All Questions
311 questions
0
votes
1
answer
376
views
How many US institutions use letter-grades without + or - indications for GPA? [closed]
I'm currently reviewing graduate applications and had discussions with friends at Carnegie Mellon University. There, undergrad grades are assigned as A, B, C, with no + or - designations. Thus, a ...
- 2,918
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
41
votes
11
answers
10k
views
What sort of professional boundary should I set with other students when I am a grader for a class I will be taking?
Next semester, I am going to take a course in which I have some background knowledge. Given the relevance of the course in my research, the lack of available students with sufficient knowledge in the ...
- 451
2
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Professor ignoring emails and not attending office hours
I recently received back an exam, and noticed after reviewing it a few days later a serious grading discrepancy. I sent my professor an email to confirm that he would be available in his next office ...
- 124
1
vote
1
answer
2k
views
My grade was penalized because of a technical problem. Who can I contact?
Last year, I did an exchange semester at a foreign university as part of my master degree. I was lagging behind on homework in one of my exchange courses, and wouldn't have been able to get a good ...
user39012
24
votes
9
answers
8k
views
Balancing empathy and deferring to the syllabus in teaching responsibilities
Questions of similar topics have been asked here for the situation of instructing a course and here and here for the situation of 'no late work' policies. Additional questions about balancing teaching ...
user97709
81
votes
11
answers
25k
views
I noticed an error in a graded exam during office hours. Should I give the student the lower grade?
You are a professor. A student comes to you with a question on an exam they have taken and received back. The student wrote 5 as the answer to a question, and they want to defend why 5 is a correct ...
- 799
76
votes
11
answers
23k
views
The lecturer supposed to grade my presentation fell asleep while I held it. Should I complain?
TLDR:
I am attenting a seminar where the grade is based entirely on a talk I hold. The responsible lecturer fell asleep during the talk multiple times, and I am worried about my grade, feel insulted ...
- 3,707
42
votes
10
answers
14k
views
Is it acceptable to mark off or comment on someone's presentation based on their non-standard English accent?
I am working as a TA for a seminar course and class presentations are considered a significant part of the total mark for the course.
Some of the students in the class — who mostly happen to be ...
user35129
17
votes
7
answers
6k
views
Grade changes with auto grader
If I use an auto-grading script and allow students to see their would-be grade based on the auto-grader, is it wrong to change their grades after the due date if I decide to change the auto-grader? I'...
- 187
2
votes
3
answers
466
views
Professor Ignoring Emails RE disagreement over grading
I recently had a concussion. I got everything on paper signed by a doctor, and emailed my teachers immediately. During my medical absence, I missed a quiz. I emailed my teacher regarding making the ...
- 61
1
vote
0
answers
94
views
Bologna Process - Equivalence note in European Supplement
I recently graduated from a MSc in Spain.
When applying for PhD abroad I discovered the equivalence system in place in order to "translate" my grades here into a standard one, as part of the Bologna ...
2
votes
0
answers
300
views
Best tool for digitally marking assignments? [closed]
I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good piece of software for marking digital (PDF) assignments. Specifically, I am marking a first-year mathematics course, and need to do the following for ...
- 198
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
151
votes
14
answers
26k
views
Should I intervene when a colleague in a different department makes students run laps as part of their grade?
Basic Premise
Can a microbiology professor require students to run laps on the track during class for a grade, even if the class usually has no physical component to it?
Background
As part of my role ...
- 19.1k
-1
votes
2
answers
491
views
A professor who is less knowledgeable in certain subjects than a student [closed]
What is a proper way of showing academic knowledge with assignments when your professors and or school is not on par with a particular students knowledge, so-to-speak?
A student is extremely smart ...
- 127
2
votes
2
answers
224
views
Ethics of writing another paper to be graded for use as a work sample
A particular program I would like to apply to requires a recent (past year) graded work sample in either science, history, or the social sciences.
Of course, I would like to present myself in the ...
- 199
1
vote
5
answers
15k
views
Is it appropriate to ask a professor to bump up a grade when I suspect it may be at the cutoff?
Background: My course has three exams: I did really bad on the first, great on the second (97%), and I think well on the third. I regularly attended the professor's office hours and never missed class....
- 39
4
votes
6
answers
3k
views
How to regrade an exam that was too difficult?
Our multiple choice exam was clearly too difficult.
N questions.
N + 10 total duration (in minutes).
All questions have the same value (100 / N).
Wrong answers have a penalty of 25% (25 / N).
Only ...
0
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What should I do if professor grades unfairly?
Background:
I take the required course through another university in order to graduate earlier, and that is how my nightmare starts.
From the first few weeks, everything was going fine; however, ...
- 19
1
vote
2
answers
127
views
Mention marking duty for a course in an early academic career CV
I am first year post-doctoral fellow. I have been asked to carry out some marking duties by my PhD supervisor from another university which I am not currently affiliated with, but where I got my PhD ...
- 533
5
votes
1
answer
435
views
Can a peer-grading system still work despite malicious students?
I'm asking this as a purely theoretical question, out of curiosity.
Let's say you are teaching an undergraduate class with complete autonomy. Instead of grading it traditionally, you decide to have ...
- 3,006
4
votes
2
answers
321
views
How to assign grades in a game development course?
I am planning a course on game development. Currently my main problem is how to design the assignments and grade them in a fair and objective manner. In previous courses I taught (like basic ...
- 17.2k
-2
votes
2
answers
239
views
What should I do if my professor made a mistake on a quiz but refuses to fix it?
After going through a quiz, I was surprised to see that we hadn't gone over half the material in class or in our reading. It was brought to the attention of the professor and she said she would take a ...
