S4 E12 | Faint Praise: Race, Charitable Grading, and Unhelpful Feedback

The Dissidents

This week we talk about research on the potential effects of race on the type of feedback and grades that students receive. In a recent study, poorly written college essays believed to be submitted by Black students were more leniently scored. White raters gave Black writers more overt praise and encouragement, but offered less helpful feedback and critical analysis. Discomfort with the grading task exacerbated the effects. Mike and Elizabeth discuss bias born of egalitarian values, the tyranny of low expectations, and what what research like this may reveal about the value of education.

Podcast Notes:

Harber, K. D., Reeves, S., Gorman, J. L., Williams, C. H., Malin, J., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2019). The conflicted language of interracial feedback. Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(7), 1220–1242.