Adam Robinson At schools, grading is a highly subjective process which is often based on arbitrary or even emotional considerations. To some extent, of course, grades do reflect how much you have learned. But they can also reflect, depending on the teacher, how hard you tried, how much you improved, how neatly you wrote or dressed, how interested you seemed, how often you participated in class and how much your teacher liked you. Unfair? You bet. But now that you know, make this knowledge work for you.

1. WHO EVER SAID SCHOOL WAS FAIR? HOW SMART STUDENTS SHOULD THINK ABOUT GRADES
Adam Robinson1
You and your classmates are forced to compete for grades that become a part your "permanent
record." Your grade point average can affect where you go to college, where you go to graduate
school, and even what kinds of jobs you get, for years after you leave school.
Considering the impact grades can have on your life choices, it´s remarkable how many
misconceptions surround the grading process. Your grades are not a measure of how smart you are,
or of how much you know. Nor should you expect to earn high grades merely by working hard. While
studying five hours at night without understanding much may earn you the sympathy of a
compassionate teacher, sympathy alone isn´t going to get you an A; it might not even get you a C.
The only thing hard work guarantees is fatigue.
And don't expect high grades as a reward for obeying your teachers – listening to what they say,
reading what they assign, and generally doing what you´re told. Following orders does not entitle you
to high grades though it´s easy to see why many students believe this. Grades are a powerful, tool
that teachers often use to ensure your conformity by rewarding "good" behavior and punishing "bad"
behavior with appropriate marks.
You may see grades as objective measures of your performance, but they are nothing more than a
teacher´s opinion of what you deserve. Each teacher determines what type of academic work
receives credit and how much, whether partial credit is awarded for incomplete work, and where to
set grade cutoffs.
Grading is a highly subjective process which is often based on arbitrary or even emotional
considerations. To some extent, of course, grades do reflect how much you have learned. But they
can also reflect, depending on the teacher, how hard you tried, how much you improved, how neatly
you wrote or dressed, how interested you seemed, how often you participated in class and how
much your teacher liked you. Unfair? You bet. But now that you know, make this knowledge work for
you.
Smart students realize that teachers often award grades more to the student than to his or
her work. Judging from experience, I´d bet that half the grade a paper or exam receives is
determined by the name at the top of it. If a teacher decides you are an A student, your work will
receive A´s; if your teacher decides you are a C student, your work will receive C's.
So work hard the first few weeks of term. It's important that you convince your teachers early on that
you are a smart student whose work invariably deserves A´s. Then, when you make mistakes – as
even the smartest students will – your teacher will think they are the mistakes of an A student and
interpret them accordingly. Teachers have been known, when grading a test, to "overlook" the
mistakes or oversights of a top student while penalizing classmates for making the identical errors!
For the most part, teachers base your grades on how well you and your work live up to their
expectations. The problem is that teachers do not always state what they expect from you. Indeed,
many of their expectations are subconscious [and can change throughout the quarter].
"But teachers usually tell us how they grade," you say. Sure, most teachers will tell you how they
grade; that is, they´ll tell you how they think they grade. Look, this should come as no surprise, but
teachers are just people. Like the rest of us, they make mistakes, want approval, and wrestle
with their insecurities.
Few teachers are aware how much their grading opinions are shaped by their prejudices and
emotions. Smart students are probably more aware of their teachers´ personal biases and
unstated expectations than the teachers are themselves! Pay close attention to the little ways
that teachers unknowingly reveal what they really expect of you. How they express themselves. The
words they use. How they phrase questions in class. How they respond to questions from students.
The clues are often subtle, but you´ll spot them if you're alert.
After discovering all this about the grading process, you´re probably more certain than ever that
grades are unfair. Exactly! Now you're catching on! Who ever said school was fair?
1
From book “What Smart Students Know” (pages 78, 79)