Asking professor for grade change?

[pooker]

I am waiting on my last grade for this semester, but I calculated my final grade for the class and found it to be an 89.3, and was wondering if it would be appropriate to ask for an A, if he did not give me one.

Here are my grades for the semester

Engineering Mechanics - A
Differential Equations - A
Linear Algebra - A
Modeling and Manufacturing - A
Physics with calculus 2 - (calculated it to be an 89.3, but he hasn't released grades yet).

Our attendance counted for 5 percent of our grade, and I was there every counted attendance except for 2. I had an average of almost 100 on all of my tests, while the class average was a 63 for the combined tests. I made a 98.5 in lab, and my attendance was a 93. On my final I made an 85, and the average was a 61.

The "pop" quizzes were my downfall, and they were composed of 15 percent of my grade, and the class average on these quizzes were a 51, and my average was a 66.


As you can see, our cumulative class average is almost an F for physics with calculus 2, thus not abiding by a bell curve. I tried my hardest, and I was ranked top of my class in physics with calculus 1. Would I have any ground to stand on asking for an A, or perhaps asking if there was some project I could do to make me have an A?


This is very important to me, and studying for this class was intense. I feel that my knowledge of this class, and effort was deserving of an A, but I don't want to come off as self-entitled. Opinions?

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[perpetual labor]

Absolutely. It's a pretty crappy part of life; but you're no better off sitting quietly and accepting the grade. You will likely have to meet with the professor before the grade becomes available. I would meet with the professor, explain how dedicated you were to the course. Be sure to also reference the effort you put in to the course, as well as your ability to perform on the exams.

There is no risk in asking. There is a ton of risk in being a big wuss.

-P

 

[StoicJosher]

Getting a B won't kill you. But if you feel like you want that A, feel free to talk to the professor. And you answered your own question - make sure you don't come across as self-entitled.

 

[VectreSpectre]

If what you say is true, he probably gave you one.

I'd approach him asking what your grade was first and foremost. He may just save you the trouble entirely. If you didn't earn an A, then I'd talk.

 

[Stumpyman]

0.7 points is virtually nothing, I think you'll get an A as it is. However, if not, then you should (politely) talk.

 

[Isoprop]

I feel that my knowledge of this class, and effort was deserving of an A

Stop this.

 

[jcruiser]

Can't just directly ask for the grade, gotta sidetrack it. Start out by telling him how hard you studied and tried to grasp the material. Let him know your current grade and percent. Then ask him if there's anything you can do to raise your grade to a 90. He'll get the message,

 

[SBR249]

Ask him how he plans to break down the grade distributions and then based on your performance on individual components and overall, where does he think you'll fall in that distribution. He'll get the hint if there is one.

 

[To be MD]

Go ahead and ask but remember two things: if his grade policy is already laid out in his syllabus, he's had students like you before, and he's going to refer you to what the syllabus says. And, unless your class is graded on a bell-curve, he's not just going to give out an A to the best of the worst if his standards are above what the class performed.

 

[dmf2682]

Couldn't hurt to ask

 

[NickNaylor]

So let me get this straight:

1) The professor defined an A as a 90%+.
2) Despite doing well, you didn't meet the standard that was provided to you at the beginning of the course.
3) You want the professor to ignore that standard and give you a grade you didn't earn.

Sorry, I have little sympathy for people that grade grub. You might make the argument that it's "only" 0.7 points, but then again, it's ONLY 0.7 points and you could've earned that difference easily. If the professor decides to give you an A, then kudos. If he/she doesn't, I wouldn't try and beg for a better grade.

 

[SBR249]

Before we all go and get on our high horses though, we don't know how the grade distribution works. We only know that a final grade of 90% is presumed to be an A. But, as the OP has pointed out, the class averages are way below what the "average" is defined as on a 4-point grading system. So we don't know if there could be unknown normalization that takes place before the grades are finalized. What some people are suggesting is inquire about that, which I feel is perfectly legitimate. Of course it would be inappropriate to come out and straightup ask for an A but I think most people should recognize that.

