(CZ) K problematike subjektívnosti pri klasifikovaní žiakov
(EN) On the Problem of Subjectivity in Marking Pupils' Work

In clarifying the problems involved in school appraisal and marking, it is also necessary to proceed from the Marxist theory of evalution. According to this theory appraisal is the opinion expressed by the subject about the significance of objects (persons, things, phenomena, conditions, activities) for himself and for other people, thus describing their social existence, their social function. The better a pupil fulfils the goals and assignments set by the teacher, the more does he fulfil his social function. The teacher acts primarily as a representative of society, communicating its requirements. At the same time, however, the teacher acts as an individual who realizes himself by his educational work, and who gets back information about the results of his work by the appraisal of pupils. Therefore, the fulfilment or non-fulfilment of demands by pupils, their successes and failures, their positive and negative manifestations are seen by the teacher as the pupils’ relationship to himself as a person. If this feeling prevails, teachers become too personal, too subjective in their approach to the appraisal. Subjectivity, however, is an obstacle to justice in appraising and marking, and is one of the cardinal problems of school work.
The author, in collaboration with 26 students at the College of Efucation, carried out a research on the subjectivity of school appraisal. The teachers taking part in the research marked the same (photocopied) essays in the Slovak language and in foreign languages, and also the same drawings and other assignments, by four or even five different grades. Positive or negative influences on the appraising teachers caused a significant shift in the average marks in the respective direction. Differences in marking arose from the fact that some teachers were very consistent in correctiong mistakes, while others overlooked many mistakes, which was due either to carelessness or lack of knowledge. An important factor affecting the school appraisal is also the difference in the teachers’ age — younger teachers are, on the average, stricter in their appraisal, they are more sensitive to the shortcomings of their pupils. Differences also arise because our syllabuses and instructions for marking constitute very imprecise norms, admitting of different interpretations. In the German Democratic Republic instructions for marking are much more precise.