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It's the end of the semester and I'm getting requests from kids to bump grades up to the next grade. Dh says I'm heartless because I told a student no yesterday who needed a 1 point bump to have an A for second quarter (insignificant enough that I would do this if it were all he needed) and then a 2% bump on the final to have an A for the semester. My logic is this, if you still have an A- after doing the extra credit (that's supposed to be the grade bump) and submitting corrections on lab reports and quizzes, you have an A-. If this student had gotten an A on the final, I would have probably bumped but he got a B+ which tells me he's an A- student. So, am I heartless? FTR, 13 students (out of 94) got an A on the final and 13 failed the final. Plotted, my final looks like a flat bell with the peak, clearly, at the B level. (I'm finally getting the hang of this.)
Not heartless at all. The kid gets what they earned... what a novel concept it would seem in this day and age where the integrity of grades is just something to walk over and ignore.
I would not bump them. They had the opportunity to be bumped with your extra credit and lab corrections.
I agree. Dh's argument is that if he did the extra credit and the corrections, he's really trying for that A. My problem with that is an A doesn't mean great effort. It means a certain level of attainment. I'm reluctant to even offer extra credit. The only reason I do is I think I'd be the only teacher who didn't if I didn't. If a student did all of the extra credit, and this student did, they'd get a 1.2% boost in their grade for the quarter.
I agree. Dh's argument is that if he did the extra credit and the corrections, he's really trying for that A. My problem with that is an A doesn't mean great effort. It means a certain level of attainment. I'm reluctant to even offer extra credit. The only reason I do is I think I'd be the only teacher who didn't if I didn't. If a student did all of the extra credit, and this student did, they'd get a 1.2% boost in their grade for the quarter.
I would look at the student and what his level of effort was to get that 1 point. Honest and sincere effort should count for something..even 1 point.
What if he doesn't like chemistry and did try his hardest ?
I would look at the student and what his level of effort was to get that 1 point. Honest and sincere effort should count for something..even 1 point.
What if he doesn't like chemistry and did try his hardest ?
The one point on the quarter grade is not an issue and if that is all it took for him to get an A for the semester, I'd give it. It's following it with a 2 point bump on the final to make the semester grade an A that is the issue. I'd be bumping the quarter grade to an A and then bumping his final grade to an A which means he did not earn an A on two out of three of three of the grades that make up the semester grade and did not have a high enough A on the one he did to offset the A- on the 2nd quarter and the B+ on the final.
It's really the B+ on the final that bugs me. Is he really an A student if he got a B+ on the final? (I had 13 out of 94 students earn an A or A- on the final) How would I justify changing a B+ on the final to an A- so he can get an A in the class when I already gave him 7 points extra credit AND bumped the quarter grade to an A. Yes, he missed the A by two points but I already gave him 7 points in extra credit. How many extra points should I be giving to bump a student to an A. If I bumped both grades, I would have given him 10 points extra credit to get to that A. If I hadn't given extra credit this quarter, this wouldn't even be an issue because he'd be too far to be asking for a bump.
Yes, effort counts for something. That's why I give extra credit points. That's the boost for effort. Most kids don't put in the effort there. The question is, should I give even more to a student who did? At what point do you stop bumping grades? It should be noted that I already round up at the .5 mark so a 92.5 rounds up to a 93 for an A. This student has an earned 92.3 for the semester with the bump on the quarter grade (I already did that and then calculated the semester grade would still be an A- because of the final).
My reasons for not bumping this student's grade:
1) I gave 7 points extra credit so the grade has already been bumped.
2) I already round up at the 92.5 mark (an A is "officially" a 93 but most teachers set the system to round up so they don't have to deal with requests to round up at the end of the term.)
3) I'd be bumping two of the three grades that make up the semester grade.
4) The student got a B+ on the final. I'm far more inclined to bump a student who showed improvement on the final. This student has, consistently gone after every point her could but it wasn't enough. I'm inclined to let the grade stand.
5) I give multiple opportunities to earn extra points during the term (this student took them all) in the form of corrections on lab reports and quizzes. This student doesn't have an A- because he earned it. He has an A- because I gave him lots of opportunties to get extra points. That he missed the mark by 3 points is unfortunate but I feel like I've already done a lot and if I do this for him, shouldn't I for all students?