 

[NickNaylor]

Before we all go and get on our high horses though, we don't know how the grade distribution works. We only know that a final grade of 90% is presumed to be an A. But, as the OP has pointed out, the class averages are way below what the "average" is defined as on a 4-point grading system. So we don't know if there could be unknown normalization that takes place before the grades are finalized. What some people are suggesting is inquire about that, which I feel is perfectly legitimate. Of course it would be inappropriate to come out and straightup ask for an A but I think most people should recognize that.

I was working under the assumption that the class was established under the typical 90% is an A sort of deal. If the grading scheme is a curve or if the professor said in the syllabus that he would have discretion in distributing final grades, then I think the OP would definitely have good reason to talk to the professor. Based on his post, though, I didn't get the sense that that's what's going on.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

89.3% in a class with a D average.... ummm you probably have an A...

 

[pooker]

I appreciate all of the reply's, and this would be the only time in my academic career I have thought about this. You guys are correct in your assumption that the class is broken down on the 4 point system.

 

[Lifeman]

Is your major engineering, you didnt take any premed pre recs...?

 

[pooker]

Is your major engineering, you didnt take any premed pre recs...?

Yes my major is engineering, and I have finished all of my pre-reqs for medical school except for organic 2. Some medical schools I talked to said they preferred students to take the calculus based version of physics, so this class is one of my pre-reqs.

 

[sirenomelia]

Our attendance counted for 5 percent of our grade, and I was there every counted attendance except for 2. I had an average of almost 100 on all of my tests, while the class average was a 63 for the combined tests. I made a 98.5 in lab, and my attendance was a 93. On my final I made an 85, and the average was a 61. Opinions?

If this is accurate I think your safe for an A.

 

[Druggernaut]

Let him know your current grade and percent. Then ask him if there's anything you can do to raise your grade to a 90. He'll get the message,

This would probably be acceptable, but to ask for an A when you didn't get one would really irritate me as a professor. You know what you had to do to get the A, and unfortunately didn't quite make it. That's life, and to just give it to you is what's wrong with education today: a bachelor's degree used to mean something, but now everyone expects one, and expects to do well.

Considering you were so far above the average, you may get it without asking anyway.

 

[NickNaylor]

This would probably be acceptable, but to ask for an A when you didn't get one would really irritate me as a professor. You know what you had to do to get the A, and unfortunately didn't quite make it. That's life, and to just give it to you is what's wrong with education today: a bachelor's degree used to mean something, but now everyone expects one, and expects to do well.

Considering you were so far above the average, you may get it without asking anyway.

Indeed.

My last semester I was a TA for a joke of a course that was designed to educate pre-meds about medicine and applying to medical school. The work required was essentially non-zero: show up to class (once a week), read some VERY light things, and do an assignment (yes, one assignment for the entire semester). If you simply did those things, you would get an A - guaranteed.

I was absolutely dumbfounded at the number of people that not only managed to not get As but actually had the gall to come and ask me (and other TAs) to bump their grade because they essentially didn't come to class or didn't do assignments. What happened to pride in your work and accepting what you earned rather than demanding a certain level of success?

 

[deleted357625]

So let me get this straight:

1) The professor defined an A as a 90%+.
2) Despite doing well, you didn't meet the standard that was provided to you at the beginning of the course.
3) You want the professor to ignore that standard and give you a grade you didn't earn.

Sorry, I have little sympathy for people that grade grub. You might make the argument that it's "only" 0.7 points, but then again, it's ONLY 0.7 points and you could've earned that difference easily. If the professor decides to give you an A, then kudos. If he/she doesn't, I wouldn't try and beg for a better grade.

