Making The Grade

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 04/16/2020 at 11:00 • Filed to: None

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I was speaking the other night with a colleague who teaches an undergraduate jazz appreciation class with 700 students. He was recounting how many of them are giving him excuses about not turning in work, usually along the lines of “I couldn’t find it online.” He said he spends the majority of his day answering email from students who are making excuses for not completing assignments.  I was immediately reminded of this essay that I read all the way back in 1996. At the time, I was a teaching assistant at UT-Austin, and I typed it up and posted it on the outside of my office door for students to read while they waited for their lesson. I think it’s as timely now as it was then

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

MAKING THE GRADE

Many students wheedle for a degree as if it were a freebie T-shirt

By Kurt Wiesenfeld

It was a rookie error. After 10 years I should have known better, but I went to my office the day after final grades were posted. There was a tentative knock on the door. “Professor Wiesenfeld? I took your Physics 212 class? I flunked it? I wonder if there’s anything I can do to improve my grade?” I thought: “Why are you asking me? Isn’t it too late to worry about it? Do you dislike making declarative statements?”

After the student gave his tale of woe and left, the phone rang. “I got a D in your class. Is there any way you can change it to an incomplete?” Then the e-mail assault began: “I’m shy about coming to talk to you, but I’m not shy about asking for a better grade. Anyway, it’s worth a try.” The next day I had three phone messages from students asking me to call them. I didn’t.

Time was, when you received a grade, that was it. You might groan and moan, but you accepted it as the outcome of your efforts or lack thereof (and, yes, sometimes a tough grader). In the last few years, however, some students have developed a disgruntled-consumer approach. If they don’t like their grade, they go to the “return” counter to trade it in for something better.

What alarms me is their indifference toward grades as an indication of personal effort and performance. Many, when pressed about why they think they deserve a better grade, admit they don’t deserve one but would like one anyway. Having been raised on gold stars for effort and smiley faces for self-esteem, they’ve learned that they can get by without hard work and real talent if they can talk the professor into giving them a break. This attitude is beyond cynicism. There’s a weird innocence to the assumption that one expects (even deserves) a better grade simply by begging for it. With that outlook, I guess I shouldn’t be as flabbergasted as I was that 12 students asked me to change their grades after final grades were posted.

That’s 10 percent of my class who let three months of midterms, quizzes, and lab reports slide until long past remedy. My graduate student calls it hyperrational thinking: if effort and intelligence don’t matter, why should deadlines? What matters is getting a better grade through an unearned bonus, the academic equivalent of a freebie T-shirt or toaster giveaway. Rewards are disconnected from the quality of one’s work. An act and its consequences are unrelated, random events.

Their arguments for wheedling better grades often ignore academic performance. Perhaps they feel it’s not relevant. “If my grade isn’t raised to a D I’ll lose my scholarship.” “If you don’t give me a C, I’ll flunk out.” One sincerely overwrought student pleaded, “If I don’t pass, my life is over.” This is tough stuff to deal with. Apparently, I’m responsible for someone’s losing a scholarship, flunking out or deciding whether life has meaning. Perhaps these students see me as a commodities broker with something they want – a grade. Though intrinsically worthless, grades, if properly manipulated, can be traded for what has value: a degree, which means a job, which means money. The one thing college actually offers – a chance to learn – is considered irrelevant, even less than worthless, because of the long hours and hard work required.

In a society saturated with surface values, love of knowledge for its own sake does sound eccentric. The benefits of fame and wealth are more obvious. So is it right to blame students for reflecting the superficial values saturating our society?

Yes, of course it’s right. These guys had better take themselves seriously right now, because our country will be forced to take them seriously later, when the stakes are much higher. They must recognize that their attitude is not only self-destructive, but socially destructive. The erosion of quality control – giving appropriate grades for actual accomplishments – is a major concern in my department. One colleague noted that a physics major could obtain a degree without ever answering a written exam completely. How? By pulling in enough partial credit and extra credit. And by getting breaks on grades.

But what happens once he graduates and gets a job? That’s when the misfortunes of eroding academic standards multiply. We lament that schoolchildren get “kicked upstairs” until they graduate from high school despite being illiterate and mathematically inept, but we seem unconcerned with college graduates whose less blatant deficiencies are far more harmful if their accreditation exceeds their qualifications.