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 01-28-2012 at 04:22 PM..
Sounds like the student needs to learn that this effort so far gets a B+ in chemistry. If he wants an A, he has to take it to the next level. If he really wants it, he will increase his effort enough to get the results he wants.
The one point on the quarter grade is not an issue and if that is all it took for him to get an A for the semester, I'd give it. It's following it with a 2 point bump on the final to make the semester grade an A that is the issue. I'd be bumping the quarter grade to an A and then bumping his final grade to an A which means he did not earn an A on two out of three of three of the grades that make up the semester grade and did not have a high enough A on the one he did to offset the A- on the 2nd quarter and the B+ on the final.
It's really the B+ on the final that bugs me. Is he really an A student if he got a B+ on the final? (I had 13 out of 94 students earn an A or A- on the final) How would I justify changing a B+ on the final to an A- so he can get an A in the class when I already gave him 7 points extra credit AND bumped the quarter grade to an A. Yes, he missed the A by two points but I already gave him 7 points in extra credit. How many extra points should I be giving to bump a student to an A. If I bumped both grades, I would have given him 10 points extra credit to get to that A. If I hadn't given extra credit this quarter, this wouldn't even be an issue because he'd be too far to be asking for a bump.
Yes, effort counts for something. That's why I give extra credit points. That's the boost for effort. Most kids don't put in the effort there. The question is, should I give even more to a student who did? At what point do you stop bumping grades? It should be noted that I already round up at the .5 mark so a 92.5 rounds up to a 93 for an A. This student has an earned 92.3 for the semester with the bump on the quarter grade (I already did that and then calculated the semester grade would still be an A- because of the final).
My reasons for not bumping this student's grade:
1) I gave 7 points extra credit so the grade has already been bumped. 2) I already round up at the 92.5 mark (an A is "officially" a 93 but most teachers set the system to round up so they don't have to deal with requests to round up at the end of the term.) 3) I'd be bumping two of the three grades that make up the semester grade. 4) The student got a B+ on the final. I'm far more inclined to bump a student who showed improvement on the final. This student has, consistently gone after every point her could but it wasn't enough. I'm inclined to let the grade stand. 5) I give multiple opportunities to earn extra points during the term (this student took them all) in the form of corrections on lab reports and quizzes. This student doesn't have an A- because he earned it. He has an A- because I gave him lots of opportunties to get extra points. That he missed the mark by 3 points is unfortunate but I feel like I've already done a lot and if I do this for him, shouldn't I for all students?
So you are looking for affirmation that not bumping is the right thing to do?
I think may be it falls in the "If you have to ask.." category.
Work with the students while you think outside the box...Screw standards. We've become a group of followers instead of leaders...If the student should get an extra point or two or more to get a higher grade then do it...
My GPA for the 4 years of college was 3.78...My GPA for my Masters was 3.84....I worked my can off to achieve the those terrible GPAs but my 3 buddies did the same as I and they received lower GPAs.....We worked day and night together just to get a lousy B+ and my Stat Pro was a foreigner whom we could not fully understand....He was very tough on us and didn't budge an inch...We wished him the worse one could get when we graduated so where is the team spirit? Where is the Pro and student team work? Not in class and that is where it should grow and flourish into our adult stage.
In life most people believe that a grade in the neighborhood of B is good...Our group tried so darn hard to get the "A" all the time and as tough as it was the Prof didn't help...We didn't want charity. We would have liked to have a tad of generosity...
I wonder how many people who generate a message believe the student should not receive an upper hand and where it would so much more to the student. I am not a gambler but I would step in the front of all throw who do not want to help the student did not go into the military....The like is team work. Help others achieve the higher level than they may not have been able to do on their own hard work.... Thanks for reading my post and I served our country in Vietnam as an Airborne Ranger. I was wounded several times and love to help others....
When will my attitude of helping everyone become a standard in the lives of our teachers and Professors? We must get off our cans and help those who may need our assistance and funny as it seems most of those that could use and flourish with our help may not ever know their needs of getting help.
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(I'm finally getting the hang of this.)
