Academic

The Angry Student

By Kevin Maillard

Now that exam season has ended, it is now time for grade conferences. As expected, there are many students that are surprised by the grade on their exam or paper, and would like to talk about it.  Entirely fair.  We have all been there ourselves, particularly in those classes where you poured your heart out and are shocked (shocked!) that you got something lower than an A.  I understand this dissonance completely, so I am very patient.  In my own experience, I was absolutely sure I got a 110% grade on Mr. Elliot's tenth grade Civics class, and I chased him down for two months because he incorrectly gave me 100%.  I was convinced this affected my college admissions prospects, but he refused to even look at his grade book. Annoying on both sides.

I have strangely earned the reputation as a hard grader.  For exams.  In large classes.  That are curved.  I once had a student approach me on the street and introduce me to their friend as the hardest grader, and that I unfairly gave her a C.  In my mind, I imagined a scenario where any student unsatisfied with their grade could just email me, and I would automatically change their grade.  Usually, I picture animated bluebirds and deer surrounding me, all singing happy songs about my obvious under-assessment of student performance.  I jump to me grading sheet, pull out a big red pen, cross out the C grade and mark A+ alongside a big golden sticker that says "Awesome!"  Then I jump back to reality and I remember the authority of the curve.

But what happens of those students who get A minuses and "would like to talk to you about their grade?" Do they expect an automatic grade change?  Or a regrading?  I have a policy that grades are changed only for mathematical errors in point calculation, or if an entire page was overlooked. But in every case, the grade is final.  What do you do?

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on June 23, 2009 (boomark / email).