There's a good empirical study for you. Do the stair method, record the results. Then grade by whichever is your preferred "serious" grading methodology, record the results. Then compare the results.

Thanks Colin. I hadn't seen your post before writing this one, but it's remarkable how similar they are in content....

A related tragic story is here - http://www.theonion.com/articles/nation-shocked-by-prenatal-shooting,378/

HenryB - Justice Thomas is quite clear on this point in his very first page. He rejects incorporation through the Due Process Clause for any part of the Bill of Rights: "But I cannot agree that it is enforceable against the States through a clause that speaks only to “process.”" He later says, on page 8, after discussing the history of Due Process incorporation: "I cannot accept a theory of constitutional interpretation that rests on such tenuous footing."