Unfair grading policies?

[Hemorrage]

Ok so i'm usually not one to complain about grading systems but seeing as the semester is winding down to an end i'm stuck in a bit of a shamble. This semester i took a metallobiochemistry course which i thought i would enjoy, however, it turned out to be horrible due to having a new professor in the department teaching it. Anyway, there are 2 section's taught by two different professors. The grading schemes are exactly identical, however, our class has had ridiculously more difficult exams the entire semester when compared to the other professor's section. (He's a bit older and doesn't seem to care as much) I know many people are going to say i'm just "seeing" the tests as easier but its bs. He takes all his questions from the back of the book so the averages in his class are near 90-95 while our's are near 40-50. Anyway, the point of this is that our professor told us today he is going to grade us on a percentile basis according to the other class's distribution. This basically means 90% of my class is going to earn a C->B after he curves us up. He said no one in our section deserves to get an "A" because we couldn't do well on his exams. I told him and said his exams are ridiculously more difficult in comparison to the other professor but he doesn't care. I put more work into this class than any other class this semester and am ending up with a lower grade (probably a B). What should i do?

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[Geebeejay]

Ok so i'm usually not one to complain about grading systems but seeing as the semester is winding down to an end i'm stuck in a bit of a shamble. This semester i took a metallobiochemistry course which i thought i would enjoy, however, it turned out to be horrible due to having a new professor in the department teaching it. Anyway, there are 2 section's taught by two different professors. The grading schemes are exactly identical, however, our class has had ridiculously more difficult exams the entire semester when compared to the other professor's section. (He's a bit older and doesn't seem to care as much) I know many people are going to say i'm just "seeing" the tests as easier but its bs. He takes all his questions from the back of the book so the averages in his class are near 90-95 while our's are near 40-50. Anyway, the point of this is that our professor told us today he is going to grade us on a percentile basis according to the other class's distribution. This basically means 90% of my class is going to earn a C->B after he curves us up. He said no one in our section deserves to get an "A" because we couldn't do well on his exams. I told him and said his exams are ridiculously more difficult in comparison to the other professor but he doesn't care. I put more work into this class than any other class this semester and am ending up with a lower grade (probably a B). What should i do?

Probably nothing you can do....unfortunately this likely happens to everyone at least once. Do your best to okay on his exams, and hope for the best. Kinda lame he's curving to the other class though, that's pretty silly. Luckily, it's only 1 B.....you can make up for it.

 

[music2doc]

Ok so i'm usually not one to complain about grading systems but seeing as the semester is winding down to an end i'm stuck in a bit of a shamble. This semester i took a metallobiochemistry course which i thought i would enjoy, however, it turned out to be horrible due to having a new professor in the department teaching it. Anyway, there are 2 section's taught by two different professors. The grading schemes are exactly identical, however, our class has had ridiculously more difficult exams the entire semester when compared to the other professor's section. (He's a bit older and doesn't seem to care as much) I know many people are going to say i'm just "seeing" the tests as easier but its bs. He takes all his questions from the back of the book so the averages in his class are near 90-95 while our's are near 40-50. Anyway, the point of this is that our professor told us today he is going to grade us on a percentile basis according to the other class's distribution. This basically means 90% of my class is going to earn a C->B after he curves us up. He said no one in our section deserves to get an "A" because we couldn't do well on his exams. I told him and said his exams are ridiculously more difficult in comparison to the other professor but he doesn't care. I put more work into this class than any other class this semester and am ending up with a lower grade (probably a B). What should i do?

Grin and bear it. Two different profs teaching at two different levels of difficulty -- that's unique. Sorry, man, it sucks but it is what it is. Sorry to hear it was tough and your class couldn't hack it. That sucks, but there's not much to be done, really. You can try talking to the prof but if s/he says no then you just have to go w it.

 

[mcloaf]

I would try talking to the Dept chair if you know him/her at all. It is fine if your prof wants to give harder tests, but then he shouldn't use the other class' curve.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Take the B and go. I had a similar experience this semester with my Counseling Skills lab, the other professors had over 50% getting A's while mine has barely 20% with only one actual A ( Rest A-). You really can't fight it, so honestly just move on and do better in your other classes and be happy you're done with this one.

 

[Hemorrage]

I would try talking to the Dept chair if you know him/her at all. It is fine if your prof wants to give harder tests, but then he shouldn't use the other class' curve.

Yeah i've considered doing that.. several of my friends in the class agreed to come with me if i do decide to go through with it. I just don't want to make any enemies with professors. Honestly its not even the grade that really bothers me. Its the sheer principle that this guy is ignorant enough to think that my class is "stupider" than the other section when our exams are way more difficult. All these harvard post-docs/professors think they need to be cool and give incredibly difficult exams to show how smart they are

 

[5lippy]

As much as you don't want to hear what i have to say, I have to say it.

Suck it up. You're in an awful situation and I recognize that, but stuff like this happens. You really have to look into the professor as much as you look into the course. Be smart about what you take and who you take it with. My general piece of advice is to avoid new professors precisely for this reason. You might not know what you're getting yourself into.

 

[katymalady]

Yeah I know that feel bro. It really sucks when you get a professor like that. You're most likely going to end up with the B, but I say that you have a strong case if you and a group of friends bring up the issue to the dept chair. The professor shouldn't be allowed to use another class' distribution/grading scheme unless it was made clear in the syllabus at the beginning of the semester. Good luck.

 

[TipToad]

Realistically, there's probably nothing you can do that will yield a different result. You can issue a complaint to the department head, but I don't really see anything come out of it. Of course, I don't know your school. But if this were to happen at my school, it would just sound like a bunch of whiney kids.

 

[chillaxbro]

Metallobiochemistry sounds cool as ****
What school?

 

[tarheel1408]

And this is exactly why the MCAT is important, because it is standardized. People get all huffy when they argue about course difficulty between institutions, but which professor you take can be just as important.