Banging the gavel on grading: justice musings of a new professor

Abstract

Grading is a subjective process that may bring about justice-related questions, especially as they relate to fair student outcomes. Procedural and distributive justice guidelines, as discussed in the social psychology justice literature, can be used to frame the debate about fair grading and guide educators during the grade distribution process. These guidelines may help educators achieve various goals, including increasing students’ perceptions of justice, decreasing negative emotions, fostering group solidarity and harmony, and meeting student needs. First, however, educators must decide which classroom goals are most important, and how to assess student needs in a changing economy.

Keywords:

• education
• grading
• college students
• procedural justice
• distributive justice
• needs-based justice

Notes

1. Christensen et al. (2011) cite data from the American Institute for Economic Research.