Can teachers grade wrong?

I'm a junior right now, and I'm really trying to get straight A's this year. I'm taking a class called spanish 4. We were supposed to create a 2-3 minute presentation of a famous spanish person in class.

I did everything that was asked. We were graded on our how good our speaking during the presentation was (fluency, vocabulary, comprehensibility, etc.)

I tried my best during the presentation, I honestly did. I was one of the first people to go. Now, my Spanish isn't perfect, but it was pretty good. I finished my presentation feeling confident. I met all the requirements, and my presentation was just a bit over 3 minutes.

So the teacher grades my presentation, and I get an 86%. I'm a little upset about this, because I did felt like I put a lot more effort into my presentation. I got points deducted because apparently, I didn't accomplish the entire task (she didn't count the last 10 seconds of my presentation where I said the last required task because it was over 3 minutes). I also got points deducted because my presentation wasn't as comprehensible as it should have been and also for mispronouncing a few words.

So today my friend presented. Honest to God, his presentation did NOT include all of the required materials, yet he received full points in that category. His Spanish wasn't perfect, in fact I would go as far to say it was probably worse and less comprehensible than mine. After he presented, he even told me that he knew he was going to get a bad grade on his presentation. The teacher hands back his rubric and he gets a 94%.

I'm just lost for words right now. On assignments such as this one, does she even listen to the person speaking, or does she just circle random numbers at the end? There were several presentations I would argue were WORSE than mines yet received a higher grade than me.

What is one to do in a situation like this? I just feel so angry and done with life. I feel that the grading on assignments such as this is so subjective. Its just not fair. I should have received a higher grade on the assignment. But, I feel like if I talk to my teacher about this she's just gonna have something against me the whole year and will grade me harsher on future assignments.

They grade wrong all the time. I've known quite a few that graded down students simply because they didn't like the kid. And I've known some - and was certainly fortunate enough to have a teacher or two like this - who grade up and pass simply because they do like you. Or who pass students because they don't care enough to actually grade anything.

Thats just pathetic. What should I do about this? I lost the rubric for the dang thing because I was just so upset over it. Just thinking about it makes me ticked off. I have done NOTHING to upset this teacher at all. I participate in class, I answer questions, I'm not even close to the kid who just messes around the whole time and does nothing.

I mean whats up with that??? Why should I even put forth effort in projects if teachers are only going to circle random numbers on your rubric. If I do speak up about this, she'll probably grade me harsher. Obviously, there's no way to prove whether or not they're holding something against you. She could just purposely give me an 87% because she didn't feel my presentation was "above and beyond" like most "A's" require. These types of assignments have rubrics that just set the teacher up for subjective grading it just makes me sad.

Stand up for yourself about it. Say something about it. I can also tell you that many teachers think they can get away with honeysuckle because no one's told them otherwise. Not saying this teacher is malicious, and I know not all teachers are. I, for the most part, respected most of my teachers back in the day. But there are a handful that think they're untouchable.

From my experience, talking to the teacher, or at least asking why the mark was what it was might be the best solution, but to be sure, it might be a good idea to see if anyone who has already spoken to the teacher about this has received lower marks.
Would it be possible to speak to the other staff if this becomes a bigger issue? Addressing this as an issue (as long as you're absolutely sure the teacher did not have a good reason to mark it like this) might help things.

By the way, congrats on the high mark! I could never get that high on a language course.

How? Should I go up to her directly and ask for a grade change? I don't even have my rubric with me anymore, but I do remember the score she gave me. Do I point out my friend's presentation as well?

VanillaCreme said:

They grade wrong all the time. I've known quite a few that graded down students simply because they didn't like the kid. And I've known some - and was certainly fortunate enough to have a teacher or two like this - who grade up and pass simply because they do like you. Or who pass students because they don't care enough to actually grade anything.

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^ This.

