RELATIONSHIP OF RACE AND SEX TO GRADES ASSIGNED BY HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ENGLISH

Statement of Problem. The purpose of this study was to explore the possibility that the race and sex of teachers and the race and sex of students may have influenced the grades assigned by high school teachers of English in the nation's tenth largest school district, Broward County, Florida. Delimitations. The study involved all students who were enrolled and received a final grade in Regular English I, II and III classes in the twenty (20) public high schools for both semesters of the 1978-1979 school year. All teachers who taught these students and assigned grades, as determined by computer print-outs were included. The exception was that black male teachers and the students taught by them were not included. This exclusion was due to the small number of students taught by black male teachers. Results and Conclusions. Two tentative findings of importance emerged from the study: (1) Boys of both races who were low achievers seemed to have a better chance of passing ninth grade English if they were assigned to male teachers. This did not hold true for higher grade levels possibly because of drop outs. (2) Black female teachers may have tended to be too critical of black girls at higher levels (grades 10 and 11) and to have overly idealized the performance of older white girls (grade eleven). This may have indicated an over-reaction due to the cultural expectations placed upon black females in the black society. The study did not, however, indicate that the differences in grading patterns were influenced in any systematic and consistent way by interactions between student and teacher sex-race variables other than for the tentative findings listed above. Implications for Further Study. The research included in this study was limited by the use of only English grades. Further study is necessary to discover if these findings hold true across other subject areas. The study was further limited by the exclusion of black male teachers. Further study is necessary to discover if black male teachers demonstrate a discernible grading pattern. The limited amount of available research on teacher grading patterns clearly suggests the need for further study in this area.