???? get out.
If your on the border and there is no +/- you should def talk to them and get that A, there is a major difference. That's ridiculous if someone had for example 89.9 and they don't get an A.
👎thumbdown

 

[NickNaylor]

???? get out.
If your on the border and there is no +/- you should def talk to them and get that A, there is a major difference. That's ridiculous if someone had for example 89.9 and they don't get an A.
👎thumbdown

Maybe they should've worked harder and gotten an average that's 0.1 point higher? Everyone always argues "it's only 0.x more points!" but that's EXACTLY THE POINT. You could've gotten that credit yourself with very little work. It's not ridiculous. It's fair. You (as the student) know the rules AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COURSE. Perhaps you should've worked harder so that you didn't get your position in the first place.

I agree that it would be an ******* thing to not give someone with an 89.9 an A. If I were a professor I would round everything from a 89.45 up to a 90 and give out an A. That said, I would have no mercy on anyone with an 89.44 or below, and a professor certainly isn't obligated to give someone with an 89.9 an A; an 89.9 isn't a 90. I don't care what your excuse is. Any other system is unfair and is certifying that you performed at a level that you actually didn't.

 

[pooker]

Maybe they should've worked harder and gotten an average that's 0.1 point higher? Everyone always argues "it's only 0.x more points!" but that's EXACTLY THE POINT. You could've gotten that credit yourself with very little work. It's not ridiculous. It's fair. You (as the student) know the rules AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COURSE. Perhaps you should've worked harder so that you didn't get your position in the first place.

I agree that it would be an ******* thing to not give someone with an 89.9 an A. If I were a professor I would round everything from a 89.45 up to a 90 and give out an A. That said, I would have no mercy on anyone with an 89.44 or below, and a professor certainly isn't obligated to give someone with an 89.9 an A; an 89.9 isn't a 90. I don't care what your excuse is. Any other system is unfair and is certifying that you performed at a level that you actually didn't.

Just out of curiosity, since the class average not including my grades, is an actual F, what is your opinion on a matter like that? We have 43 students, and not including me, that leaves 42. The average of the 42 students is an F. Do you think this is the students fault, or do you think this shows some error outside of their scope (I.E. teacher, education system, etc)?

My only real quarrel is that a C is seen as "average", but when the average is an F, then it tends to skew the statistics for the worse.

 

[NickNaylor]

What would you do in this situation?

A student is doing very well in a course - one of the highest grades with consistent 95+ scores on assignments and exams. On the final exam, though, he/she does uncharacteristically poorly - score in the mid 60s. Going into the final he/she had a high A, but now the student is going to get a B/B+. What would you do as the student? Go ask for a higher grade on the grounds that the final was a fluke? What would you do as the professor?

 

[NickNaylor]

Just out of curiosity, since the class average not including my grades, is an actual F, what is your opinion on a matter like that? We have 43 students, and not including me, that leaves 42. The average of the 42 students is an F. Do you think this is the students fault, or do you think this shows some error outside of their scope (I.E. teacher, education system, etc)?

My only real quarrel is that a C is seen as "average", but when the average is an F, then it tends to skew the statistics for the worse.

That's indicative, to me, of a poor professor, and he/she should be investigated and/or fired by the school (if not tenured) if that were the case. It's not necessarily the student's fault, but it also is their responsibility to play the game as necessary, i.e., if you want an A you should earn an A. Anything less is leaving the situation up to chance (as in your case). You may get the A in the end, but you certainly aren't entitled to it and the professor isn't obligated to give you an A if you didn't meet the cutoff for an A, regardless of how well the rest of the class performed.

 

[pooker]

What would you do in this situation?

A student is doing very well in a course - one of the highest grades with consistent 95+ scores on assignments and exams. On the final exam, though, he/she does uncharacteristically poorly - score in the mid 60s. Going into the final he/she had a high A, but now the student is going to get a B/B+. What would you do as the student? Go ask for a higher grade on the grounds that the final was a fluke? What would you do as the professor?

I think its relative to every other factor around it. It sounds like you are making the assumption that everything is fair, and any bad grade regardless is the fault of the student. If the student made a 65% on the final, and the rest of the class made a 10% on the final, I would question alot of things.

