Good grades given to students unfairly

Teachers give students good grades for them to finish their studies sooner, as students from Utrecht found out.

For their research, four students from the Utrecht University surveyed 180 teachers from the Dutch universities, reports the Volkskrant . The students, who call themselves the Tip of the Iceberg, discovered that many teachers sometimes give sufficient grades to student who don’t necessary deserve them.

It was also found that exams were made easier by deleting questions with which students had difficulties. Teachers also said that they sometimes give an insufficient grade for an exam, but not really for a theses. An anonymous lecturer at Utrecht University reported that his boss forced him to grade a thesis with a 7, “while this was clearly a 4.”

The explanation for it is the way the schools are funded. The universities received a bonus when students graduate, which is a motivation to pass a student as quick as possible. The threat of long study fees also plays a role.

Many universities have no clear guidelines about exams form or assessment criteria. Tilburg University doesn’t have a standardized assessment system either.