Final exam troubles...

[Tennis Guy]

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So, for one of my classes, I was surprised by my final exam score that was posted. My score was posted as a 68.5, and I thought that I had made at least an 80 on the final. When I e-mailed my professor about this matter, she said that she looked through the test to see if there was any more points that she could give and that she gave me two more points for one of my answers bringing me to a 70.5. I e-mailed and asked if I could pick up my final and she agreed. I went and got my final and it turns out that my professor graded it pretty tough (basically a LOT tougher than the previous exams.) Also, two points were not counted in my score on accident so I should have a 72.5. One of the bad things about the final was that there was no notification on the test about how much each question was worth like our previous tests, so I had no idea how much to write for each question. She put notes on the test asking, "why didn't I go into more details and such?" However, there was no way to know how much each question was worth like our other tests that had a point breakdown for each question.

My question is that I have 6.5 more points that I need on the final until I could get a B- in the class. I want to go back and go over the test with her at another time, and I was going to do that when I stopped by her office but she was busy talking to her grad student about their research so I didn't want to interfere with that. Also, I wasn't prepared to make a case to see which questions I felt that I deserved more credit on. I asked her, if I could come at another time and go over the test with her and she said that would be fine and to send her an e-mail. I really enjoyed the class and I am genuinely interested in the material and know that it isn't only about the grade I get but how much I learned that matters.

Have any of you been successful in getting more points on your final exams after grades are reported and if the professor looked through the test beforehand? Have any of you been in a situation like this and how did it turn out? I never asked her to regrade the test btw, so she did that without my request. I don't want to come off as a grade grubber that is only interested in my grade, but even though I'm extremely interested in the material, the grade change from a C+ to a B- would really help me. Any advice/comments on how to approach this situation will be greatly appreciated! 🙂

 

[ribbondino]

Some profs will be better about this than others. If you had a good track record with her on attendance/quizzes/whatever she will be a lot more willing to help you out. My first semester of college I BOMBED by biology final. I had an A the entire semester (and we did have a lot of assignments to turn in and a few lab reports) and talked to the prof and he allowed me to keep my A. Bad days happen and profs understand that. If you have done well in a course and your final is what pulls you down, you should definitely ask about things you can do to improve it or if it is possible to get it regraded.
One of my friends did the same thing in her chem class this year. Her prof let her write an essay on the problems she missed on the final and bumped her grade up to a B.
So it can work, you just have to ask! Nothing to lose!

 

[Drogo]

IMO you have nothing to lose, discuss it with her after break. Yet if you get any sense of annoyance from her definitely cut your losses.

 

[Juan Solo]

IMO you have nothing to lose, discuss it with her after break. Yet if you get any sense of annoyance from her definitely cut your losses.

I agree with the above statement. Also, thank you for the humor, these photos are hilarious.

 

[lgroomes]

My biochem prof has a regrade policy- you can turn it back in for a regrade explaining why you deserve those points, but your whole test is regraded and there is potential to lose points, although I have never heard of this happening. I know one person that got 2 points back from a regrade. I think she does this because it is only her second year of teaching the class and sometimes the questions aren't read the way she expects. I agree that it depends on the prof (this one seems fair), but you definitely don't have anything to lose. Good luck!