Pissed Off !

[AStudentDoctor]

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General Chemistry 201

1st Test: 61 (class average 47)
2nd Test: 62 (class average 44)

Teacher states she doesn't curve.

Lab counts for 1/4 of total class grade. Avg class lab grades (which is run by another teacher) is ~94% which floats me into the C range-- but that's not good enough.

What makes me even angrier is that the only other teacher that teaches gen chem is consistently giving out class average 70 tests with the SAME lab.

 

[RxQueen12]

👎 not good. profs are mean like that sometimes.

 

[Passion4Sci]

A fully negative distribution like that is indicative of a poor teaching style, a terrible testing style, or an overall dbag.

You can bring the issue to academic senate. The average is not supposed to fall in the "F" range.

 

[delano2000]

A fully negative distribution like that is indicative of a poor teaching style, a terrible testing style, or an overall dbag.

You can bring the issue to academic senate. The average is not supposed to fall in the "F" range.

Yea that is unacceptable. To the OP, were the tests hard? Was the grading style of the prof. hard?

 

[AStudentDoctor]

Yea that is unacceptable. To the OP, were the tests hard? Was the grading style of the prof. hard?

The tests are multiple choice and word problems.

Except the multiple choice are weighted 6 points a PIECE. I missed 3 last test which brought me down 18 points and then I missed ONE of the word problems which brought me down a ton more.

It's so sad.

 

[delano2000]

The tests are multiple choice and word problems.

Except the multiple choice are weighted 6 points a PIECE. I missed 3 last test which brought me down 18 points and then I missed ONE of the word problems which brought me down a ton more.

It's so sad.

Will your prof. give you an option to drop your lowest grade at the end of the semester?

 

[AStudentDoctor]

Nope..

 

[delano2000]

Nope..

OK that does suck major **s. Is it too late to transfer out of her class to another one w/o causing too much issue with your school schedule?

 

[AStudentDoctor]

OK that does suck major **s. Is it too late to transfer out of her class to another one w/o causing too much issue with your school schedule?

I *COULD* audit it, but I'd have to make an extra semester up before pharmacy school-- basically it'd set me back real bad. I think I'm just going to let it ride and just try to slide into a B. Even tho that seems almost impossible.

 

[delano2000]

I *COULD* audit it, but I'd have to make an extra semester up before pharmacy school-- basically it'd set me back real bad. I think I'm just going to let it ride and just try to slide into a B. Even tho that seems almost impossible.

OK well good luck with it.

 

[coastygirl]

Similar thing happened to me first time I tried to take o.chem. If I could go back, I would have dropped that class like a hot potato and went to school an extra semester/year. That grade that I couldn't bring up and was only mildly redeemed by my A in the lab has followed me ever since, even a decade later.

 

[Cangri One]

thats like the situation with all my chemistry classes. averages are like 60s and the teachers could care less.

by the way a C is not gonna kill ya...some people have gotten into pharmacy school with plenty of C's so dont worry too much

 

[Monalyce]

I'd see if there is anything that can be done. Talk to your student academic reps, like Passion4Sci said. Even better, ask other people in the class to talk to reps as well. IF it doesn't look like you'll get out with better than a C, you might want to drop and retake with another prof.

It's so irritating when things are unfair. The professor must have some reason behind her decision...but unfortunately that reason is not going to help anybody!

 

[Trunks9807]

i'm pretty sure your professor says that there is no curve just to scare the students. a professor can get on probation if she give out too much low grades (that's what happened to one of the professors that taught chem at my school).

 

[will7678]

I would actually check with past students of his if you can find them and ask how the grades ended up turning out at the end of the class. You could also look on rate my professor and see if anyone else brought it up. Of course take that with a grain of salt since many people just go on their to bitch about professors that gave them a low grade, which they probably deserved. I have had many professors which said that they don't curve and then it turns out that they use an "adjustment" that in reality is just a fancy curve at the end. In other words rather than making an A something low like an 80% they somehow made everyones grade in the class higher at the end so that an A would be a 93% Then they said that they don't believe in curves and never curve their classes. I would also highly reccomend going to see this professor in office hours and ask him what you need to do to get an A in his class. Don't come accross as asking him to make an A easier to get but ask him for suggestions on what you should be doing to get an A. He may end up telling you that you are already on track for an A.

 

[bugg]

.

 

[pharm B]

It sounds like the class as a whole is failing and this isn't a single student (or small group) whining that it's too hard or the professor's out to get them.

I had a jerk of a physics prof that I ended up dropping because he would do nothing but insult the students from the beginning of lecture to end. His teaching was minimalistic. I'd rather the registrar's office see that his classes dwindle with reasons such as "unprofessional demeanor" as the reason for dropping than stick it out and get the B.

 

[phathead]

AStudentDoctor? Nice name for someone starting their undergrad

I'll be the ass here, gen chem really isn't that hard in the first month or two. A lot of times gen chem are students first real college level science course and I remember many many people flunking the first exams because they simply were not prepared.

Lab grades should be higher because, lets face it, you're not doing anything in lab really right now.

If this continues throughout the semester, then you'd have cause to file a complaint. Right now though, I'd say you need to do better in your class.

Think of it this way, if the average class grade is 50 percent and the teacher decides that is worthy of a C what does that teach you in the long run? Especially when the first tests cover the mere basics of the course. Like I said, often this is their first science course, so you are taught that sliding by at 50 percent is ok because you'll at least get a C. I like teachers that are hard on newcomers because it teaches you to work much harder than you normally would.

I've taken tests with multiple choice questions being worth more than 6 points. You know what you do? You learn the material so that you can recite it in your sleep. It's just a part of college

 

[IrishRxMan]

Try looking up on the prof rating sites if this is a common problem and if the prof actually holds to the story of not curving. If everyone is failing the class, the college/university would eventually say something to them.

If the questions are weighted at 6 points each, how many questions are on the tests?

 

[BME11]

ouch my organic teacher was the same the class average was a 55 on most test and she doesn't curve....

 

[koercive]

Is this at a JC or a university?

Universities usually have a set curve for most classes.

Our G-chem/O-chem classes had averages in the 35-60% range, but scoring the average was always a C+/B-.

Check ratemyprofessors to see what others said in the past

 

[phathead]

Is this at a JC or a university?

Universities usually have a set curve for most classes.

Our G-chem/O-chem classes had averages in the 35-60% range, but scoring the average was always a C+/B-.

Check ratemyprofessors to see what others said in the past

see this is why I posted my grading thread, all of my chem classes were straight grading. 60% was barely passing