Knowing your ABCs is essential to academic success, but having a last name starting with A, B or C might also help make the grade.

As graders go on grading, their comments become more frustrated and their good-will becomes much sloppier. At least that’s the hypothesis to explain this. Researchers found the reverse effect on graders who sorted in reverse-alphabetical order.

  • BarqsHasBite
    23•2 months ago

    Is this on paper? Who would sort them?

    *On a program called Canvas

    surnames start with A, B, C, D or E received a 0.3-point higher grade out of 100 possible points than compared to when they were graded randomly. Likewise, students with later-in-the-alphabet surnames received a 0.3-point lower grade—creating a 0.6-point gap.

    Random is always the way to go.