We Are All Victims: The Marking Game

Abstract

This chapter continues to outline examples of how schools oppress and what the authors believe currently prevents quality willed learning from being realized. Ricci has taught at a number of universities and all of them have a marking policy. He has yet to meet a professor who, when he asked about a marking policy at their university, said that they did not have one. Unbeknownst to most students, no matter how hard students work and how high a grade they deserve, their grades in a course are, in an important sense, predetermined before they even enter the course. The same is true for students with lower scores, but to a lesser degree. Professors have to present marks that fit a preset pattern, and therefore the marks they submit can neither be too low nor too high, as we will see. As a high school teacher, Ricci constantly witnessed the marking game being played. Let’s face it, anyone can create a test where all of the students pass or create a test where all of the students fail. At one school where Ricci taught, he was expected to fill out a sheet outlining the final median marks. If they were not within the predetermined range, he would have to meet with the department chair. In order to avoid this hassle, many felt it easier, safer, and less stressful to make sure they complied. The tests and assignments are not based on what is pedagogically best for students, but on what will generate the expected grades.