@book{61869,
  abstract     = {{There are few things left on earth that people have not attempted to measure. From temperature to time, from finances to football, numbers are a crucial mediator of how we perceive and understand the world we live in. Increasingly, however, it is humans themselves who are the subject of quantification. Our fitness and success, even our personality traits and attractiveness, are now the stuff of scales and scores. But what does it do to us to be on the receiving end of such measurement?

One of the world’s most successful global metrics is the school grade. Long predating the digital age, educational marks can be traced back at least to sixteenth-century European schools and have since conquered the world, becoming the indicator of academic achievement.   

To understand what it means to be quantified, Noëlle Rohde undertook in-depth fieldwork in a German comprehensive school where students receive more than one hundred grades per year. By staying close to the pupils as they are continually examined and assessed, her ethnography illustrates how marks mould students’ self-images, how they enforce meritocratic thinking and serve as a potent disciplinary tool. Marked: School Grades and the Quantified Life not only offers a nuanced account of the effects of grades on students, but also tells a cautionary tale of the increasing quantification of human life. }},
  author       = {{Rohde, Noëlle}},
  publisher    = {{London School of Economics (LSE) Press}},
  title        = {{{Marked. School Grades and the Quantified Life}}},
  doi          = {{https://doi.org/10.31389/lsepress.mar}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}

@misc{61867,
  author       = {{Rohde, Noëlle}},
  booktitle    = {{The Elgar International Encyclopedia of Sociology of Education}},
  editor       = {{Sidhu, Ravinder and Waters, Johanna and Cheng, Yi'En}},
  pages        = {{205--208}},
  publisher    = {{Edward Elgar Publishing }},
  title        = {{{The Meritocratic Ideal and its Challenges}}},
  doi          = {{https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035315673.00058}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}

@article{61863,
  abstract     = {{Human life is increasingly quantified. From blood pressure to body mass index, from likes and retweets to performance metrics at work, from IQ results to facial attractiveness scores issued by smartphone apps. Many of these numbers have the potential to substantially shape how individuals view themselves, and yet the link between quantification and self-image is to date not well understood. My window into this phenomenon is one of the most ubiquitous and influential metrics worldwide: the school grade. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in a German comprehensive school, I explore how students’ self-images are shaped by their numbers. Comparing students’ official and unofficial remarks reveals a striking contrast between a seemingly detached stance toward marks and a powerful feeling of being defined by them—notably with regards to “intelligence.” Nevertheless, rather than passively identifying with their grades, especially low-performing students draw on a wide range of strategies in an effort to negotiate their self-image in light of their numbers. }},
  author       = {{Rohde, Noëlle}},
  issn         = {{0891-2416}},
  journal      = {{Journal of Contemporary Ethnography}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{607--632}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  title        = {{{'It’s Understandable If It Destroys You, Right?'—Grades, Students’ Self-Images, and Quantification}}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/08912416231157369}},
  volume       = {{52}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}

@article{61861,
  author       = {{Rohde, Noëlle}},
  issn         = {{0308-5147}},
  journal      = {{Economy and Society}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{506--530}},
  publisher    = {{Informa UK Limited}},
  title        = {{{‘To assign people their place in society’: School grades and the quantification of merit}}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/03085147.2023.2225346}},
  volume       = {{52}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}

@techreport{61864,
  author       = {{Rohde, Noëlle}},
  pages        = {{24}},
  title        = {{{Quality Criteria for Algorithmic Processes. Analyzing the Strengths and Weaknesses of Selected Compendia. }}},
  doi          = {{10.11586/2018027}},
  volume       = {{8}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}

@article{61866,
  author       = {{Rohde, Noëlle}},
  issn         = {{2040-1876}},
  journal      = {{Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford}},
  number       = {{2}},
  title        = {{{What Insights About the Body can be Gained Through Anthropological Approaches to Pain?}}},
  volume       = {{IX}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}