 

[link2swim06]

It cant hurt your situation, dont take the advice of people saying you dont deserve the grade. You deserve whatever you can get...if talking to him can get you a higher grade then go for it.

Dont expect the higher grade, but you bust your ass all semester, whats another 5 minute conversation.

 

[NickNaylor]

I think its relative to every other factor around it. It sounds like you are making the assumption that everything is fair, and any bad grade regardless is the fault of the student. If the student made a 65% on the final, and the rest of the class made a 10% on the final, I would question alot of things.

Well it may not be the fault of the student, but unfortunately you don't get a nice little note next to each of your grades explaining how fair or unfair the professor was. From everyone else's perspective except your own, then, it IS your fault - otherwise grades would be a useless measure of performance (obviously there are some people who believe that, but that's an entirely different discussion). Ultimately your performance relative to your peers is irrelevant unless your school reports the performance statistics (e.g., class average, number of each grade, etc.) for each class on your transcript along with your grade.

Again, the only way to make sure you don't get into situations like these is to play the professor's game and do what you need to do to get an A. You might decide that it's not worth it to do the work necessary to get an A, and that's perfectly fine - at some point it no longer becomes worth it to make the sacrifices and/or do the work necessary to get the best evaluation necessary. Work/life balance is an important thing to have. But understand that that's a choice you made and, consequently, you must accept the ramifications of that choice.

 

[druggeek]

Maybe they should've worked harder and gotten an average that's 0.1 point higher? Everyone always argues "it's only 0.x more points!" but that's EXACTLY THE POINT. You could've gotten that credit yourself with very little work. It's not ridiculous. It's fair. You (as the student) know the rules AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COURSE. Perhaps you should've worked harder so that you didn't get your position in the first place.

I agree that it would be an ******* thing to not give someone with an 89.9 an A. If I were a professor I would round everything from a 89.45 up to a 90 and give out an A. That said, I would have no mercy on anyone with an 89.44 or below, and a professor certainly isn't obligated to give someone with an 89.9 an A; an 89.9 isn't a 90. I don't care what your excuse is. Any other system is unfair and is certifying that you performed at a level that you actually didn't.

This only makes sense if someone has something that constantly keeps track of their marks and they know exactly how well to perform on every single assignment/quiz/midterm and the final. It's not like someone is going to be like... oh shoot I better get 95 instead of 90 on this lab or else I'll need a 90 on the exam and not 85. And it's easy to say get 90+ on everything but given 5 courses... easier said than done.

 

[NickNaylor]

This only makes sense if someone has something that constantly keeps track of their marks and they know exactly how well to perform on every single assignment/quiz/midterm and the final. It's not like someone is going to be like... oh shoot I better get 95 instead of 90 on this lab or else I'll need a 90 on the exam and not 85. And it's easy to say get 90+ on everything but given 5 courses... easier said than done.

I agree, yet that's the entire point of grades: the person that's able to keep all of the balls in the air and get straight As deserves that recognition. That's how high marks retain their utility; if everyone gets an A because they tried hard, an A becomes meaningless. People seem to think that you deserve an A because you worked harder than everyone in your class, studied more than everyone in your class, yet somehow failed to execute and actually perform at the level the professor determines to be an A (regardless of what your classmates did). You know what they call that? Entitlement. You can come up with whatever excuses you'd like, but ultimately YOU didn't perform at the level necessary to get an A. Blame the professor or blame whoever and whatever, but that's what it ultimately comes down to.

 

[druggeek]

I agree, yet that's the entire point of grades: the person that's able to keep all of the balls in the air and get straight As deserves that recognition. That's how high marks retain their utility; if everyone gets an A because they tried hard, an A becomes meaningless. People seem to think that you deserve an A because you worked harder than everyone in your class, studied more than everyone in your class, yet somehow failed to execute and actually perform at the level the professor determines to be an A (regardless of what your classmates did). You know what they call that? Entitlement. You can come up with whatever excuses you'd like, but ultimately YOU didn't perform at the level necessary to get an A. Blame the professor or blame whoever and whatever, but that's what it ultimately comes down to.

Correct, but... my point is you don't always know how well to perform. It's not like the semi final in a race where you know you'll have to run at x speed and stay ahead of y and z to qualify for the next round.
Also given those class averages, often a person deserves an A (easily) if they're that much above.

 

[IMSingular]

Pooker: For all you know you may have the highest marks for the course.

 

[gettheleadout]

What would you do in this situation?

A student is doing very well in a course - one of the highest grades with consistent 95+ scores on assignments and exams. On the final exam, though, he/she does uncharacteristically poorly - score in the mid 60s. Going into the final he/she had a high A, but now the student is going to get a B/B+. What would you do as the student? Go ask for a higher grade on the grounds that the final was a fluke? What would you do as the professor?

But this isn't the situation, OP made an 85 on the final. Though if you were trying to posit this as a separate scenario (which you may have been, I may just be misinterpreting) as the professor I would be concerned there was some excusable problem, like the student was holed up in the campus health clinic for 3 hours before and after the test because they didn't want to miss it despite illness and didn't to have to try and get excused from it. Were there extenuating circumstances, I'd say it's the student's own fault that they blew their A, unless as Pooker said, the rest of the class did much worse. In the student's position I would bring any extenuating circumstances to the professor's attention, and barring any I would kick myself for blowing my A.

Grading on curves gets complicated. Do you curve up and down? I'm not sure that I have a complete answer to it.

 

[Omppu27]

Here are my grades for the semester

Engineering Mechanics - A
Differential Equations - A
Linear Algebra - A
Modeling and Manufacturing - A
Physics with calculus 2 - (calculated it to be an 89.3, but he hasn't released grades yet).

That schedule makes me want to throw up...

 

[SoonerFromTexas]

That schedule makes me want to throw up...

Only thing on this thread that I can 100% agree on

That schedule looks....

 

[FoxyMD30]

I wonder if this was one of those situations in which someone just calculated what they needed on the final for an A, an 85.7 apparently, and studied more for that than for a 100 or mastery of the subject.

Sometimes, it works, sometimes not.

Hopefully you'll get the benefit of surpassing the curve, OP, but if I was a prof, I'd do the something NickNaylor suggested. People would not want me as their prof if they didn't expect to work.

 

[NickNaylor]

But this isn't the situation, OP made an 85 on the final. Though if you were trying to posit this as a separate scenario (which you may have been, I may just be misinterpreting) as the professor I would be concerned there was some excusable problem, like the student was holed up in the campus health clinic for 3 hours before and after the test because they didn't want to miss it despite illness and didn't to have to try and get excused from it. Were there extenuating circumstances, I'd say it's the student's own fault that they blew their A, unless as Pooker said, the rest of the class did much worse. In the student's position I would bring any extenuating circumstances to the professor's attention, and barring any I would kick myself for blowing my A.

Grading on curves gets complicated. Do you curve up and down? I'm not sure that I have a complete answer to it.

In this case I was making up a different scenario.

It doesn't really matter to me HOW a professor grades, but the rules need to be explained outright. Once the students understand how grading is going to work, I don't think the professor has any obligation to "help" a student out under any circumstances. Some of the professors that I had had a strict "rounding" policy: they explicitly stated which grades would get rounded up and which wouldn't in the syllabus. I appreciated that sort of thing because it tries to be as fair as possible and as meritorious as possible.

 

[IvanNikolaevich]

What would you do in this situation?

A student is doing very well in a course - one of the highest grades with consistent 95+ scores on assignments and exams. On the final exam, though, he/she does uncharacteristically poorly - score in the mid 60s. Going into the final he/she had a high A, but now the student is going to get a B/B+. What would you do as the student? Go ask for a higher grade on the grounds that the final was a fluke? What would you do as the professor?

Hey, that person is me - what are you doing in my head?! I had a high A and then straight-up choked on the last test because I got a horrible migraine right before the test and couldn't even get my eyes to focus on the words. Wound up with an 89.5 and a B in the class, not a B+. I told her what was up and asked if there was any way to make up that half point, and nope. Said she has to be fair to the whole class. This would be easier to swallow if she hadn't given part of the class an extra 20 minutes to take the first exam, which I guessed my way through due to the lack of time. Ugh! I say it never hurts to ask; college classes cost so much money and a lot of the testing procedures are ridiculous.

 

[Ebola4Breakfast]

Maybe I come from a different generation of students, but I'm a firm believer that you get the grade you earned. Nothing less, nothing more. I made several B's in undergrad that were less than a point from point an A. No +/- system. I'm not sure it ever crossed my mind to ask the professor for a grade other than the one I earned. But apparently that's not the norm...

 

[NickNaylor]

Maybe I come from a different generation of students, but I'm a firm believer that you get the grade you earned. Nothing less, nothing more. I made several B's in undergrad that were less than a point from point an A. No +/- system. I'm not sure it ever crossed my mind to ask the professor for a grade other than the one I earned. But apparently that's not the norm...

I'm glad I'm not that only one who somehow retained a sense of personal responsibility when it comes to academic performance. Asking a professor to change a grade - barring any egregious errors - never entered my mind before I started reading SDN.

 

[deleted307836]

Ask him. My guess is you'll probably get it anyway but it won't hurt.

I've been in this situation before, where I was literally just on the cusp of an A-. I felt like there were many instances where I had been marked off for small things I really shouldn't have been but never wanted to grade-grub and ask for my 1.5 points each time. With that in mind I felt like I really did "deserve" the A-. Don't use that word when asking your professor, though.

It turns out I would have gotten the grade I wanted anyway had I not asked, but it did lessen my anxiety a lot. There are so many factors that can make grading subjective and when you're right on the edge I don't think you should feel guilty for making a case for yourself... especially when the average in the class is so low. Good luck.

 

[gettheleadout]

In this case I was making up a different scenario.

It doesn't really matter to me HOW a professor grades, but the rules need to be explained outright. Once the students understand how grading is going to work, I don't think the professor has any obligation to "help" a student out under any circumstances. Some of the professors that I had had a strict "rounding" policy: they explicitly stated which grades would get rounded up and which wouldn't in the syllabus. I appreciated that sort of thing because it tries to be as fair as possible and as meritorious as possible.

Oh I agree. I've had professors too that told us on the first day that they wouldn't round an 89.99%. Now, that sucks for people that get that close, especially since we don't have +/- grading, but in reality it's just as firm a cutoff as "I'm going to round up 89.5% and above but not 89.49%.

Asking a professor to change a grade - barring any egregious errors - never entered my mind before I started reading SDN.

The only thing I would note with this is that in a subjectively graded class, I would expect an argument could often be made for a higher score than received on various grounds, regardless of whether you actually get the grade raised or not. Perhaps you feel the professor misunderstood the argument of your essay, perhaps their comments lend you to that thought? Perhaps you believe they were unfairly harsh on your essay compared to your peers'? Etc...

 

[zma21]

This semester I finished with:

-89.4% B in Organic
-89.6% B in cell bio.

I'm stunned, and my semester is blown. I spoke with both professors. Not only would they not help me out, but they were flat out *******s to me. I was the highest grade in Bio. 2nd highest in Orgo.

 

[gettheleadout]

This semester I finished with:

-89.4% B in Organic
-89.6% B in cell bio.

I'm stunned, and my semester is blown. I spoke with both professors. Not only would they not help me out, but they were flat out *******s to me. I was the highest grade in Bio. 2nd highest in Orgo.