I've also known teachers to grade students up or down simply because they weren't really listening. Your teacher may have zoned out during your friend's presentation and missed some of the mistakes he made, so she just awarded him the full credit.

Something else that may explain it is if she had biased expectations of you. Do you normally do pretty well in class? Does your friend normally do less well? If your teacher was expecting you to do well, she may have been more inclined to mark you down harshly for mistakes simply because she was expecting better of you. And if she was expecting your friend to do an average or less-than-average job, she may have been inclined to mark him higher because he performed better than she expected of him.

Or it could be something else entirely. Teachers are biased and grading is biased.

If it were me, I wouldn't talk to her about it, because whenever I tried to (respectfully) challenge my teachers on something, they resented me for the rest of the semester, and it made life difficult. But only you know your teachers, so only you can determine whether it's worth the risk for you.

Solivagant said:

VanillaCreme said:

They grade wrong all the time. I've known quite a few that graded down students simply because they didn't like the kid. And I've known some - and was certainly fortunate enough to have a teacher or two like this - who grade up and pass simply because they do like you. Or who pass students because they don't care enough to actually grade anything.

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^ This.

I've also known teachers to grade students up or down simply because they weren't really listening. Your teacher may have zoned out during your friend's presentation and missed some of the mistakes he made, so she just awarded him the full credit.

Something else that may explain it is if she had biased expectations of you. Do you normally do pretty well in class? Does your friend normally do less well? If your teacher was expecting you to do well, she may have been more inclined to mark you down harshly for mistakes simply because she was expecting better from you. And if she was expecting your friend to do an average or less-than-average job, she may have been inclined to mark him higher because he performed better than she expected of him.

Or it could be something else entirely. Teachers are biased and grading is biased.

If it were me, I wouldn't talk to her about it, because whenever I tried to (respectfully) challenge my teachers on something, they resented me for the rest of the semester, and it made life difficult. But only you know your teachers, so only you can determine whether it's worth the risk for you.

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I feel the same way. I'm just so done with school right now. Just from thinking about this assignment I feel like I'm going to throw up. Its just so pathetic. Its like a joke and it makes me laugh hysterically sometimes.

Asking for a grade change or a higher grade probably won't go over well. If you do use that approach, they usually want to know exactly why you think this way. So if you go that route, make sure you have proof as to why you believe you should receiver a higher grade. Concrete proof. And ask for another rubric. Surely there's another one floating around.

Sometimes, teachers just need to be made aware of mistakes they may have made.

Honestly, it's junior high who cares. Heck I'd be happy with and 86%, over joyed in fact. I doubt you'd be able to change the teachers mind, maybe you just think your Spanish was better than your friends and it wasn't. We can often be much more critical of others sometimes. You put a lot of work in which is good. I've known teachers who dock considerably if you go over the required time. Junior high I don't think you are quite qualified to criticize your teachers marking or your friends report. Sounds like you are being a bit jealous. Now if you stuck more strictly to the guidelines it would be a different story.

VanillaCreme said:

Asking for a grade change or a higher grade probably won't go over well. If you do use that approach, they usually want to know exactly why you think this way. So if you go that route, make sure you have proof as to why you believe you should receiver a higher grade. Concrete proof. And ask for another rubric. Surely there's another one floating around.

Sometimes, teachers just need to be made aware of mistakes they may have made.

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Thank you for all the replies guys. Lately, I just haven't been feeling very good about school. I'm giving 120% to try and get straight A's this year, because I'm very unhappy about my B+ average last year. It may not matter to some of you, but to me it genuinely does.

It really upsets me when things like this happens. I normally try and move along and not let it get the best of me, but I just reached the breaking point when my friend even admitted he was going to receive a low grade, yet was an entire letter grade higher than me. Stuff like this seems to happen to me all the time, and its as if I'm just plagued with some horrific luck when it comes to grading.

However, I like to stick by the quote "Shallow men believe in luck, strong men believe in cause and effect".

