Week 3: Grades & Cultural Capital

1. WEEK 3:
GRADES & CULTURAL CAPITAL
Melanie Tannenbaum, M.A.
Sociology 463/663
Spring 2015

2. THE IMPORTANCE OFTEST SCORES

3. GRADES
Who gets good grades? Who gets not-so-good grades?
Are grades assigned fairly? What does “fair” mean?
What’s the relationship between test scores & grades?
What happens as a consequence of good or bad grades?

4. DO GRADES REFLECT MERIT?

5. CULTURAL CAPITAL
Bourdieu
Instruments for the appropriation of symbolic wealth socially designated as worth of
being sought and possessed.
Two meanings
Knowledge of “highbrow” culture
Fine art, classical music, literature, museums, poetry
Knowledge of behavioral & linguistic codes
Work habits, participation

6. CULTURAL CAPITAL
Paul DiMaggio (1982)
Systematic influence of cultural capital on grades
Higher cultural capital → Higher grades
Participation in “highbrow” culture = Evidence of
membership in cultural elite
Tina Wildhagen (2010)

7. WHAT DO GRADES MEASURE?
FARKAS ET AL., 1990
Used a test of coursework mastery to assess exactly what was
taught in the classroom (not standardized tests)
What is meritocracy in grading?
Narrowly Defined: Grades should only reflect how well the
students master coursework (Grades = Test Performance)
Broadly Defined: Grades should reflect how well the student
masters coursework and student conduct (e.g., effort)

8. TYPICALLY OBSERVED
Gender
Race/Ethnicity
Social Class
Grade

9. NARROWLY DEFINED MERITOCRACY?
Gender
Race/Ethnicity
Social Class
Grade
Coursework Mastery

10. BROADLY DEFINED MERITOCRACY?
Gender
Race/Ethnicity
Social Class
Grade
Coursework Mastery
Student Conduct

11. FARKAS ET AL. (1990)
Gender
Race/Ethnicity
Social Class
Grade
Coursework Mastery
Student Conduct

12. FARKAS ET AL. (1990)
Gender
Race/Ethnicity
Social Class
Grade
Coursework Mastery
Student Conduct
Some background variables are related to coursework mastery
and student conduct.
!
Coursework mastery and conduct do determine grades.
!
However, even when coursework mastery and student conduct
are taken into account and controlled for, background variables
still have an influence on grades.

13. CONTEXT EFFECTS
Grading might be relative
“Grading on a curve”
Distribution of A’s, B’s, etc. might be predetermined
Reasonably Knowledgeable Student
Might get an A at Know Nothings School (Big fish, little pond)
Might get a C at Geniuses United School (Big pond, little fish)

14. CONTEXT EFFECTS

15. DISCUSSIONTIME!
How could grades be done differently? How could they be improved?
!
Do you think grading is “fair” the way it exists now?
!
What are different inputs that you think could go into grades?
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Do you think that “sensitivity-based trainings” or other types of
awareness trainings could help train teachers to avoid falling victim to
biases?

16. DISCUSSIONTIME!
Why do you think cultural capital influences student outcomes? What do you
think are the main “mechanisms”/processes in play?
!
What are some examples of modern-day cultural capital?
!
If art & music are really so important, should we be pushing to have more art/
music classes in schools? Why or why not?
!
What traits do those who jump up (or fall) in social class possess? And how (if
possible) can we bring these characteristics out in students everywhere?