what extent do you think that teacher/professor subjectivity can affect your grade ?

Answer 1

I can tell you from numerous personal examples that teachers' / professors' subjectivity can and DO affect a student's grade. I could give you exact names and dates from highschool and college, but it would reveal individuals and schools, and I'd rather be a little bit discreet here. I can tell you that I have definitely benefitted and suffered from teachers' / professors' subjectivity, and I know other specific individuals who have likewise benefitted and suffered from said subjectivity. Best way to handle it? Study hard, make good grades (as best as you can) and don't get involved in "dirty politics" like that. Although, I gotta admit, I sure like it when I benefitted from it, as in junior english in college and another course in the same college, as well as Political Science while in the same college, . . . oh, yeah, I said I wouldn't name names, so, I'd better shut up. God Bless you.

Answer 2

Speaking as a college professor, there are times when a professor has to use his or her judgement. For example, a student comes to me with an excuse for turning in something late. It's MY discretion as to whether I feel this excuse is legitimate or not. And if I need to grant an extension, there's no automatic way to say you get "X amount of time," but rather it's my own personal judgement as to how much time to grant, or even if to grant any extra time.

And depending on the subject being taught, there could be a lot of subjectivity involved, especially when it comes to discussions where there might not be a definitive right or wrong.

However, we DO need to have some standard by which to grade students, which is why our syllabus should always include our grading criteria.

For example, I will clearly say how much assignments, discussions, quizzes, and the final exam are worth. This way, students know what's expected of them and how much everything counts. But the number of points they get is often subjective.

In a 2 point question, they might provide a partial answer with some details but not everything that's needed, so it's up to me whether to award partial credit or not. I do! Other's don't.

Point is, grading isn't always black and white, and does involve some degree of judgement and subjectivity. How much all depends on the individual teacher and/or the subject being taught.

Answer 3

Teacher subjectivity depends a lot on the standards of the school and school district. For example, some schools require teachers to create detailed rubrics for assignments. These rubrics give a detailed explanation of what A, B, C, D and F work looks like. Other schools just let their teachers put a mark on a page with no explanation of how that mark was determined. Obviously, there is more subjectivity in the second case.

I once had a teacher who gave me 7/10 on a poem I wrote for her class. I submitted that poem to the Canadian League of Poets and won first place in their annual nation-wide poetry contest. That experience made me question how seriously I should be taking the marks my teachers gave me.

Answer 4

subjectivity is a part of being human so it could affect a grade and may very well in some cases, however, they are professionals and get paid to try to be as fair as possible.

Answer 5

It can affect it to a significant degree. Read about the "halo effect" and the "Hawthorne affect". Difficult to prove, but nevertheless, food for thought.

Answer 6

best advice when in doubt agree if you go for the honesty you may get burned, know your environment before you speak