smartestnumber5
<font color=blue>Then it's just a fun time<br><fon
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2006
I'm almost done with grad school and I teach introductory classes in my field along the way. I'm looking forward to an academic career that involves a lot of teaching (hoping for a liberal arts college position).
I really enjoy teaching. I like interacting with students. I like hearing their ideas. I like seeing their minds be blown by ideas they've never heard before. Grading kind of sucks, but its bearable. What I really can't take though is two things--things that I dread through the entire semester: 1) Plagiarism and 2) Grade-grubbing.
I've vented about plagiarism here in the past, but now that it is final grade time the grade-grubbing problem is taking over. I gave higher grades this semester than ever before (due to my own stupidity in designing assignments and giving them weight in the grading)--tons of A-s and B+s, some Bs, very few B-s, and almost nothing lower than that (except for people who did not turn in all the assignments). 30% of their grades were essentially freebie points of the kind where so long as you do the assignment (and put in a legitimate effort), you get full credit. This means that whatever grade the students got on their papers, their final grade was at least 3-6 points higher. I call that a gift they were extremely lucky to get. (In general, the department expects the median grade to be a B-....my median is way higher than that.)
And yet, even those these students are already getting a nice big break on the grades, I've still got people bothering me trying to get a higher one after I've officially reported the final grades to the university. One of them told me, "By my calculation, I'm just a point away from the next letter grade up so I was wondering if you could tell me how you figured our grades."
(What I said in my head): What do you mean how I "figured them"? I read your paper. I gave it the letter/percentile grade I thought it deserved based on the standards I have given to you and based on a comparison with your classmates' papers. Then I used 6th grade math to calculate the number of points you earned given the percentile grade I assigned. Then I added those points in with all of the other points for all of the other assignments in the class (they already know what they got on these assignments because I've been posting grades online the entire semester). I used an excel spreadsheet and the SUM function to add up your total points. I used the mathematical rules of rounding to get rid of the decimal in those numbers. If you got an 85 after rounding, that was a B. If you got an 89 that was a B+. A 93 was an A-.
Even after I explained all that (in a more subtle, concise, kind way), I still I got "Well...but I was only a point away from an A."
(In my head) Yes, and Bobby was only 1 point away from a B. And Ann was just 2 points away from a B+. And Jack would have a B+ instead of a C if only I had given him 5 extra points on every single assignment!
(In my head) So what do you want me to do? Am I supposed to only give an extra point to you? Are you special? Do you think I have been unfair to you personally in comparison to all other students? Like I graded them objectively and gave them exactly the grade they earned (according to my calculations), but in your case I purposely lowered your grade by 1 point to keep you from getting an A?
(In my head) Or am I supposed to give an extra point to the entire class? But why stop at just 1 point. If I add one point to everyone's grade that means at least 3 grade changes I'll have to submit to the registrar. But wait, now there are at least 3 more people who are just 1 point away from being bumped up to the next letter grade (you know, the people who used to be 2 points away!). Better add another point. Etc. Etc. Why not just give everyone an A?
Another student wants to talk to me about his/her grade and specifically tells me that s/he wants to "argue with me about the grade" because s/he would prefer a higher grade in the course.
(In my head) What the heck? Gee, really, you'd prefer a higher grade? Wouldn't everyone? 
And you want me to meet with you so that you can "argue with me" about the grade you got? And you are announcing to me your intention to argue with me?
(In my head) I am not going to "argue" with anyone about grades. I am not an arguer. If there was anything worth arguing about, it sure as heck isn't your grade. Where did you get the idea that you get to challenge professor's grading decisions not for any actual reason (e.g. I think you graded my paper harder than other students; you made a mistake in your addition; I don't understand why what I said was not correct; I met the grading standards for a higher grade than I got) but because "you'd prefer a higher grade"? Why should I bother grading at all--I could just ask students what grade they prefer at the beginning of the term and then give it to them! No more need to read all of those boring papers!
I know that grades are important and I was pretty grade conscious myself all throughout college. My college had a tradition of announcing the person with the highest GPA at graduation and giving him/her his/her diploma first. I would have liked to be that person, but since I got one A- I ended up in a three way tie for 2nd place. It sucked and I was not happy about it (my dad was really disappointed), but that's life. I didn't have any legitimate grounds for complaint about getting the A-, so I sucked it up and moved on. I didn't realize I should have just let the professor know that I preferred a higher grade. Hey from what I hear, finishing and defending one's dissertation is a nightmare. Maybe if I let my department know that I'd prefer they just hand me a PhD now they'll do it?
