Examining If Grading Bias Exists In A Professor Of Business Courses: An Individual Study

This research paper investigated if grading bias based on gender, course modality (face-to-face and online) and grade level (undergraduate vs. graduate) existed in classes the researcher taught over a three-year period. During the course of the literature review for this investigation, a meta-analysis suggested that more research was needed on a micro level regarding bias rather than reliance on results from metanalysis reports. A second goal was the extension of two studies conducted by the researcher that examined if relationships existed between the amount of time students spent on course assignments and final grades and if the quantity of time a faculty member spent grading student assignments affected final grades given. In this study grades assigned during the academic years 2018 – 2020 derived from the University’s Canvas Learning Management System were analyzed. The population studied consisted of 912 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate courses taught at a public university located in the Pacific Northwest. The main results from this examination showed statistically significant differences were found in aggregate totals between the grades of males and females and the grades of females enrolled in online and face to face courses in two of the three years of the study.