How does the ``phenomenon of students with attractive looks that have better grades'' change from face-to-face classes to remote?

Academic performance shouldn't be influenced by a student's 'appearance attractiveness,' but a study of about 100 students attending a master's course in engineering in Sweden found that in face-to-face classes, both men and women were more attractive. It turns out that higher students get better grades. In addition, it has become clear that the shift to remote classes due to the spread of the new coronavirus has led to a decline in the grades of highly attractive female students compared to before the spread of infection.

Student beauty and grades under in-person and remote teaching - ScienceDirect
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2022.110782

Adrian Mehic , an economics researcher at Lund University in Sweden, recruited 74 judges to find the ``facial attractiveness'' of about 100 students attending a master's course in engineering in Sweden. We investigated the relationship between grades.

The required subjects for the master's course of the engineering department surveyed are classified into 'quantitative subjects' in which grades are determined by test scores and 'non-quantitative subjects' in which grades are determined by evaluating group assignments and oral presentations. As a result, in 2019, when face-to-face classes were held, there was no correlation between attractiveness and grades in “quantitative subjects”, and students with high attractiveness scored higher in “non-quantitative subjects”. trend was confirmed. Since ``non-quantitative subjects'' have more opportunities for teachers and students to interact with each other than ``quantitative subjects,'' Mehic said, It has a bearing on performance,” he said.

Furthermore, as a result of conducting a similar analysis in 2020, when face-to-face classes were changed to remote classes due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, the results of female students with high attractiveness in 'non-quantitative subjects' declined, and the attractiveness It was confirmed that male students with higher scores maintained their performance in face-to-face classes. Since remote classes reduce teacher-student interaction compared to face-to-face classes, Mehic speculates that ``the relationship between attractiveness and grades in female students is mainly influenced by discrimination by teachers.'' .

In addition, regarding the reason why the grades of highly attractive male students were high even after the shift to remote classes, Mr. Mehic said that based on the research results that ``a highly attractive person is likely to be recognized as having a social personality'' , ``In non-quantitative subjects, group assignments were frequently given, and it is possible that being perceived as having a sociable personality affected the improvement in grades.''