ERIC Number: EJ1050119
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Sep-22
Pages: 41
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1068 2341
EISSN: N/A
How Consistent Are Course Grades? An Examination of Differential Grading
Rauschenberg, Samuel
Education Policy Analysis Archives, v22 n92 Sep 2014
Differential grading occurs when students in courses with the same content and curriculum receive inconsistent grades across teachers, schools, or districts. It may be due to many factors, including differences in teacher grading standards, district grading policies, student behavior, teacher stereotypes, teacher quality, and curriculum adherence. If it occurs systematically, certain types of students may receive higher or lower grades relative to other students, despite having similar content mastery or ability. Using three years of statewide data on Algebra I and English I courses in North Carolina public high schools, I find that student characteristics are stronger predictors of differential grading than teacher, school, or district characteristics. Female, Limited English Proficient, and 12th grade students earn statistically significant higher grades than other students, holding test scores and student, teacher, school, and district characteristics constant. Low-income students, conversely, earn lower grades than other students, all else constant. With the exception of Algebra I low-income students, these differences are large enough to move a student one grade category on a plus/minus 7-point A-F grading scale. Black students earn higher Algebra I grades but lower English I grades than white or Asian students with the same test score, but these effect sizes are smaller than other student characteristics. Interactions between student and teacher race and gender yielded small estimates that were not consistent between subjects.
Descriptors: Grading, Poverty, Racial Differences, English Instruction, Algebra, Mathematics Achievement, Public Schools, High Schools, High School Students, Student Characteristics, Low Income Groups, Statistical Significance, Gender Differences, English Language Learners, Achievement Tests, Regression (Statistics), Teacher Characteristics, Teacher Student Relationship, Institutional Characteristics, School Districts, Predictor Variables
Colleges of Education at Arizona State University and the University of South Florida. c/o Editor, USF EDU162, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620-5650. Tel: 813-974-3400; Fax: 813-974-3826; Web site: http://epaa.asu.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A