I'm going to talk to her tomorrow and ask her about what I should do to receive an A next time, and why I didn't receive one this time. I'll ask her about how she feels my speaking is and how my overall performance in class looks like to her. I don't know what else to do because disputing the grade will surely lead to harsher grading on upcoming assignments.

Sci-Fi said:

Honestly, it's junior high who cares.

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Is it junior high? I thought the OP meant a junior in high school or college.

Solivagant said:

Sci-Fi said:

Honestly, it's junior high who cares.

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Is it junior high? I thought the OP meant a junior in high school or college.

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Yeah I'm a junior in high school. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

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Sci-Fi said:

Honestly, it's junior high who cares. Heck I'd be happy with and 86%, over joyed in fact. I doubt you'd be able to change the teachers mind, maybe you just think your Spanish was better than your friends and it wasn't. We can often be much more critical of others sometimes. You put a lot of work in which is good. I've known teachers who dock considerably if you go over the required time. Junior high I don't think you are quite qualified to criticize your teachers marking or your friends report. Sounds like you are being a bit jealous. Now if you stuck more strictly to the guidelines it would be a different story.

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Yeah I'm pretty angry and jealous I guess you could say. I do understand where you are coming from, considering the fact you weren't there for the presentation. You'll just have to take my word for it that my friend's presentation, as well as many others weren't as "good" as mine.

Of course, if I am to accuse others of "subjective" or "faulty" grading I am subject to those accusations myself. No wrong in that. Perhaps you are right and my Spanish simply wasn't as good as his. However, there's no denying the fact that his presentation didn't include all of the requirements yet he received full credit. Even he can admit that he had errors in his presentation with both grammar and pronunciation. There are several other people who got better grades than me, and I disagree with. My friend's presentation was just a clear example.

I don't want to come across as someone who is being cocky either. If she really believes my presentation (with the pronunciation errors and going over the time limit) deserves an 86%, I'm cool with that. What I'm upset about is how other presentations CLEARLY didn't meet some requirements yet received a much higher grade.

Sci-Fi said:

Honestly, it's junior high who cares. Heck I'd be happy with and 86%, over joyed in fact.

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My gosh, me too. I didn't even care as long as it was passing. In the schools I went to, 65% and over was passing. I could have gotten a 66 and been perfectly fine with it. But middle school, high school, college... Whatever level, I would certainly hope that anyone attending school would take notice of the advice given so far in this thread.

GrannySmith111 said:

What I'm upset about is how other presentations CLEARLY didn't meet some requirements yet received a much higher grade.

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Don't start caring too much what other students get. Those are not your grades. They are not your concern. Pay attention to your work and do the best you can.

Teachers are human too, mistakes happen. I'd be pretty bothered if a teacher messed up my grade in high school/college just because I wanted to keep my 4.0, I wouldn't let it get to you though. If I wasn't going for perfect grades I wouldn't have cared tbh.

GrannySmith111 said:

I'm going to talk to her tomorrow and ask her about what I should do to receive an A next time, and why I didn't receive one this time. I'll ask her about how she feels my speaking is and how my overall performance in class looks like to her. I don't know what else to do because disputing the grade will surely lead to harsher grading on upcoming assignments.

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If you are going to talk to her, that does sound like the right approach. Nothing to make her defensive and compel her to take a more critical view. It also shows a student who is working hard to do well.

You got a solid B and you're upset? Why? By your own admission, you didn't do all that was required. Why would you get an A for that? What grade do you think you deserve? Spanish is a fairly objective subject. Either you say the vocabulary and grammar correctly or you don't. How much is that grade weighted into your final grade? If it's a small percentage, don't sweat it.
I think it's a good idea to ask her what you could do next time to get an A, in fact that's what I would do. But wait until you're calmer and do NOT bring up your friend's score. His score is none of your business and you'll come off as whiny if you say he got higher and "it's not fair".

Buena suerte!

-Teresa