Do Teachers Bump Up Grades?
Grades are used to evaluate students’ comprehension of concepts taught and learned during a certain period. Whether in assignments, quizzes, or examinations, the grade attained by a student could have none to a significant impact on their future.
Unfortunately, it can be frustrating for students when they’re on the cusp of getting a better grade. A single mark or even less could make the difference between an “A” or a “B”.
Teachers know this very well and try our best to be fair to our students. While some may simply round up a student’s grade others do not. A teacher could round up a 79.90% grade to 80% while another might round down to 79%.
While this is dependent on each respective teacher and the reasons for their choices, some students might wonder whether their teacher might be willing to bump up their grades for various reasons.
Why Students Want Teachers To Bump Up Their Grades
While some reasons could be unique to specific students, we’ll outline the most common reasons why students might want teachers to bump up their grades.
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On The Cusp Of A Better Grade
Imagine submitting your assignment, or examination for grading only to receive a result that just falls short of a better grade. It can be frustrating especially since you’re not given the option to redo the same test for submission.
The teacher could’ve simply added a 0.50% grade to give you a better grade. A typical example is getting a grade of 79.50% on a test. The annoying part is that the teacher would be confronted with two options. To either bump you up to 80% so you get a better grade or to simply ignore that and leave it as it is.
Here, the teacher is at liberty to choose their course of action putting into consideration various other factors.
Employers Care About Grades
While some companies especially in the technology space in our modern technological market may put lesser emphasis on academic achievement as opposed to practical skills and experience, it remains key in many other industries.
Companies are always in search of the brightest talents from top-rated educational institutions and students need high GPAs to be chosen amidst a pool of excellent other candidates.
Anything less than good could negatively impact your ability to get your dream job or career.
Top Institutions Care About Grades
Getting into Ivy League schools requires nothing short of academic excellence considering the level of competition. The requirements for getting admission into these institutions leave room for nothing short of academic excellence.
A bad grade could reduce a student’s overall GPA and reduce any chances of getting into their school of choice.
Maintain Scholarship
Quality education can be expensive but some students are able to land scholarships that reduces or eliminates their need to pay ridiculous amounts. Most of these scholarships are dependent on the student maintaining their overall GPA.
Any reduction in GPA could put the student at risk of losing their hard-earned scholarship.
Further Education
Whether formal or informal, education is a continuous process for everyone. We learn as we go and while some choose the level of formal education they’re satisfied with, others do not.
However, furthering your education requires attaining an acceptable grade in your previous education. To get into a master’s or doctoral program, students need to achieve an acceptable grade to qualify for a program of their choice.
Fear Of Repetition
No one likes getting repeated, to be left behind while your peers progress to higher levels while you stay behind with your juniors. Unfortunately, this decision can be made by schools when they determine it to be the best course of action for the student.
In some cases, a single point would make the difference between repeating a grade or passing.
Do Teachers Ever Bump Student Grades
While teachers don’t make it a point to bump up students’ grades, it’s not uncommon in the education field. Reasons behind such an action could be as a result of the teacher’s observation or the student’s unique circumstances, extra credits, classroom performance, or an overall class average grade bump up.
Why Teachers Bump Up Grades
While students may have their reasons for requiring a bump up in their grades, teachers have theirs as well. A few of these reasons include:
Class Average Grade Bump Up
Teachers sometimes increase the overall average of grades attained by their students due to various reasons. A typical example is in a situation where the questions administered in an examination happen to be very difficult.
While this may be intentional or unintentional, a teacher may choose to increase the overall class average to avoid failing a majority of students despite their valiant effort on the administered tests.
There have also been cases where an error in the administered test could lead to added grades to student results in an examination. In other cases, a teacher may choose to institute a curve to avoid failing a significant number of students.
Extra Credit
While not every teacher is a fan of extra credits, it still serves as a generous approach to help students supplement their grades. In cases where teachers have not offered an opportunity for extra credits, students sometimes take the initiative to ascertain the availability of this option.
Students could perform various academic activities including research, volunteer work, extra-curricular activities, assignments, and more. This can serve as some form of insurance as the extra credit could end up being just the bump you need to gain a better grade.
Maintain Their GPA
In some cases, a teacher might use their discretion to provide a student an opportunity to make up for a poor grade that could decrease their GPA resulting in the loss of their scholarship.
Dedicated Student
Teachers leverage various approaches to assess their students. And while examinations remain predominant, class attendance and participation can also play an important role in student assessment. A teacher may choose to bump a dedicated student’s grade when necessary.
Extenuating Circumstances
Sometimes there’re extenuating circumstances resulting in a teacher being empathetic of a student’s situation. A typical example is an excellent student who was unable to finish their examination as a result of some health imminent health issues.
The teacher in this case might choose to bump up the student’s grade, especially in cases where a single point could make a huge difference to the student (scholarship or getting into a good school).
When Won’t Teachers Bump Up Grades
Although there’re various reasons for a teacher to bump up students’ grades, students should refrain from counting on this action. Students should note that the teacher is under no obligation to bump up students’ grades for any particular reason.
Students Feel Entitled
Simply feeling entitled to a higher grade does not guarantee that the teacher would be willing to bump up your grade. Teachers rarely bump up grades and try to remain impartial in their grading process.
Even in cases where a half a point would be enough to get you a better grade, it’s worth noting that students are not entitled to an added grade. The teacher is at liberty to make this decision in extreme cases.
Acceptable Class Average
Even if a student underperforms, a teacher is under no obligation to bump up their grades when the class average is satisfactory. While a teacher may choose to increase the overall class average grade in extreme cases where the average grade is unsatisfactory, any grade increment is unexpected in cases where the overall class average is satisfactory.
No Extra Credit
A teacher is unlikely to bump up a student’s grade in cases where students had the option to participate in activities for extra credits. Students who neglected to participate in activities for extra credit are unlikely to receive a bump in their grades.
No Extenuating Circumstances
In cases where there’re no extenuating circumstances, a teacher is under no obligation to bump up a student’s grade, irrespective of the repercussions of any poor performance to the student.
