This week was a good way of getting back in the swing of things after the excitement of Harrogate. We had exams, which meant a lot of invigilation (!). It also means, unfortunately, that I’ll have to give bad news to some of my students. I’m teaching students this semester who, for whatever reason, are facing a real challenge to pass their course and the chances are that at some point in the near future I’ll be the bringer of bad news when it comes to handing out exam results. I was wondering how others deal with giving bad news to failing students. As ever, I asked my peers from around the world how they handle this issue. Here are some of the responses I received.
Take the easy way out
Giving bad news to students who have failed should never be something you look forward to. Indeed, for many teachers doing it face to face can prove too much. Consider these examples:
‘Take the coward’s way out: do it by email, but in the email say you are available for a meeting if they wish to discuss their result.’
Dmb in Scotland
‘Pin them up somewhere then do a runner.’
TheLongWayHome in Mexico
While at first this may seem to be a case of the teacher dodging their responsibility, this may not necessarily be so, as I’ll explain later. However, some of us prefer to additionally employ some preemptive methods.
Preparing them in advance
However much attention your students are or aren’t paying to their lessons, you can be assured that they’ll know exactly what’s going on in terms of whether they’re passing or failing their courses. Consequently, they’ll be full of questions come exam time, and will expect you to be extremely accommodating with regard to answering their questions about the forthcoming assessment. This is even more the case for those who are in borderline territory, by which I mean those who need to perform particularly well on a test in order to advance. The way you interact with these learners can help them in the eventuality of them not ‘making the grade’. Spiral78 exemplifies:
‘I’d talk to them well in advance, and repeatedly. Email is useful as a communication medium for low-level learners, though, because they can look up the words they don’t understand clearly.’
‘You can also emphasize the benefits of repeating. It’s confidence-building if it can be done in a positive way – from being at the bottom of the class, your repeaters can move to the top (or at least higher up than the bottom) in the second go-round.’
Spiral78 in Europe
Having a clearer idea of where their short-term future will take them can be beneficial, much more so than leaving them to reflect on their own. Showing that failure doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the world is important. However, students will always have expectations about how they are going to perform; frequently these may prove unrealistic. So…
Be aware of student expectations
No matter how much an individual is expecting to fail an exam, or indeed if they’re not, it always comes as a bit of a shock in the cold light of day when they get to see how they’ve actually performed (if they’ve failed). When this happens, make sure you are ready for the inevitable inquest, as the individual in question will have a bit of the ‘wounded animal’ about them. Glenski gives a good indication of how you might prepare yourself:
‘If you are worried about a student calling you on the reason for his failure, let me ask you this. Can you numerically/mathematically justify it? Some teachers have a poor system for bookkeeping. If a student asks me (and a few rare ones do), I open the spreadsheet and show them where they had poor scores on quizzes or HW, failure to hand in work, etc. Few complain further.’
Glenski in Japan
This isn’t just a question of defending your corner, although admittedly having clear records works well in this way, it is also being fair to the student, as it transparently shows them how and why they’ve arrived at this point.
Of course, in many cases you may be inheriting students who have had their expectations ‘massaged’ by other teachers. This might mean having their expectations artificially inflated through undeserved praise, or by the teacher offering a little too much by way of ‘you can do it’ type encouragement. In some cases, of course, this can go beyond what I would consider professionally acceptable. Glenski continues:
‘One problem where I work is that some students get spoiled by previous teachers or their current ones. They see the failed grade and then beg for a passing one. In some courses, other teachers give them a second chance by writing a stupid report or something. Again, ask what your institution needs.’
Glenski in Japan
You’ll probably find – I certainly have – that you come up against students who’ll say that ‘so and so’ told them that they could pass if they got your permission to receive extra credit for such and such. Always remember to act professionally and do what your place of work expects you to do.
Are you in the wrong?
Sometimes the assessment may not be an accurate reflection of what has gone on in the classroom. Sometimes the assessment isn’t at an appropriate level. It happens. What can we do? Consider these examples:
‘If [students fail] by a large margin, it may take an effort, not only from the student but also from the teacher and the school. Then, it also depends on what the percentage of failed students in the class is. If you failed many of your students, you might have to look back and see what happened either during your classes or prior to the beginning of your course. Did you really do the job? Or, did the school give you an unreasonable job to do?’
Englishexpertgibson in China
‘Failing a large percentage might mean the teacher did something unreasonable, yes, and I have been faced with that decision as has one of my coworkers. It may be something as simple as miscommunication.
However, if things are clear, and students HAVE been given something reasonable to do, then failing them is justified. It sometimes serves as a wakeup call to the students in the future and to the university.’
Glenski in Japan
This is a situation which requires a great deal of cooperation between those creating the exam and those of us having to deal with the aftermath. I’d particularly like any thoughts you have on this point.
Whatever you do, do what’s necessary
Let’s think back to those first two examples. What might seem cold, even callous, might be exactly what you’re required to do by your institution. In trying to ease the pain when giving bad news, above all else remember to follow protocol. Glenski again offers advice:
‘How does your institution require that you do this? Ask them. At my uni, I just send the grades in to the Student Services department, and students later get a report from them. I have an office, so I sometimes also post the grades (ID numbers only, no names) outside my office with the final tests and answer key. Most students never pick them up anyway.’
Glenski in Japan
You might find yourself working at an institution which has an ‘interesting’ approach towards dealing with failure. Consider this example:
‘My worst experience was at a private “university” in Cambodia which basically had a “no-fail” policy. I only taught North American pronunciation and reading and listening comprehension, but teachers were expected to make up two versions of the final exams which had to be pre-approved but the department head. Fail the first, then the student took the second. Fail that… guess what… teacher prepares a third and administers it personally. Fortunately, the last event only occurred once during the three terms I was there. The two students (same class) had a less then 60% attendance (I kept good records) so the Khmer assistant dean saw my exasperation and handled it himself. They both passed.
Elkythedogsperson in Indonesia
While such instances aren’t the norm, my experiences lead me to believe they are far from the exception. Your role in such a situation is to follow protocol. Failure, as well as being upsetting for the student, also doesn’t reflect well on the institution. It is a fact of life that schools need to get the punters in and guarantees of passing the courses is one of the biggest ways to get repeat custom. This many not fall exactly in line with professional integrity, but that’s the way it is.
What to do?
Some of my students simply aren’t yet at the level required to pass their course and move up to the next level. What are my options? Englishexpertgibson summarizes:
‘Considering everything’s fine with your course and students are just weak and so more of them have failed, you might have to take your time to reason why. If I were you, I’d write an individual student report for my supervisor justifying all the failures and I’d dare to provide some solutions as well which might be; 1) retakes, 2) an extra lesson to explain the students’ marks (think of the backwash), 3) a few extra lessons to improve the students’ skills to pass these exams, 4) a whole new course to prepare the students for the same exam again, or 5) individual tutoring to improve the students in varieties of areas they’re weak at.’
Englishexpertgibson in China
A final note
Above all else, when giving out failing grades, follow the protocol of the place where you work. Be compassionate, but don’t go against the conventions or you’ll find yourself in trouble. Hopefully, like me, you’re working in an institution that values professional integrity and values standards over stone cold guarantees of passing regardless of actual performance.
Disagree? Let me know your thoughts…