I really enjoy teaching. I like interacting with students. I like hearing their ideas. I like seeing their minds be blown by ideas they've never heard before. Grading kind of sucks, but its bearable. What I really can't take though is two things--things that I dread through the entire semester: 1) Plagiarism and 2) Grade-grubbing.
I've vented about plagiarism here in the past, but now that it is final grade time the grade-grubbing problem is taking over. I gave higher grades this semester than ever before (due to my own stupidity in designing assignments and giving them weight in the grading)--tons of A-s and B+s, some Bs, very few B-s, and almost nothing lower than that (except for people who did not turn in all the assignments). 30% of their grades were essentially freebie points of the kind where so long as you do the assignment (and put in a legitimate effort), you get full credit. This means that whatever grade the students got on their papers, their final grade was at least 3-6 points higher. I call that a gift they were extremely lucky to get. (In general, the department expects the median grade to be a B-....my median is way higher than that.)
And yet, even those these students are already getting a nice big break on the grades, I've still got people bothering me trying to get a higher one after I've officially reported the final grades to the university. One of them told me, "By my calculation, I'm just a point away from the next letter grade up so I was wondering if you could tell me how you figured our grades."
(What I said in my head): What do you mean how I "figured them"? I read your paper. I gave it the letter/percentile grade I thought it deserved based on the standards I have given to you and based on a comparison with your classmates' papers. Then I used 6th grade math to calculate the number of points you earned given the percentile grade I assigned. Then I added those points in with all of the other points for all of the other assignments in the class (they already know what they got on these assignments because I've been posting grades online the entire semester). I used an excel spreadsheet and the SUM function to add up your total points. I used the mathematical rules of rounding to get rid of the decimal in those numbers. If you got an 85 after rounding, that was a B. If you got an 89 that was a B+. A 93 was an A-. Even after I explained all that (in a more subtle, concise, kind way), I still I got "Well...but I was only a point away from an A."
(In my head) Yes, and Bobby was only 1 point away from a B. And Ann was just 2 points away from a B+. And Jack would have a B+ instead of a C if only I had given him 5 extra points on every single assignment!
(In my head) So what do you want me to do? Am I supposed to only give an extra point to you? Are you special? Do you think I have been unfair to you personally in comparison to all other students? Like I graded them objectively and gave them exactly the grade they earned (according to my calculations), but in your case I purposely lowered your grade by 1 point to keep you from getting an A?
(In my head) Or am I supposed to give an extra point to the entire class? But why stop at just 1 point. If I add one point to everyone's grade that means at least 3 grade changes I'll have to submit to the registrar. But wait, now there are at least 3 more people who are just 1 point away from being bumped up to the next letter grade (you know, the people who used to be 2 points away!). Better add another point. Etc. Etc. Why not just give everyone an A?
Another student wants to talk to me about his/her grade and specifically tells me that s/he wants to "argue with me about the grade" because s/he would prefer a higher grade in the course.
(In my head) What the heck? Gee, really, you'd prefer a higher grade? Wouldn't everyone? And you want me to meet with you so that you can "argue with me" about the grade you got? And you are announcing to me your intention to argue with me? (In my head) I am not going to "argue" with anyone about grades. I am not an arguer. If there was anything worth arguing about, it sure as heck isn't your grade. Where did you get the idea that you get to challenge professor's grading decisions not for any actual reason (e.g. I think you graded my paper harder than other students; you made a mistake in your addition; I don't understand why what I said was not correct; I met the grading standards for a higher grade than I got) but because "you'd prefer a higher grade"? Why should I bother grading at all--I could just ask students what grade they prefer at the beginning of the term and then give it to them! No more need to read all of those boring papers!
I know that grades are important and I was pretty grade conscious myself all throughout college. My college had a tradition of announcing the person with the highest GPA at graduation and giving him/her his/her diploma first. I would have liked to be that person, but since I got one A- I ended up in a three way tie for 2nd place. It sucked and I was not happy about it (my dad was really disappointed), but that's life. I didn't have any legitimate grounds for complaint about getting the A-, so I sucked it up and moved on. I didn't realize I should have just let the professor know that I preferred a higher grade. Hey from what I hear, finishing and defending one's dissertation is a nightmare. Maybe if I let my department know that I'd prefer they just hand me a PhD now they'll do it?
It was insane! She got an A-, she passed. Who the hell cares if you pass with a 93% versus a 95%. We are medical people..... no one looks at our GPA when we graduate they look at our residency experience. As long as you pass what the heck else matters?
It just feels like people place too much emphasis on their grade instead of what they actually got out of the class. So long as you pass and you gained an understanding of the material then WHO CARES?
