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Re: [Phys-l] assigning grades



First let me say I don't believe there is a perfect grading system. I
have tried several; they all worked, they all had advantages, they all
had disadvantages.

Second, the primary purpose of interim grades is to give the student an
idea of how they are doing in the class at that time. If you believe
your interim grade is providing accurate information then I am not going
to question it.

A secondary purpose of interim grades, if you report more than a final
grade, is giving students a chance to see how the grading system works
and where their main problem is (if by some chance they don't already
know). Often my students get a quick lesson in understanding how the
different types of grades fit together. In my case they get a lesson in
weighted averages. That's a good lesson in itself. For some it is the
first they realize that doing poorly in something weighted 50% (like
exams) is hard to counter by doing well in something weighted 17% (like
problem sets). Before the first interim report comes out, some students
actually think they can do well on lab reports and problem sets, fail
the exams, and still get a B in the course.

I have a few students who do the opposite. They do okay on the exams
(perhaps B) but blow off the problems and labs as busy work. Frankly, I
somewhat agree with them on the problems, and am willing to work with a
student who can do well on exams without turning in a lot of problems.
However, the lab experience and writing a good report is something I
absolutely will not allow the students to slack on. When a student does
well on exams but fails to turn in reports, or turns in mediocre
reports, we're going to have a professor-student conference.

Bottom line... It doesn't matter if you use weights or total points or
whatever, students probably don't understand how your system works until
they get the first interim report. If your interim grade reporting
method is getting the proper message across to the students, then keep
using it.

As for the specific question of a student doing a poor job on the first
exam and getting a poor first interim report... Yes indeed, and that
report is accurate. If their exams continue at the same level of
performance, that is pretty close to the grade they're going to get in
the end. On the other hand it is very easy for them to play "what-ifs."
Let's see, I got 60% on the first exam and that averaged with my
problems and labs is currently a C. If I can do what is necessary to
get my exams up to 80% for the rest of the exams and keep doing
equivalent work on the problems and labs, then I can still get a B in
the course.

My students can typically figure that out after they have seen their
first interim report. Just in case they can't, I tell them that if they
want to play what-ifs and don't know how, stop in and I'll show them.


Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry and Physics
Bluffton University
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu