All Questions
Tagged with grading united-states
20 questions
14
votes
8
answers
7k
views
Is there any ethical problem with a tiered grading system?
I am currently teaching undergraduate level courses in mathematics and engineering in a university in the United States.
My university requires us to go through some training on how to make our ...
- 2,275
1
vote
1
answer
190
views
How Should I Convert My GPA for PhD Applications in the USA?
I am in the process of applying for PhD programs in the United States and am facing a dilemma regarding my GPA format. My current university uses a 20/20 grading scale, and I am unsure if I should ...
- 1,747
22
votes
10
answers
11k
views
In the U.S., is it appropriate for math professors to ask students to rewrite their messy (poorly handwritten) homework to be graded?
Many students write their math homework assignments in a messy, barely readable way. When I was a student TA/grader, I didn't have the right to ask them to rewrite them. But as a math instructor, I ...
- 4,246
8
votes
3
answers
818
views
Why do W (i.e., Withdrawn) grades exist?
At American colleges and universities, it is nearly universally the case, to the best of my knowledge, that students who choose to withdraw from a course after a short window early in the semester ...
- 1,932
2
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Why don't university courses report percentiles together with absolute grades?
In any course in university, grades will be reported on an absolute scale, such as A+, A, B+, etc. Why don't these courses also report percentiles to indicate how hard the course was? This is very ...
- 962
22
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Is "cum laude with honors" meaningful or a tautology in the US?
In the following video, an expert witness is relating her academic background and, at one point she states that she graduated "cum laude with honours". Having looked at various sources I ...
- 4,766
85
votes
16
answers
23k
views
Is it valid to modify a student's exam grade if you feel they did not earn it?
I am a graduate student who teaches their own class. I have a supervisor who I report to for everything, including final grades. We have a meeting every semester at the end to review our final grades ...
- 689
5
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What if point systems for tests were different?
What if when taking a test you could select multiple answers and the percent per question you got was
(100)(1/n), n being the amount of answers selected (only award points if any a selected answer ...
1
vote
4
answers
701
views
Is it normal/okay if my professor grades me lower "in comparison to my peers"?
My Uni is in Minnesota and classes started a couple weeks ago. I'm taking a class for my undergraduate degree. I knew it was going to be writing intensive from the syllabus. Every week we're going ...
- 11
26
votes
9
answers
7k
views
Is it appropriate to share the distribution of grades for a small class?
It is common practice to share a histogram of grades with a class after a quiz or exam. However, my institute has very small classes. This year I have 6 students in my class, and in previous years I ...
- 3,055
8
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What would a good written policy for scaling exam grades look like?
I'm not in the habit of scaling exams, although I'm aware that the practice is widespread and highly recommended in some circles (such as grading on a curve). To my recollection, none of my college ...
- 40.7k
5
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Is it appropriate to ask a professor how my grade was calculated?
I took a graduate course (C.S) in a U.S university. We were not provided with any grading scale in the syllabus. I was assigned a letter grade but I have no idea how it was calculated. Below is an ...
- 61
10
votes
5
answers
3k
views
In grading, professor takes into account submission time, performance compared to other students, and visibility of posters. Is it fair?
I am an undergrad in the US taking an upper-level biology course with ~30 students. My professor has been grading some assignments in what I, and other students in the class, realize is quite unfair. ...
- 109
55
votes
13
answers
18k
views
U.S. grading system: Why discrete grades?
Background
In the U.S., many colleges adopt an A–F grading scheme, topped with pluses and minuses.
Professors vary in the way they assign A to F grades, but my sense is most rely on discrete “bins”. ...
- 1,013
3
votes
1
answer
3k
views
When Are Fall Semester Grades Usually Issued? [closed]
I am a middle manager at the US subsidiary of a large multi-national corporation, and a member of my staff has been accepted to grad school in her field of expertise. Our corporate policy is that we ...
- 33
8
votes
2
answers
512
views
Grading curves in quantitative subjects
In U.S. colleges, in quantitative fields of study like engineering and mathematics, how do instructors curve their courses? That is, how do instructors decide, in a given course, how many As to award,...
- 231
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How do I reconcile with a vindictive professor, or at least protect my grade?
I (foolishly) corrected my physics professor as he was about to teach fifty students a blatantly wrong simplification, and since then he's been out to get me. I get grades of 20% or lower on tests ...
- 521
3
votes
2
answers
576
views
Is it ethical for professors to require that students maintain a balanced and disinterested tone in their papers and presentations?
I have noticed personally a tendency toward hyperbole and dare I say anti-intellectualism within American society, along with of course a marked polarization along ideological fault lines.
Is it ...
46
votes
15
answers
44k
views
Professor gave me a higher grade than I deserved. What should I do?
During one of my undergraduate semesters I was pretty depressed (for various personal reasons) and was struggling with completing my coursework. One class in particular didn't have a final exam, there ...
- 561
1
vote
0
answers
1k
views
How to convert Australian grade to US GPA? [duplicate]
I am wondering how to convert Australian grade(HD, D, C, ...) to US GPA (A+, A, B, C ...)
I tried few websites but those showed me which I think of as "too good to be true" results.
For example, ...
- 11