lisa

My dear friend and colleague Carl (who is feeling poorly, so think happy thoughts in his direction) received the following email from one of his calculus-based engineering physics students:

It seems funny to me that I have done pretty much all of the homework assignments and all of the quizes, taken all of the tests, even though I did poorly on a couple, and did well on the final exam and still recieve a C in the class. I just wanted to let you know that I had put an A effort in to this class, and I'm really disappointed with my C. Now I don't expect you to change the grade because I know the grades are already in, but I just wanted to let you know how I feel.

You'll note that the student thinks that because he has completed the majority of the work, he should have earned an "A". Not that he has performed spectacularly, but that his average performance represented an "A" effort.

Lest you think this is an isolated incident, here is a portion of an email directed to me by an astronomy lab student:

I hate to bring up school during the holiday break but I just got my grades for this past semester and I am having a major anxiety attack! I have a 3.93 and because of the B he gave me I am .7 points away from a 4.0! Getting a 4.0 is extremely important to me. I really feel that I deserve to get an A in this class. I did my work and came to class every time we met. There was a time during the middle of the semester that I missed a class because I separated my shoulder... I am not sure if this is what is effecting my grade in the class but I really feel I am deserving of an A and I was wondering if you could explain to me why I got a B or if you would be able to change my grade to an A. I just feel that I need an explanation being so close to a perfect GPA!

Um, the reason for the "B" is that, despite having the TA with the highest average grades, she still managed to score C's and B's, as well as some A's on the labs. (In case you're curious, I drop the lowest lab grade, so the missing lab didn't even count against her.) Total up the score, and it's in the 80s. Seems pretty simple to me. But, gee, isn't it the effort that counts?

Alright, I just had to get that out of my system before I begin the family travel whirlwind. I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas!

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2003-12-27 11:33 PM "A" effort Previous Entry :: Next Entry Mood: mmm...cocoa.... Read/Post Comments (3) Share on Facebook	My dear friend and colleague Carl (who is feeling poorly, so think happy thoughts in his direction) received the following email from one of his calculus-based engineering physics students: It seems funny to me that I have done pretty much all of the homework assignments and all of the quizes, taken all of the tests, even though I did poorly on a couple, and did well on the final exam and still recieve a C in the class. I just wanted to let you know that I had put an A effort in to this class, and I'm really disappointed with my C. Now I don't expect you to change the grade because I know the grades are already in, but I just wanted to let you know how I feel. You'll note that the student thinks that because he has completed the majority of the work, he should have earned an "A". Not that he has performed spectacularly, but that his average performance represented an "A" effort. Lest you think this is an isolated incident, here is a portion of an email directed to me by an astronomy lab student: I hate to bring up school during the holiday break but I just got my grades for this past semester and I am having a major anxiety attack! I have a 3.93 and because of the B he gave me I am .7 points away from a 4.0! Getting a 4.0 is extremely important to me. I really feel that I deserve to get an A in this class. I did my work and came to class every time we met. There was a time during the middle of the semester that I missed a class because I separated my shoulder... I am not sure if this is what is effecting my grade in the class but I really feel I am deserving of an A and I was wondering if you could explain to me why I got a B or if you would be able to change my grade to an A. I just feel that I need an explanation being so close to a perfect GPA! Um, the reason for the "B" is that, despite having the TA with the highest average grades, she still managed to score C's and B's, as well as some A's on the labs. (In case you're curious, I drop the lowest lab grade, so the missing lab didn't even count against her.) Total up the score, and it's in the 80s. Seems pretty simple to me. But, gee, isn't it the effort that counts? Alright, I just had to get that out of my system before I begin the family travel whirlwind. I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas! Read/Post Comments (3) Previous Entry :: Next Entry Back to Top
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