Assigning Grades

Last Friday was the end of the grading period here in Texas. Assigning grades for students is something that is difficult for me.

In theory, I want to set a reasonable expectation and then support each of my students to achieve that standard. I want to give so much support that my students either pass or give up trying. In practice, I tend to set an expectation that I feel is reasonable and then support my students to achieve that standard. But in the end I tend to bend the standard for the students who didn't make it.

There are several ways that I bend the standard that I set. One way is, I justify the it by thinking about how much progress they have made. Another way is, I think about the additional support that I could have done or the mistakes that I made and then take the blame myself and give them a better grade. A third way is I find reasons to raise the grade of a student who is on the boarder between letter grades.

I know that I want a fixed standard that doesn't bend, but it is difficult for me. I think the main reason it is difficult for me is that I want my students to like me. I am afraid that if I give my students bad grades they won't like me.

I would love to hear some advice from some more experienced teachers. Am I unique in feeling the way I do around grade time?