Up until last year, I had never heard the term “blind grading.” Blind grading refers to the process of a teacher grading an assignment without knowing who wrote it. It never occurred to me that teachers could consciously or subconsciously allow their bias to influence a student’s grade. 

While outlining the directions for an in-class assignment, my teacher had us type our I.D. numbers at the top of our papers and staple the directions with our names on the back. My teacher reasoned that this system eliminated any chance of subconsciously using bias to influence a student’s grade. I thought this was genius because it gave my class a chance at being graded fairly. It didn’t matter whether a teacher liked me, but I loved the assurance that my score genuinely reflected the quality of my writing and not a teacher’s opinion of me. It ensured that all students’ essays were graded fairly.

I don’t believe blind grading is necessary for all assessments. However, when subjective assessments are given, like an essay or short-answer portion, blind grading should absolutely be used. While I am aware that not all teachers grade with a subconscious bias, there must be a system like the one used in my class to guarantee all students are graded fairly. All teachers should ask for students’ I.D. numbers instead of names or have students write their names in a place where the teacher doesn’t immediately see, like on the back of their tests. 

Sometimes, teachers have students submit assignments on Google Classroom, but this creates the risk of biased grading. A solution is to have students submit assignments electronically and physically. Teachers could grade the printed copies with students’ I.D. numbers first, then check Google Classroom once the assignment was graded to verify that a student didn’t plagiarize. 

All students deserve to be graded free of bias without the risk of their grades changing based on a teacher’s personal opinion. The name at the top of a piece of paper should not determine a student’s grade.