25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

Mistake 15: Inappropriate Assessment
I still received an F. We changed teachers for one six-week term, and I received an A
that time. My parents finally had me transferred to his class, so I could have a chance
to pass. I ended up with As in his class, where I had made Fs in her class. I did nothing
different. I can honestly say it was just a personality conflict. I guess there was something
she did not like about me. I know I will do my best to never let myself be influenced
like that so that I would fail a student. I hope to be fair to all of them and will
strive hard to achieve that goal.
Teachers who wield a big
sword with an F on it intend to
hurt someone. They are no longer
evaluating grades; they are carrying
out a vendetta of unknown origin.
Perhaps as a child, this teacher felt
the sting of getting an F, maybe even
an undeserved F. Knowing the power
of the failure, perhaps this teacher
was identifying with her oppressor
when she consistently gave Fs to a
student she disliked. She effectively
used the bad grade as a weapon.
Emotion is often a barrier to effective
student assessment. Some teachers
allow their personal feelings
about students’ academic potential,
attitudes and beliefs, personal appear -
ance, social class, race, or gender to
bias their grading or assessment.
Teacher bias seems apparent in this
scenario but the factors underlying
the bias are not clear. When a
teacher’s assessment of a student
embraces bias, the grades or scores
are useless; they only reflect the inaccuracy
of bias and offer no meaningful
feedback on student achievement.
The inaccuracy of biased grading is
evident in this scenario where the
SCENARIO 15.3
I Am Not My Brother’s Keeper
123
student consistently made Fs in one
class and made As upon transferring
to another class. The disparity in
grading is a red flag that perhaps the
student was right. The teacher probably
disliked the student and tried to
use grades as a punishment.
Fair-minded teachers have high
expectations for all students. They
are aware of their responsibility to
set appropriate achievement goals
for all students, including students
they dislike. Delivering quality feedback
is virtually impossible in the
presence of bias. Using appropriate
assessment to identify student needs
allows teachers to target instruction
to address those needs, which effectively
enhances the achievement of
all students, particularly low achievers
(O’Connor, 1998).
Informed teachers realize that the
purpose of assessment is to provide
quality feedback that can be used to
improve student performance. They
know that a grade of F is only a form
of feedback. They also realize that using
grades for punitive reasons is pure
folly that is doomed to end in failure
for the student... and the teacher!
When I was in high school, we were taking our exit tests. We were placed three at a
table in the library to take our tests. The day we got our results back, the boy who sat