ask prof about P vs. H? gunner-haters beware!

[anony mouse]

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Hi All,

Just received a finals score and from my own calculations am about 0.5 points away from honors in the course (F/P/H system). Would you talk to the professor about it? I realize that even being worried about this is pretty ridiculous. I will totally understand if you write back with comments like "you are a loser" and "quit your whining", but I thought I would just see what peoples' opinions were.

To complicate the matter, I think one question actually has multiple correct answers (according to primary literature, not material directly presented in course notes or slides). That one question would tip the balance, is it worth bringing up? Also of note is that final grades aren't out yet, I guess there is a chance that the course director will take pity on me and bump it up, not likely though. Thanks!

p.s., if this makes me a gunner, just know that I am a nice, friendly, quiet gunner.

 

[illixir]

Just go ask today and stop thinking about it. It'll take ten minutes to ask the guy, you have nothing to lose, and you wont have to waste hours now or in the future thinking about whether you should or shouldn't have.

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

I wouldn't go pity-partying to the prof about bumping up your grade, that's undergrad stuff. They drew the line, you fell on the wrong side of it, it happens sorry.

However, I would absolutely challenge specific questions you feel are poorly worded or have multiple correct answers. My school actually has an established student liason (sp?) committee which does this routinely.

 

[nogolfinsnow]

I wouldn't go pity-partying to the prof about bumping up your grade, that's undergrad stuff. They drew the line, you fell on the wrong side of it, it happens sorry.

However, I would absolutely challenge specific questions you feel are poorly worded or have multiple correct answers. My school actually has an established student liason (sp?) committee which does this routinely.

Exactly. Don't go asking to get bumped up a grade level. Do challenge questions you think are graded incorrectly.

 

[anony mouse]

Thanks, I agree, not a good idea to just beg for that extra half point. I just sent him an email regarding an ambiguous question, I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[cpants]

If there is a legit unfair question, by all means. If you fell 1/2 point shy by your own doing, definitely do not. The prof couldn't give a **** about your grades, and all it will do is lower his opinion of you. I've seen kids fail by a half a point and have to remediate. Those are the brakes.

 

[ACSurgeon]

If there is a legit unfair question, by all means. If you fell 1/2 point shy by your own doing, definitely do not. The prof couldn't give a **** about your grades, and all it will do is lower his opinion of you. I've seen kids fail by a half a point and have to remediate. Those are the brakes.

That's pretty harsh. Profs at my school would bump you up if it was a P/F issue. Usually, with letter grades, they are usually on the generous side too. Only a couple of our profs actually draw solid lines where you can end up on one side or the other. Usually they try to make sure that no one can claim that ONE question made a difference.

With that said, I would not talk to the prof about this. If he was the type of guy to round up, he would without you asking him. If he is the type to NOT round up, then he won't even if you ask. (but I agree that if there is an unfair question that you should fight that).

 

[cpants]

That's pretty harsh. Profs at my school would bump you up if it was a P/F issue. Usually, with letter grades, they are usually on the generous side too. Only a couple of our profs actually draw solid lines where you can end up on one side or the other. Usually they try to make sure that no one can claim that ONE question made a difference.

With that said, I would not talk to the prof about this. If he was the type of guy to round up, he would without you asking him. If he is the type to NOT round up, then he won't even if you ask. (but I agree that if there is an unfair question that you should fight that).

Some profs will round you up, especially in the softer courses. However, that really doesn't change anything. That just moves the fail point 1/2 point lower. If the prof rounds students up from 69.5 to 70, for example, that just means the fail point is 69.5, and if you get a 69.2 you are screwed. I'd rather they just keep it honest and stick to the grading agreed to at the start of the course. If you fail by 1/2 point it's not the prof's fault, it's yours. Most schools will let you remediate, so it isn't a huge deal. Pass a comprehensive exam and you advance.

 

[scube]

I've seen students have to redo an entire year over half a point. not just that half point but the straw that broke the camels back. a situation where one more tiny detail in your head would have saved an entire years tuition. IT SUCKS. but the line is there for a reason. and we are pass/fail

 

[45408]

Like others said, unless the prof said that they would give you extra consideration for good attendance or participation, you can't just ask for free points. However, they might change the final curve based on distribution. I've seen that a few times.

I would definitely argue faulty questions. Going to primary literature probably won't convince them, unless you had read those articles before taking the test. I e-mailed professors with citations from the text or course notes and explained my line of reasoning. I've actually gotten a number of them back - sometimes only because the computer had the wrong answer keyed as the correct one (but they never would've fixed that for everyone if nobody had looked it up). One time we had a question with no correct answer.

 

[Perrotfish]

Are you sure it matters? When your school does their rankings, do they average out your grades like undergrad or do they just average together your percent scores from each class?

 

[turkeyjerky]

Like others said, unless the prof said that they would give you extra consideration for good attendance or participation, you can't just ask for free points. However, they might change the final curve based on distribution. I've seen that a few times.

I would definitely argue faulty questions. Going to primary literature probably won't convince them, unless you had read those articles before taking the test. I e-mailed professors with citations from the text or course notes and explained my line of reasoning. I've actually gotten a number of them back - sometimes only because the computer had the wrong answer keyed as the correct one (but they never would've fixed that for everyone if nobody had looked it up). One time we had a question with no correct answer.

That happens on our tests all the time. I'd say at least one question a test has to be thrown out completely and at least two others have multiple correct answers.

I disagree about utilizing primary literature though, sometimes it seems like the profs aren't completely up to date in all the areas they teach, and if you can show them that there is evidence that one of the 'wrong' answers seems to be correct--they'll often agree with you.