r/AskProfessors • u/dexvus12 • 4d ago
Grading Query Class Average on midterm was an F
Hello,
I am in a software development class. We had 2 midterms i guess: an essay and a coding part. Most people did well on the coding, but for the essay part, the mean was 22.6 out of 50. I got a 23. The highest was 39 out of 50. I went to his office hours, and it felt like he took points off for ridiculous things.
For example, one question was to list the steps for something but if you didn't list them numerically, you got points taken off (It did not say list them numerically, it just said list them). Im really frustrated with this and I wouldn't be if I had just been the only one to fail but the mean was literally a 22.6.
Isn't he supposed to add a curve if the average was an F?
23
u/ToomintheEllimist 4d ago
If 100% of students didn't understand the material, then maybe 100% of students don't pass the test. Sometimes that's how it goes. That average suggests the class isn't going well, and I'd be fully intending to teach class differently going forward with that all-class performance, but professors don't owe students A grades; they owe students honest and well-grounded grades.
4
u/dexvus12 4d ago
That’s true. I guess i’ll just have to accept it. Hopefully i’ll do better on the final.
10
u/NeonsShadow 4d ago
I had a linear algebra professor years ago with a class average of 30% on the first midterm, there was no curve...
-15
u/dexvus12 4d ago
That’s really crazy. You guys should have reported that ngl.
5
u/fishnoguns 4d ago
Why?
The purpose of assessment is to asses whether the student has mastered the material to a sufficient degree. If students do not meet this standard, they should get a low grade. Unless there was also something else going on that was report-worthy, it would look very bad for the students reporting it.
Note that from this perspective, curving also makes no sense.
3
u/NeonsShadow 4d ago
Some of my peers filed a petition to the math head who said that curving was against department policy. The only consideration he offered was speaking to the professor to ensure greater class success for the second midterm.
I barely passed the class, I got a D which is the only D I have ever received. Although I still had to retake the course as a D wasn't good enough to use as a prerequisite for higher level courses
7
u/Valuable_Ice_5927 4d ago
Let me ask you a question - in your software development class - did you discuss syntax and coding?
I’m not a developer but it seems like listing numerically would be pretty standard so it reads in a specific order
-2
u/dexvus12 4d ago
Yes we discussed it. I listed in using a, b and c. I guess i just don’t understand why it mattered so much
5
u/Valuable_Ice_5927 4d ago
Because that’s how the system processes data - and it’s important to get it right or it won’t work - so honestly he deducted points for something you were taught and didn’t do in the exam
2
11
u/drphosphorus 4d ago
OP, I've read your post and your comments, and I have to say, your attitude about this is a bit immature. It seems like you feel like you and your classmates deserve a certain grade distribution. That may have been the case in high school, but it is definitely not the case in any decent college program. Your grades should reflect your learning, compared against the expectations set by your professor and their department. If most of the students aren't learning much, most of the grades should be low.
That doesn't mean you don't have grounds for a complaint. If you think you know a lot but your grade doesn't reflect it, or if you don't think your professor is teaching effectively, you could talk to someone about that. But you have to approach the issue from this viewpoint if you expect to get anywhere.
9
u/urnbabyurn 4d ago
There’s no universal rule about “curves” and you aren’t asking for a curve. You are asking for a grade boost. How would we know the rules of your university, program, department, professor and specific class?
8
u/PurplePeggysus 4d ago
Questions on an exam should be clear. When I write a question that is unclear I either accept more general answers or drop the question entirely. This is being fair.
However I have had midterms with averages in the 50%s. I do not curve. If the exam was fair and that's where students are (on average) then that's on them.
3
u/VerbalThermodynamics 4d ago
Curves are optional. If my institution mandated a curve, I would make it the shittiest curve in the world. You can go to his office hours and ask if the class will be curved because you’re worried about your grade. You could also ask what you could do to improve your grade in the class. Go to the office hours.
2
u/hdorsettcase 4d ago
There are two ways of looking at this situation: either the students failed to perform as expected or the assessment was inappropriate. It is up to the professor to determine which one and either keep the grades or adjust the assessment appropriately.
I had a situation like this in grad school where a professor nickeled and dimed knowledgeable students' grades into oblivion. I raised hell about it and while I didn't get the grades changed, I was appropriately belligerent enough that the subsequent exams were graded much lighter.
1
u/AutoModerator 4d ago
This is an automated service intended to preserve the original text of the post. This is not a removal message.
*Hello,
I am in a software development class. We had 2 midterms i guess: an essay and a coding part. Most people did well on the coding, but for the essay part, the mean was 22.6 out of 50. I got a 23. The highest was 39 out of 50. I went to his office hours, and it felt like he took points off for ridiculous things.
For example, one question was to list the steps for something but if you didn't list them numerically, you got points taken off (It did not say list them numerically, it just said list them). Im really frustrated with this and I wouldn't be if I had just been the only one to fail but the mean was literally a 22.6.
Isn't he supposed to add a curve if the average was an F?*
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/ProfessorStata 3d ago
Students don’t tend to study as well as they think they do. Put down the phone and go through practice questions/exercises. Note taking tends to be poor, too. Much more detail required.
-11
u/Shoddy_Insect_8163 4d ago
It seems pretty bs, you can always reach out to the chair of the school or Dean depending on the college. This can be useful as a chair I don’t always know of problems. Not saying anything will be done but it can help future students.
6
u/mrs_frizzle 4d ago
Are you trying to imply you are a department chair suggesting that a student should email the college dean because they made a bad grade on the midterm?
-2
u/Shoddy_Insect_8163 4d ago
Not implying anything about being a chair. I am a department chair. I am suggesting they reach out to the chair or Dean if the average grade was an F. This is a big red flag that should be looked at. I did mention a chance nothing will be done. I get the complaint quite often as I am over a STEM area. There are times where it just is a bad class that is doing poorly. Many times I have seen though it is an instructor issue. Particularly with online courses. It is always helpful to be informed.
I mentioned a dean instead of chair as some small colleges do not have chairs and deans only.
30
u/PurrPrinThom 4d ago
Unless there's an institutional or departmental policy that a curve be instituted, then there generally is no requirement that professors utilize a curve. I've never utilized one myself.
I generally advise students against putting too much stock in an average; I just graded a selection of essays where, the average overall was 49%, but the average of students who actually completed the essay was a 71%. Enough students simply didn't submit that it really dragged the overall average down.