Most of my students are science and engineering majors. If they’re good at getting partial credit but not getting the answer right, then the new bridge breaks or the new drug doesn’t work. One finds examples here in Atlanta. Last year a light tower in the Olympic Stadium collapsed, killing a worker. It collapsed because an engineer miscalculated how much weight it could hold. A new 12-story dormitory could develop dangerous cracks due to a foundation that’s uneven by more than six inches. I drive past that dorm daily on my way to work, wondering if a foundation crushed under kilotons of weight is repairable, or if this structure will have to be demolished. Two 10,000-pound steel beams at the new natatorium collapsed in March, crashing into the student athletic complex. (Should we give partial credit since no one was hurt?) Those are real-world consequences of errors and lack of expertise.

But the lesson is lost on the grade-grousing 10 percent. Say that you won’t (not can’t, but won’t) change the grade they deserve to what they want, and they’re frequently bewildered or angry. They don’t think it’s fair that they’re judged according to their performance, not their desires of “potential.” They don’t think it’s fair that they should jeopardize their scholarships or be in danger of flunking out simply because they would not or did not do their work. But it’s more than fair; it’s necessary to help preserve a minimum standard of quality that our society needs to maintain safety and integrity. I don’t know if the 13th-hour students will learn that lesson, but I’ve learned mine. From now on, after final grades are posted, I’ll lie low until the next quarter starts.

Wiesenfeld, a physicist, teaches at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

This essay appeared in the June 17, 1996 issue of Newsweek.

Deal Killer - Powered by Focus > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 11:07

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I was going to read your post, but it’s really long, and who has the time anymore? Can you just summarize it and give me the jist of the post? KTB!

Chuckles > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 11:10

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One of my (many) regrets is that I treated my time in college as an exercise in obtaining a degree, rather than an exercise in learning. Sure, I learned things. But that almost felt secondary compared to doing what was necessary to pass a class.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 11:13

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One of the reasons I left academia.....

Cash Rewards > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 11:19

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I went to school in New Orleans and took a history of jazz class. One of my top 2 or 3 favorite classes

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/16/2020 at 11:19

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And one of the reasons I’m glad I never won a college job despite coming close. I think I would have been miserable. 

Grindintosecond > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 11:21

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I always found it strange a class with the name Appreciation attached has the balls to assign grades. If they donb’t appreciate the music, they get a low grade ? What the hell. It’s as if I get to be the opinion judge and jury.

facw > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 11:26

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I had one grade changed in college. I had a class (Introduction to the History of European Art II) where the professor had said going into the final exam that I had a B-, and then I got a B on the final and a C+ in the course, so I emailed her to ask how that happened. She didn’t provide any explanation (had there been one I would have left it at that), but offered to raise to my grade if I wanted her to. S hockingly I responded that I did indeed want that (she had suspected as much). I felt a little guilty since I hadn’t intended to whine for a grade raise, I just wanted to make sure there hadn’t been a mistake, but whatever, I’ll take it.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Grindintosecond 04/16/2020 at 11:39

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It’s not “appreciation” as in giving a positive affirmation of its artistic value so much as recognizing and demonstrating ability to give critique to that artistic value, or lack thereof.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 11:40

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Say that you won’t (not can’t, but won’t) change the grade they deserve to what they want, and they’re frequently bewildered or angry.

Noting that this essay was published 24 years ago, I thought you might be disheartened to hear that in 2020, when rejected by the instructor feel the need to send their emails up the chain to the department chair, or worse, the dean. Failing that, they let their parents email.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 11:42

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That’s a great read.

I made the mistake of asking a professor about a grade one time. I thought I had identified some legitimate grading mistakes in a final exam, and he was having none of it. It was enough to get me from a D to a C, and a C was required to pass this particular class. He was having none of it, he told me he “didn’t make grading mistakes” and I was summarily dismissed with a “try harder next semester. ”

At the time I was pissed, but in the long run it wasn’t that big of a deal. It didn’t keep me from graduating on time, and having another look at differential equations was probably benefit to me in the long run. In fact I’m now taking graduate level differential equations, which is not fun, but that experience is certainly paying benefits now.

I think it’s sad that people have lost a lust for learning for it’s own sake. I took a break for a few years after I finished my undergraduate degree, but I’m working on a masters now and love it. It’s not easy, but worthwhile things usually aren’t.

Grindintosecond > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 04/16/2020 at 11:44

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I understand. However, If someone isn’t into the music at all, it would be very difficult to find insightful meaning to its elements.

Future next gen S2000 owner > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 11:56

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It’s almost as if actions have consequences. Who’d thunk it?

BigBlock440 > Chuckles 04/16/2020 at 11:59

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I even said it at the time, I only need to be here for that piece of paper you get at the end. Rarely did I even go to lectures, just to labs, but passing was good enough.  That said, I also never bugged my teachers about a better grade, I knew it was from my lack of effort, and if it wasn’t passing, I dropped it and tried again next semester.  The class is a lot easier the third time around.

CB > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 12:03

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In university, my professors said “we’ll evaluate any grades you have a problem with, but accept the fact that your grade could go down instead of up.”

One class had grades for in class quizzes. I went in one day, said “hey, I’m going to the hospital because I injured my eye”, the professor said that was fine, and I didn’t get a credit for the quiz as I was absent. I accepted it for what it was, passed the class with an 80 something anyway.

I flunked my second year criminological theories midterm. I studied harder for the final to pass the class, and passed.

People need to figure out that nothing will go the way you want it to unless you put a lot of effort into it. I don't envy my sister for being a teacher.

smobgirl > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 12:09

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I remember one asshole professor I had for a core class (history) in college. He took attendance and we had assigned seats for a 350-person lecture (well, his TAs did - that’s all they did the entire class because it took that long to do). He gave us an assignment at our 8am class that was required to be submitted online by midnight that night. Since I was headed straight from school to work a double close, I asked if there was any chance of an extension until, say, 6 am. He went apeshit and spent the rest of class berating me. 

Thankfully his TAs also did all the grading and the professor never connected my name and face but as someone who grew up idolizing teachers, that cut deep. Also thankfully, he was far too self important to set up his own online requirements and even though the essay wasn’t submitted until 3 am, I wasn’t docked points.

DipodomysDeserti > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 12:20

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My grad studies aren’t letting anything slide. I’m giving a presentation today over uranium contamination and remediation in northern Arizona via Zoom.

I find it ironic  how we shut shit completely down over this virus when we have thousands of open and abandoned uranium mines leaching radiation into our water and air that have largely been completely ignored for eighty years. Humans ability to assess risk is very strange.

Chariotoflove > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 12:29

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My blood boils over this stuff. Texas A&M is right now instituting a policy where students can change from a letter grade for a course to S/U for this semester in recognition of the extraordinary pandemic situation. Here is a quote from the speaker of our faculty senate that is on point:

The reason this decision was made , again by many many schools, is a recognition that this isn’t a regular semester and it makes no sense to attempt to treat it as such. Many students are going to be unable to perform academically like they might otherwise be capable for any number of reasons, no internet connectivity, difficult home situations, metal and physical health reasons.

I find it very myopic and somewhat arrogant that for some reasons accrediting bodies should think their typical standards should prevail [ emphasis mine ] over the situation students now find themselves through no fault of their own. You may disagree with me, but many of our students are struggling. I refuse to believe that accrediting bodies regulations should trump the mental and physical well-being of students.

Yes, many students are struggling, largely through no fault of their own, but let me tell you why this attitude infuriates me. The university, and much of its faculty are out and out saying that the quality of education they are giving to their paying students is below standard. So, their solution is to lower the standards . Read that again. I’ll wait.

If we cannot give students what they paid for, or they are not able to receive it from us, then we need to do one of two things. We either log an incomplete and allow the student to get what they need when it becomes possible, perhaps by free enrollment in subsequent summer courses or by letting them take the course again next year free of charge, or we just refund their tuition. Guess how often that’s been mentioned. That’s right, none.

We are planning to collect their money, give them a substandard education for a semester, pass them anyway and hide the depressed performance by using a camouflaged grading scale. This makes the students happy but does them no favors. It also does our university no favors because it devalues the diploma from Texas A&M that these kids leave with.

In short, my friend, the very students with the attitude lamented in that letter from 1996 are now grown into the faculty with the same damaging mind set, that the important thing is the grade, not what you learn. In the case of our dental and medical health professionals, it’s not a structure that may collapse because of a TAMU grad, but perhaps a botched oral surgery or a patient hospitalized because of avoidable malpractice.

And this is why I consider day drinking more each day.

Chariotoflove > Grindintosecond 04/16/2020 at 12:30

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But then is it not the responsibility of that student who enrolled in that course?

Chariotoflove > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/16/2020 at 12:34

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This pisses me off in the other direction. If a student comes into my office just to lobby for points (I call them Point Hounds), I have no sympathy. But if a student wants to argue the science of a question, and makes the case properly, then they may win some points through a re-grade. It’s not a reward for persistence, it’s a recognition that I’m not infallible, and that the most important thing is the learning. I try my best to make the grade reflect the level of learning.

I once had a failing grade on  P-Chem test graded by a TA.  I went to the professor and argued over the course of an hour all the things that were wrong with the grading of this essay test.  My grade went from failing to an A, and I found a lot of respect for that professor that day. The TA not so much.

Chariotoflove > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 04/16/2020 at 12:36

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That happens at my college. I have had friends get visits from the associate dean asking for them to reconsider. Some student disgruntlement has even led to law suits, when it results in getting kicked out. When tuition is $35k/yr, and the career at the end of the rainbow nets $200k/yr starting salary,  the stakes are high.

Chariotoflove > smobgirl 04/16/2020 at 12:37

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That’s just plain unprofessional.  Even when I have to say no to a student, there is never a need to moralize about it.

ttyymmnn > Snuze: Needs another Swede 04/16/2020 at 12:38

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I never asked for a different grade, but I did have an interesting grade experience at my first uni. At the time, I was not working hard at all, I was drinking lots of beer, smoking lots of pot, and just not doing work. I was taking an English class that I’m sure I was failing utterly, and the prof came in to class close to the end of the semester and said that he had lost his grade book. He asked us to take out our assignments and tests so he could reconstruct it, and of course, I had nothing. So he said, “Well, I would say that you had about a C average in the class, wouldn’t you?” I heartily agreed with him, even though we both knew that I was failing. He did me a solid, though I suppose he couldn’t fail me without any proof,  and I got a C in the course.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Chariotoflove 04/16/2020 at 12:38

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Yup. Doesn’t really surprise me. I don’t recall what department you work in (Biochem?) but, while the cynic in me would expect the behavior to be more prevalent in liberal arts and the soft sciences, I saw it frequently in my classmates in the school of Engineering at my institution.

ttyymmnn > Chariotoflove 04/16/2020 at 12:38

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This.

ttyymmnn > Grindintosecond 04/16/2020 at 12:40

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I find it hard to imagine why you would enroll in a class about jazz if you had no interest in it. The idea of the course, though, is to provide a basic level of understanding of the genre and expose students to the history of the only truly American music. Then you test them on what they learned. 

Chariotoflove > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 04/16/2020 at 12:41

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Yes, Biomedical Sciences is the official name.

ttyymmnn > facw 04/16/2020 at 12:41

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I would think you are entirely within your rights to question that, and to ask to see the grade book and inquire how she calculated it. 

haveacarortwoorthree2 > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 12:49

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I made the mistake of agreeing to teach an Ethics & Business Law course for an EMBA program a few years ago. What a cluster. The first semester was fine, just lots of whining about being required to do things out of class (WTF?). The second semester was worse, and I had to deal with adults whining that Billy or Susie or whomever wasn’t doing their part of the group project. The third and final semester of my teaching career ended when I had a dispute with the administration over what to do with a student who plagiarized the required paper, then denied and lied about it (it was almost word for word from wikipedia, including the paragraph headings). The administration wanted me to pass him! I turned in an F grade, told them I was done, and I have no idea how they ended up handling it. 

smobgirl > Chariotoflove 04/16/2020 at 12:51

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I guess the guy was fed up with students like those in the essay and was taking it out on everyone. He was the dean of the department and that incident was the  entire reason I went into anthropology and not history.

Chariotoflove > smobgirl 04/16/2020 at 12:53

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Anthropology profs are more colorful anyway.  Or at least they used to be.

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 12:55

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“Having been raised on gold stars for effort and smiley faces for self-esteem, they’ve learned that they can get by without hard work and real talent if they can talk the professor into giving them a break.”

But who was giving out the stars?

I 100% believe the effort=success, but if you change the rules of the game, you can’t be surprised when (some) people aren’t ready for it.

ttyymmnn > haveacarortwoorthree2 04/16/2020 at 13:01

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In one of my undergraduate music history courses, the professor asked the class if they wanted to reschedule the final exam. People started piping up about moving it to this day or that, others complained that the other days wouldn’t work, others complained that they had three finals on the same day. After about 10 minutes of this, I raised my hand and said, “Look—the date of the final was posted on the syllabus at the beginning of the semester. You’ve known the date all along, and you have to plan accordingly. This is ridiculous. ” There was a pause, and the professor said, “Alright then. We’ll have it when it was originally  scheduled.”

Thisismydisplayname > Future next gen S2000 owner 04/16/2020 at 13:01

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The importance of letting kids fail at an early age. They learn to deal with the little failures and when they get older, they can better deal with Bigger failures... and there will be failures. So best to learn little by little.

