Considering that it is time for exams, we thought it would be useful to find a teacher and ask them a couple of questions to get the raw truth of how teachers grade and evaluate their students. We promised to keep them Anonymous, but made sure to ask as thorough as we could.
*Note: All professors may not have the same views and values as the professor interviewed below. However, take note to the mechanics of the mindset of a collegiate professor.*
Well, an Anonymous interview would eliminate any point of an introduction, so let’s get to it.
Please do, before I change my mind.
How long have you been teaching?
You’re already trying to get numbers and facts out of me. What happened to anonymous? I’ve taught undergrad for over five years and will be teaching graduate classes next fall.
When assigning papers to students, do you enforce the format and page requirements?
I make it clear that I want a legitimate paper, but I don’t specify what font and what size and all of the specifics. If you are a college student, you should know the rights and wrongs of writing a real paper.
Let me be more clear: after saying what you want out of a paper, do you actually check to make sure it’s the right font and font size, etc.
To be honest, I notice the differences if I look at a collection of papers, but I don’t go in-depth.
How do you not go in-depth? Do you not read the entire paper?
I usually have my [graduate assistant] go through the papers. I write a couple of random comments afterward and write a check or circle a couple of words on some pages.
What if your GA isn’t available?
They better be. (laughs) If not, I skim a couple of papers and write a few comments here and there. If you’re trying to ask whether I actually read papers I assign, the answer is no. What professor has that much time on their hands?
So you’ve never read a full paper from one of your students?
When I started I read a couple. Now, if there is a student that gives me a hard time, I will go through their paper and expand on every error imaginable. Once in awhile, if there is an interesting topic or a very bright student, you skim through their paper to see if it is anything that interests you.
I knew it! Teachers always did have their favorites.
Of course. It is human nature, not just a teacher thing.
Does this effect your grading scale at the end of the semester?
Truthfully, it does. When I’m going through names to submit the final scores, any name that I remember and brings a smile to my face, I’ll give a B+ or higher. Any students that tried to be a wise-ass or got caught in lies and excuses get B- or lower.
I’m lost. You mean you add an extra grade of that value to their score?
No, I mean that I’ll make that their final score.
What if they did terrible on the exams and papers throughout the course?
Very few professors have time to check and read every paper and every exam and keep record of all of that and also record of attendance. Especially if teaching multiple classes. Plain and simple, we remember the obnoxious students and they get an unsatisfactory grade. We remember the bright or charming students, they will get the higher grades, and then the names that I cannot remember, I figure they are either the shy ones or the quiet ones. If there are a lot of names that I don’t remember, I take a glance at one attendance sheet. If there are not many, they all get a B.
[...] *Teacher confessions is a two-part interview. Part I can be seen here. [...]