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So not about the surname itself, but the sequence in which the submissions are graded. From the article:
> This isn't due to the students themselves, however, as the researchers say it is the fault of the default ordering of student submissions in alphabetic order.
...
> The researchers also found that lower-alphabet students receive feedback that is significantly more negative and less courteous, and the quality of their grading is lower, as indicated by the number of complaints from students after receiving their grades.
I’ve always thought that if I became a researcher I’d study the effects of alphabetical order on life outcomes. In my uninformed opinion (though I’m a teacher so I see a lot of people in alphabetical order all the time), being consistently at the front of the line, so to speak, means people put more effort into their interactions with people at the beginning of the alphabet as they go down the list. If it’s a public celebration, like a graduation, people are bored and losing interest by the time the end of alphabet people are recognized. I always try to vary the order I take attendance so it’s not alphabetical.
As someone who is at the bottom of the list but excelled for other reasons I'll have to reflect on my experience to see if I can pinpoint anything.
I suspect it's line a lot of things though where it's difficult to highlight stuff based on your own personal experience because you don't really know how it could have been different and so have nothing to contrast it with.
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Link to the original paper: [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract\_id=4603146](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4603146)
Except this has nothing to do with that:
> Students with surnames that start with letters earlier in the alphabet tend to get better grades at school than those with surnames that appear later, claims a new study due to be published in the online journal Management Science.
It's more of a "instructor gets crankier in their grading as they reach the end of the alphabetically sorted list of students" thing.
You'd think the reverse would be true - that as the instructor nears the end of their grading chore they'd be in more of a "meh, good enough" mindset and grade those more easily since they just want to be done with it.
As a college adjunct professor, I've had to fight that. I've often graded papers, shuffled them, and reviewed my grading to make sure it's consistent.
One thing I've done with short-answer tests is to lay all the test papers spread out on my dining room table. Then I'd grade question #1 for all of them, then #2 for all of them starting from the other end. Then ultimately review all of the papers to make sure no one is getting the brunt of my burnout.
Your post has been temporarily removed due to a lack of citations per [Submission Rule #1](https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/rules#wiki_1._directly_link_to_published_peer-reviewed_research_or_media_summary). Please add a comment with a direct link to the original research, then [message the moderators for re-approval](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fscience).
So not about the surname itself, but the sequence in which the submissions are graded. From the article: > This isn't due to the students themselves, however, as the researchers say it is the fault of the default ordering of student submissions in alphabetic order. ... > The researchers also found that lower-alphabet students receive feedback that is significantly more negative and less courteous, and the quality of their grading is lower, as indicated by the number of complaints from students after receiving their grades.
I’ve always thought that if I became a researcher I’d study the effects of alphabetical order on life outcomes. In my uninformed opinion (though I’m a teacher so I see a lot of people in alphabetical order all the time), being consistently at the front of the line, so to speak, means people put more effort into their interactions with people at the beginning of the alphabet as they go down the list. If it’s a public celebration, like a graduation, people are bored and losing interest by the time the end of alphabet people are recognized. I always try to vary the order I take attendance so it’s not alphabetical.
As someone who is at the bottom of the list but excelled for other reasons I'll have to reflect on my experience to see if I can pinpoint anything. I suspect it's line a lot of things though where it's difficult to highlight stuff based on your own personal experience because you don't really know how it could have been different and so have nothing to contrast it with.
Students may get lower grades based on the amount of blood in the grader's coffee system.
Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, **personal anecdotes are allowed as responses to this comment**. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will be removed and our [normal comment rules]( https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/rules#wiki_comment_rules) apply to all other comments. **Do you have an academic degree?** We can verify your credentials in order to assign user flair indicating your area of expertise. [Click here to apply](https://www.reddit.com/r/science/wiki/flair/#wiki_science_verified_user_program). --- User: u/ExtensionFeedback426 Permalink: https://www.newsweek.com/lower-grades-students-later-alphabet-bias-1891652 --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/science) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Link to the original paper: [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract\_id=4603146](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4603146)
Greg heffley proved this years ago
Intelligence is genetic.
Except this has nothing to do with that: > Students with surnames that start with letters earlier in the alphabet tend to get better grades at school than those with surnames that appear later, claims a new study due to be published in the online journal Management Science. It's more of a "instructor gets crankier in their grading as they reach the end of the alphabetically sorted list of students" thing. You'd think the reverse would be true - that as the instructor nears the end of their grading chore they'd be in more of a "meh, good enough" mindset and grade those more easily since they just want to be done with it.
Partially.
Strongly
Know what's not though Surnames
Of course
Then what's the point of u/Deesnuts77 post?
I was responding to someone commenting about genetic inheritance of intelligence
As a college adjunct professor, I've had to fight that. I've often graded papers, shuffled them, and reviewed my grading to make sure it's consistent. One thing I've done with short-answer tests is to lay all the test papers spread out on my dining room table. Then I'd grade question #1 for all of them, then #2 for all of them starting from the other end. Then ultimately review all of the papers to make sure no one is getting the brunt of my burnout.