🙁

What were your test scores like? Also, is either course curved to limit the number of A's? (though that would be to only one A I assume in organic...)

 

[centrigeugle]

I agree, yet that's the entire point of grades: the person that's able to keep all of the balls in the air and get straight As deserves that recognition. That's how high marks retain their utility; if everyone gets an A because they tried hard, an A becomes meaningless. People seem to think that you deserve an A because you worked harder than everyone in your class, studied more than everyone in your class, yet somehow failed to execute and actually perform at the level the professor determines to be an A (regardless of what your classmates did). You know what they call that? Entitlement.

While there are too many awesome posts by you in the thread to quote them all, let me just say...while we may have had our disagreements in the past, and I'm sure we'll have them in the future, right now I kind of want to have your internet-SDN babies. Every point NickNaylor has made is spot on.

Grade grubbers are the worst scum of the earth imaginable, and one of the major reasons why "pre-meds" get such a terrible reputation in undergrad.

Think your 89.9 should be an A? How about an 89.8? That's pretty much the same, right? How about an 89? 88.9?

You have to draw the line somewhere, and I think professors should (and respect those that do) enforce their own grading policy. Think you should get a higher grade? Did you work <dr.coxvoice> reeeee-heee-heeeeally hard?</dcv>

Tough, because you didn't get it.

The worst part is you see grade-grubbing most predominantly in laughably easy classes.

PS: grubbing a typical 'weed-out' class like Ochem or Biology runs the real (and deserved) risk of deeply irritating your professor and losing out on a letter or rec (or worse, getting a snippy one), and is therefore a truly horrible idea. One of my professors acquired a reputation for accepting "regrades" and returning them with lower scores. Another would just GIVE you a few extra points at the end of the term - in exchange for not ever, ever bothering with a regrade, even score-addition mistakes.

Never, ever grade-grub. Scum of the earth.

 

[gettheleadout]

So that one professor wouldn't even correct grading mistakes? 😕 I get that that's one the extra points were for, but really? Also, I still think this whole deal only applies to courses where grading is objective.

 

[eHombre]

This:

So let me get this straight:

1) The professor defined an A as a 90%+.
2) Despite doing well, you didn't meet the standard that was provided to you at the beginning of the course.
3) You want the professor to ignore that standard and give you a grade you didn't earn.

Sorry, I have little sympathy for people that grade grub. You might make the argument that it's "only" 0.7 points, but then again, it's ONLY 0.7 points and you could've earned that difference easily. If the professor decides to give you an A, then kudos. If he/she doesn't, I wouldn't try and beg for a better grade.

Our attendance counted for 5 percent of our grade, and I was there every counted attendance except for 2.

🤣


If I had been your TF, I'd have laughed you out of the room. Look, I agree that non-curved grading schemes are ridiculous, but if that's the standard that's used for your prof's class and it was clearly outlined in the syllabus at the start of the semester, that's tough **** for you. Anyway, so what would your grade be, A-? B+? Whatever it is, it's not worth being *that guy*. Keep your dignity and take the grade.

 

[pooker]

That schedule makes me want to throw up...

Its really not that bad. I like keeping everything based around one subject (math/physics). I took my biology, and higher level biology's together, and next semester I will be taking six classes , all physics/math based. Its alot of material, but luckily, physics has alot of overlap in courses involved in engineering.

 

[orthomyxo]

Don't you think an 89.3 is going to be curved up to at least an A-?

 

[centrigeugle]

So that one professor wouldn't even correct grading mistakes? 😕 I get that that's one the extra points were for, but really? Also, I still think this whole deal only applies to courses where grading is objective.

Oh, mistakes and even regrades would definitely be taken, and honestly evaluated.

But then you'd lose your extra points. It was basically a "stuff will happen, mostly minor, and if you don't bother me I will reward you in exchange"

Custom-tailored to avoid these sort of 0.1% grading nonsense.

Generally I agree with the subjective/objective stuff, but things like organic and partial credit can get messy.