- 1
1
vote
2
answers
201
views
How to grade assignments efficiently? [duplicate]
What are common techniques to grade/mark assignments efficiently? Is it better to focus on one question and go through the pile or do them assignment after assignment? Or are there other techniques ...
- 113
126
votes
17
answers
44k
views
In a yes/no question, a student gives the right answer and an unnecessary but wrong explanation. How to grade?
Example:
Q: Does Venus exhibit retrograde motion? (1 mark)
A: No. This is because Venus orbits the Sun and not the Earth.
The first part is correct: Venus does not exhibit retrograde motion. But the ...
- 137k
2
votes
2
answers
568
views
Problem with relative grading system? [closed]
My college (IIT) follows a relative grading system and each professor was given freedom in choosing how to grade the students.
As far as I know, Some professors give 5 students (less than 8 percent ...
- 314
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
proper grading fairness when certain questions dropped on exam [closed]
I had a 135 question final exam. The Professor decided 11 questions were problematic. For those 11 specific questions, he gave points to all students if they missed those questions. If a student got ...
- 21
1
vote
1
answer
949
views
Having students grade each other on group projects?
I'm planning to have my students do a group project this semester. What are the pros and cons of having them rate how well their groupmates contributed to the project?
- 121
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
2
votes
3
answers
676
views
Is there an efficient way to give a large class of students feedback about their assignments?
I am the course lecturer of a large undergraduate course
with about 700 students in the course.
One of the challenges of teaching such a large course
is grading the assignments and giving students ...
- 19.6k
3
votes
1
answer
553
views
French master student, equivalent honours in the UK?
I am completing my second year of Master in mathematics in France and applying for a PhD in the UK, I wonder how to present my grades. I had average grades of 17.1/20 and 17.4/20. Shall I just write ...
- 131
2
votes
3
answers
975
views
Combining absolute and curve grading?
I know some advantages and disadvantages of using absolute grading as well as curve grading. Next semester, I plan to combine both by first grading absolutely, and then use curve grading to add points ...
- 265
2
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Can a professor make your final pass or fail? [closed]
I current have an 85% in his class but my final is pass or fail. I’m horrible at math and have really tried my hardest to get that b but my professors math final is either you pass it or if you fail ...
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
3
votes
2
answers
321
views
How do commitees evaluate candidates from foreign / unknown universities? [duplicate]
I'm asking out of curiosity / because I think the answer may be of general interest:
A bit of context: When I applied to PhD programs, I had degrees from two institutions. One (let's call it "A") is ...
- 1,093
42
votes
7
answers
8k
views
Dispute grade penalty for reading in class?
I am in an large, entry level course targeted at engineers. A few weeks ago, I was reading for another class while my professor covered material I was familiar with, and she marked me down as absent ...
- 445
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Does D2L have a way for the instructor to access my submission while it appears "unread"?
My school uses D2L for all classes. When I submit a paper (or other file) to D2L, I can see in the "Dropbox" whether or not the professor has read a submitted file. In most of my courses, I see the ...
user100266
13
votes
6
answers
3k
views
Professor not giving solutions to exams and assignments that I need to grade
I am a grader for a CS course at the college institution I attend. The professor I am TAing for is a full-time employee at a company. He is teaching this CS course on top of doing that. The first exam ...
- 406
4
votes
1
answer
9k
views
GPA calculation in German Grading system
I am studying in a German University where the GPA grades are :
1.0 , 1.3, 1.7, 2.0, 2.3, 2.7, 3.0, 3.3, 3.7, 4.0 with 1.0 being the best score a student can get in exam and below 4.0 it is fail.
...
- 141
54
votes
8
answers
14k
views
I grade exams together with a colleague but disagree with their grading. What should I do?
Recently, I have graded exams (50 pcs.) together with a colleague from another department. I felt like my colleague was awarding too many points for wrong/incomplete answers. For example, awarding ...
- 922
9
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Rationale for Passing Students "by Compensation"
Certainly in Ireland at least, there is a mechanism whereby students, with otherwise good grades, are allowed to "pass by compensation" a module(s) that they have failed.
For example, a student ...
- 220
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
8
votes
6
answers
4k
views
Avoiding use of a red pen in providing handwritten comments on student work
As is common practice, I usually have used a red pen to grade student work and provide edits and comments on papers I collaborate on. However, I was speaking recently with an elementary school teacher ...
- 19.1k
-2
votes
2
answers
598
views
How to make a complaint about grades? [closed]
My professor announced the grades. He told us in each part what grades we had.
My oral presentation for the project was way better than other students. But he just gave me 89 for oral and gave others ...
- 1
188
votes
13
answers
48k
views
Grades are too high for the department - what should I do?
I recently taught an undergraduate seminar course, in which each student has to read a research paper, summarize it and present it to the class. In the first lesson I explained to the students the ...
- 17.2k
3
votes
1
answer
161
views
How to ask professor to post more example?
My professor always posts solved problems on the course website but for the last chapter, he did not post any solved problems. Although we have our textbook, I think solved problems help me understand ...
- 1
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
3
votes
3
answers
303
views
Recommended course weight for online quizzes outside of class
In many of my classes (mainly with undergraduate students), I begin every class session with a reading quiz, that is, a short, simple multiple-choice quiz on their assigned reading, to make sure that ...
- 9,537
4
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Should graduate students who are graders help undergraduate students with homework?
In my department, we hire graduate TAs as both graders and teaching assistants. The teaching assistants are assigned to lead discussion sections that meet twice per week. The graders are assigned to ...
- 234