<p>can a professor fail some one for being disrespectful? me and my step mom saw someone doing this and we got in an argument because i said teachers cannot base grades off of attitude but scores and my step mom disagrees</p>
<p>there’s always part of your grade which is based on participation (i.e., productive, interesting, non-disruptive participation showing good preparation for the class).
If a student is borderline (C/C+), that makes the difference between passing and failing.</p>
<p>In addition, you “saw” something, but you may have misinterpreted it. For all you know, the “respect” issue is actually a “cheating” issue…</p>
<p>There is also the possibility that the student was disrespectful AND didn’t know the material. When I was a TA, the students that were disrespectful were often already failing the class. It may be very likely that you didn’t see what you think you saw, or the story you heard was biased in some way. I’ve never known a professor who would fail someone based entirely on their attitude, from my experience both as a student and as a teaching assistant. </p>
<p>If a student’s grade is determined by midterm/final exams, then no, a professor cannot fail someone based on their attitude. If there is participation component of the grade and the student is already borderline, that may very well determine whether they pass or fail the course.</p>