Teacher-assigned grades are susceptible to systematic biases, including halo effects and ethnicity-based grading differences (review-reported)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r3 · q2 · i1 small
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i1 A meta-analysis found an average halo-effect bias of g = 0.36 in teacher-assigned grades. → Nicolas Hübner 2026 q2 i? Preservice teachers assigned lower grades to students with an immigration background despite identical performances, while rule-based judgments showed no such differences. → Nicolas Hübner 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Nicolas Hübner 2026¶

Nicolas Hübner, Juliane Rutsch, Ann-Kathrin Schnelle, Mia Herkommer, Evelin Ruth-Herbein, Benjamin Fauth. (2026). To Grade or Not To Grade? Demystifying a Centuries-Old Debate. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-026-10156-1

q2 · i1 · review · r3

The review reports, citing the Malouff and Thorsteinsson (2016) meta-analysis on the halo effect in teacher grading, an "average bias of g = 0.36". The review narrates this second-hand finding without re-analysis.

"Malouff and Thorsteinsson (2016) found an average bias of g = 0.36 in teacher-assigned grades."

Nicolas Hübner 2026 (2)¶

Nicolas Hübner, Juliane Rutsch, Ann-Kathrin Schnelle, Mia Herkommer, Evelin Ruth-Herbein, Benjamin Fauth. (2026). To Grade or Not To Grade? Demystifying a Centuries-Old Debate. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-026-10156-1

q2 · i? · review · r3

The review reports, citing Bonefeld and Dickhäuser (2018), that "despite identical performances, preservice teachers systematically assigned lower grades to students with an immigration background"; rule-based judgments showed no differences. No effect size is printed.

"They found that, despite identical performances, preservice teachers systematically assigned lower grades to students with an immigration background, whereas no differences were found between students with and without an immigration background in rule-based judgments"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Identity — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Systematic racial, ethnic and gender differences in grades persist among students with the same test scores, attendance, courses and teachers — related
• Among students with the same high grades, ACT scores differ substantially by race/ethnicity, a pattern the report flags as possible racial bias — related