Making The Grade (1 Viewer)

[Chu Gai]

I pretty much enjoyed reading this article when I first came across it. I can remember only negotiating for one grade change years ago in college, a B+ to an A- simply for the reason of getting straight A's that semester. But I think the article has greater relevance in all areas of life today. What good is it constantly patting people or countries on the back when the results never seem to come. Anyways, thought I'd share it.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

i'd be embarassed to even think about asking for something like that. as a student who busted his ass to get a 4.0 the entire 2003-04 year, it sort of irritates me to see some of the students who slack off get a grade they didnt earn.

CJ

 

[SethH]

Good article! As an undergrad I went to a professor one time to ask about possibly doing extra work to up my grade a little. It was the very last class I took as an undergrad. When grades came back I had an A-. I needed one point on my final grade to get an A. Getting an A would mean I would graduate Magna Cum Laude instead of Cum Laude. The professor refused and I got over it. I honestly didn't realize how common this practice is until I started my MBA. I work part-time for a professor at my university grading papers. There is a small segment of the class population who will arrive at the office after every single assignment is graded to argue any point they missed on the assignment (no matter how valuable the assignment is). It's is almost always the same people and the professor often gives them a few points back. This really bothers me. Occasionally they will make good points worthy of receiving more credit for the assignment, but usually they are just trying to get anything they can. I imagine these same people do this for every class and it really annoys me, because from my encounters I find them to be average students at best, but they tend to end up in the top 10% of the class thanks to their negotiating skills.

 

[Chu Gai]

It is disturbing don't you think that a person could conceivably graduate with a 4.0 and never have answered any question completely.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Not really sure how the double post occured--no doubt operator error.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I taught Operating Systems for a while. I always made the same offer to students who challenged my grading on open-ended questions: “if you feel that I made an error in on particular part of your answer, it may well be that I made other errors and I will review your entire paper for all errors that I may have made.”

No one ever took me up on that.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

lew, one of my professors used to have a similar offer. it takes a confident student to present an exam for reevaluation!

CJ

 

[Joe Szott]

Lew - that's hilarious!

 

[Bryan Ri]

As a teacher in training myself, grading is a tricky topic. If a student of mine can justify why their paper is a an A- instead of a B +, then I can see giving them that bump. I think a student's previous record with me would be important, as would the demeanor in which they approached me.

Maybe I'm a pushover, but that's just my take.

 

[Holadem]

I don't see what is fundamentally wrong with asking for a better grade. it's not like you're holding a gun to the teacher's head or something. If I can get away with a better grade just by any legal means, you're damn sure I will.

--
H

 

[Christ Reynolds]

i would be worried about a teacher who maybe would give me the grade (or not) because i maybe made them feel bad, but then didnt give me the benefit next time there was a grading discrepancy, just because in their mind i was labeled a whiner. i dont know, i suppose the chances of that are slim, it's just what i would worry about.

CJ

 

[Ted Lee]

i don't get it either.

my cousin graduated berkeley with a 3.997 (or something like that) gpa. she graduated top of her class, won some sort of academic medal that the engineering dept hadn't seen in 10 years (or something like that), etc. the dean actually said during here graduation that he wants her to come back and teach.

in other words, she kicked some serious academic ass.

but she got a b+ in one of her classes (an elective class to boot) -- i asked her why she didn't challenge it. she said it just wasn't worth her time.

 

[David_Moechnig]

I had a Heat Transfer teacher that when questioned about grading he would usually give the points back. However, he would ususally notice something else wrong and take away more points than he gave back.

 

[Greg_R]

Hehe, I actually went to the school (Georgia Tech) that the author teaches at and was there when the article came out (1996). Although I never had him for physics, I do remember the grading policy. All of my physics test questions were all-or-nothing (you were either right or you were wrong). I never had a complaint (at least for the professor ) because that was how the real world operates. There were some complainers but they usually failed out in a few quarters. Most GT students take pride in the hard academic environment (Suma Cum Laude in my class was anything over a 3.4 GPA).

 

[Jason Adams]

Me neither. I mean, if the teacher or professor genuinely graded papers wrong and you have proof that he or she graded it wrong, or you're willing do do extra work, why not? But I admit though...I have manipulated a teacher or two into getting a better grade.

 

[Seth--L]

I blame this on high schools that let kids do rewrites and corrections. There is no sense of finality with a grade, they can always some how improve it. The message is that hard work, not good work, will get you A's.

What this article doesn't mention are the parents who hound professors and Deans about why they're paying $25k a year and Timmy is getting C's despite studying all night in the library. There's a very real feeling among parents that when you pay a lot, that should mean their kids get good grades.

 

[Seth--L]

That's the thing. People expect professors will give them extra work so they can get an A, or in other words, you deserve an A for meeting some kind of work quota.

 

[Andy_G]

Seth, While I agree with you about what a good friend calls "creeping resubmission", I hope you aren't suggesting that students have some kind of "natural talent" and that hard work doesn't frequently beget good work.

 

[Seth--L]

No, I'm saying: "do the work necessary to get it right the first time." In HS I never did rewrites because I put everything I had into the draft I handed in. If I got a poor grade, it was because of a fundamental problem with the paper. The only revision option was to write a whole new paper. By college, if you are unable to tell that there are problems with your paper when you hand it in that will result in a poor grade, then you need to get some extra help.

 

[Andy_G]

Well, while I don't care to start an arguement, it seems to me that, while the sort of attitude you express here is fine for a middling high school english class, college requires even the best writer to grow and expand in his ability to express himself on all assignments. Rewriting a whole paper prior to handing it in can be a good idea, especially if it's the result of consultation with a peer or writing tutor that that the underlying ideas or thesis are fundamentally wrong. Even absent the ability to resubmit, reflecting on already graded work can be especially fruitful. If initial writing is outlining, then good writing is rewriting, even if after a grade has been given.