Justice in grades allocation: teachers’ perspective

摘要

In this investigation I explore teachers’ perspectives on just grade allocation. The study was carried out among language, math and science teachers in a national sample of Israeli high schools, where teachers were required to weigh a set of considerations that are used in the decision on grade allocation. Findings suggest that (a) a teacher’s decision is based on a weighted combination of multi-principles of allocation, (b) equity by output (students proved academic success) is the ruling consideration, and (c) the weight given to the various considerations differ by teachers’ subject matter expertise. The appeared difference placed science teachers vis-à-vis math and language teachers, unlike the expected humanities (language)—sciences (math and science) dichotomy. Comparison of grading considerations by student capacity suggests that about half of the teachers consider differential grading considerations for “weak” and “strong” students as just, attributing greater weight to academic input (effort) and need for encouragement when grading their “weak” students.