Bob Majirioghene, Nigeria
I do not think it is okay to award marks to students if they do not really deserve these marks. Once upon a time, my students all felt I was a monster on account of the poor grades they kept getting from the assessment I made on their essays. I felt really worried that they felt this way and we agreed to give them marks they did not really deserve in their next assignment. When the students saw the marks on their scripts and the pain on my face as I handed out the scripts, they begged me to give them their 'real' marks and stop playing games with them. As we all understood that sometimes the marks may not be the best way to judge their improvement in writing, real value is now on the little words of encouragement I leave at the end of an excellent, good or bad script.

Aysegul Kale, Turkey
I don't think that giving a good mark to a bad student works because bad students don't care about good or bad marks. If a teacher gives a good mark the bad students may think "This teacher gives good marks no matter how I behave". I think praising the student for his good behaviour will be more useful

Rob Marshall, France
I mainly teach engineering students. I make it clear to them at the beginning of the course that their mark has 2 elements. 50% of the mark is for the actual work produced and the other 50% is based on their level of participation and behaviour in class. This gives me the freedom to mark down students who may have a good level but simply to not perform well enough in class.

Jawida, Tunisia
I would never grant any mark a student does not deserve! It's unfair towards other students who get the marks they actually deserve whereas lazy, uninterested, noisy learners get more than they are worth! Everyone must work hard and reach the same degree of motivation - provided we, teachers, manage to involve all the students and pay special attention to the ones who might seem less motivated. Give them more exercises that help them understand better.Talk to them individually and convince them of the importance of being motivated for learning. Spend some time listening to them: they might have specific problems that prevent them from being as motivated as we want them to be. All the best from a fellow ELTer.

Ratna Mukerji, India
I was teachingEnglish,some time ago, to senior school students,most had grammatical and spelling related problems. As required by the school I held their tests and found them terribly lacking in the above areas. If I had to give actual marks many would have failed. So I decided on giving more marks than deserved, so as to motivate them,and encourage them to write on their own and not by rote, which is very common. The results were decidedly better than expected, I got their trust and all of them were encouraged to try further.

Ahmed Imam, Egypt
I think that motivating students by giving them undeserved marks is not the right method. Rather, it may take the student towards more abnormal behaviour. For a teacher it's necessary that he or she should put the correct picture to their student and try to tackle the whole situation by keeping the entire class in mind. Can you tell me that what will be the effect on the good students of giving these undeserved marks to weak students? I suppose it will be very bad and damaging. therefore I will never do it. So whats the solution?
It's very simple,
Weak students require more time and as in your case you are using the term bad, which again I dont like to be used for a student. Imay say that such students require guidance and counselling. Give them more attention and talk to them in a friendly manner.You will see positive results soon. Never spoil your students as one of those mothers who used to always hide their bad deeds from father. I wish you best of luck.

Vimmy Singh, India
I am of the opinion that motivation should be in part a result of at least some endeavour on part of the student. If motivation comes effortlessly and for free, the student would neither realise its significance nor appreciate it. Instead motivation could be built up as a planned process wherein the student is initially given importance in class .He/she could be entrusted with certain class responsibilities that would build up his self-esteem. Gradually he could be involved in class discussions so that he could overcome his reticence. A sustained effort in this direction would certainly bring desired results. In any case there can never be a single established method for dealing with such students. Responses may vary and so must the trials for improving them. Under all circumstances if the student sees his marks as the tangible result of his own labour the motivation level is sure to grow.

T. B., Finland
In my opinion the motivation is very important but unfortunately it is the most challenging area. The so called bad student may not get the point by having a better grade/mark than s/he deserves. I think fair play pays best and the honest feedback could still be encouraging when paying attention to at least one fine point every student surely has. It takes time to have a chat with each student performing poorly and to find something positive to say but it is worth the effort. I believe that the student senses the real concern and every student deserves to be treated in a respectful way. It is hard to break the barrier of the badly behaving student but if s/he manages to take the first step towards better bahaviour and learns something, e.g. a phrase, that is the best reward. to discover.

Michelle Tamala, Australia
Students are not unaware of how they are performing in any given situation. They know if their work is below standard and giving a student a higher mark than their work deserves will probably not make them work any harder. In fact it may make them think that they have pulled the wool over your eyes. By giving written and verbal feedback rather than just marks alone you can actually focus positively on aspects of the work that are promising within the framework of a not so fabulous mark. Giving higher marks to encourage low achievers may also have a negative effect on high achievers within your group.

Carmen Rhor, Peru
The "bad student" as you call this learner, is actually a desperate human being who is calling your attention for help. We English instructors should to a certain extend also get involved in our student's personal life; therefore having a talk to him/her would be the first step if you are really interested in his/her change of attitude towards the course. As a matter of fact, I've gone through this type of experience (who hasn't?) and it has worked out very well. I recommend you address the student privately and explain to him/her the consequences of not getting involved in the course. In fact, my student's attitude did change, he became more pro-active and in the next piece of homework and/or quiz he did improve his mark. I wrote a "Well done!", or "Good effort" note, and believe me, he passed the course with a good mark, and when we see each other in campus, he is always most respectful and nice (he was a pain in the neck!!, sometimes even rude). So, if I were you I wouldn't lie to the student by giving him a mark that he doesn't really deserve, but would be more friendly and wouldn't ignore him at all. "Each student in your room has something to contribute. Help each person figure out what that is". All the best, and "Buena suerte".

Susan, Peru
It´s difficult to choose which one is the correct mark for our students. I think that first you have to be clear what is their behavior in the classroom and what it is when the student can achieve a goal. Also I think one important item to be considered: the EFFORT and that the teacher has to know if there are learning problems, emotional problems,etc. Maybe that group of students needs another kind of activity. Short activities, reinforcement in some areas,etc,etc. You have to try.

Maryam, UAE
Giving away high marks to students may not make them better. On the contrary, they would only be motivated to use it against the teacher himself. Don't be shocked if one day a bad student came up to comparing your evaluation on his performance with tests and examinations on the pretext that they have done better in previous ones and so your previous motivational high marks are used as a proof!!

B. Qashou, Poland
I've always thought about this ... but it does not always work. If the mark
is given once, there is every likelyhood that this better mark will motivate
the 'weaker' student but if it's given very often i'm almost sure that it
will demotivate. The student would be convinced that there is no use in
working harder as he/she receives that better mark. So, be careful using
such a method.

Harrow English School, England
Marks must ALWAYS be honest and accurate and give a true account of the position of the pupil on the scale being tested.
No factors or attributes may intrude on those actually being tested.
If you want to reward attributes other than those being tested you must devise a separate contest IN RESPECT ONLY OF THOSE ATTRIBUTES. The class will rightly see through and distrust the teacher who alters the rules "privately"; and the pupil who is being "favoured" or "compensated" unofficially will be the pupil who most implacably detests that untrustworthy teacher.

Tina, Italy
I think giving a better mark than deserved to a student who is falling behind though trying can stimulate that student to work more or find out what is going wrong but I don't think it really changes things for the other cases. Rather than concentration on the marks, one needs to find out why the students are bad, demotivated or whatever. I have actually noticed that too much of a choice of activities has the opposite effect too. It's like giving a child too many toys - the child just can't play anymore. I also find that students can get demotivated if every teacher in every subject is taking them into the computer lab to work - instead of motivating, it is having the opposite result. Perhaps one shouldn't do an activity for the sake of doing it and consider that if it has worked for one teacher it may not work for you. A greater help is to really know the students you are working with and let them direct the choice of activities one makes. Going back to better marks - you could try self evaluation