As I say that. I’m thinking to last night when I threw the game So my 6YO could win the board game. But I had already beat both my sons in the previous round of the same game.... but in general I don’t hold back, if you want to win, try harder next time.

I know my mom got that but if advice from my 5th grade teacher...  let him fail mom.  It works.  

Grindintosecond > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 13:02

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prerequisites. They kind of rule those choices.

Jazz vs. classical? IF the student hates both, they will take one over the other to fulfill a requirement. I had to fill pre reques, and took a variety of things. Classical music appreciation was one. Of the classes offered, it was the least offensive in that category.

I had to take a literature course, and I took early mideval, because the only qualifier was, of all the terrible choices on offer, it seemed more interesting than the other classes. Even though I didn’t want to be in either one of them and really disliked the notion at the time.

My dad had to take a language in the 60's in his college, and they didn’t have many language choices. So French it was, and 5 hours of D wasn’t goping to help but it was over with.

I got my lit. grade and left. It wasn’t a good one. But that’s not similar in regards to the music class, just demonstrative of the limited choices presented. We can hate on the kids for not showing initiative and fortitude to get the job done, but nobody is going to show that spirit when it comes to fishing lost jewlery out of an outhouse. Not calling his class an outhouse, just making a point that everyone has different interests and likes that can certainly not even meld with whats offered.

Vote for the best worst candidate i guess.

Thisismydisplayname > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 13:02

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That’s a great read.  And so true about the consequences in the real world.  Especially engineering.  There’s a reason we pay good money for somebody else to put a stamp on a drawing.  

ttyymmnn > Grindintosecond 04/16/2020 at 13:07

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It’s an elective, not a required course. It’s taught to non-music majors as a way to fill out their schedule. They could take basket weaving instead, if they want to.

RallyWrench > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 13:11

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Brilliant. The entitlement culture is real, now more than ever. I like to cling to the fact that I’m a final-year Gen Xer so I can blame that shit on Millenials and youths . ;)

When I was a student at local community college and playing in the music program (early 2000's) , they had our small jazz group come in and play a session for the jazz appreciation class, and they could attend our big jazz ensemble shows for credit . You could look around the room at the dead, uninterested eyes, kids just in it to fill a credit. Hard to play for a room like that. My Improv instructor would read us some of the comments (anonymously, of course) after the shows for fun, so much meaningless half-assery and phoning it in. 

Also, the Wheedle Freebies would be a great name for a band.

ttyymmnn > RallyWrench 04/16/2020 at 13:18

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Wheedle Freebies

I dig it.

Yeah, it really can’t be understated how important it is to have a good house . I’ve done some musicals where, to save space, the band is sequestered somewhere backstage and our music is piped out to the hall. We can hear the singers, but we don’t get to interact with the audience. It’s surprising how much of a difference that makes. I wonder how many of those audiences even realize that the music is live and not Memorex. 

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 14:32

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This has only gotten worse. The constant rewards ... excuse me ... INCENTIVES, have gotten out of control. I’m supposed to pass out tickets that can be saved up and traded in for things, to students who do things that they’re supposed to do. I refuse to participate in this mess though. I tell a kid good job when they’ve done a good job. That’s the reward.

jeepoftheseus > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 14:41

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That’s a good read, thanks for sharing. I got my minor in education but only because I realized that I was in the wrong major the day I actually got put in a classroom to observe and begin student teaching. I can’t imagine how much whining happens on finals week.

I rightfully failed and re-took any of my courses that I couldn’t cut it in. Except for one. My last semester I had put off a gen ed course that I needed to graduate and the only one that fit my schedule with other courses that I had to take that semester was architecture . I figured that it couldn’t be that bad and should be interesting too but I made a terrible mistake. It was the drafting course to weed out the wannabes in that program. My TA took pity on me and graded me on my progress as opposed to the exact standard we were expected to meet . Hours were spent in studio almost every night so he knew that I was doing my best. I got better but on final project presentation my stuff looked noticeably worse than my peers.  Bless you TA Micheal. It has carried over into sketches and doodles though.

Klaus Schmoll > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 15:00

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Aww, thanks man. When I started teaching some 9 years ago I posted about a similar situation where students where blaming me for their lack of effort and the resulting grades. I think it was you who replied with that article and it really helped. Nice read it again. Will copy and save it for later.

ttyymmnn > Klaus Schmoll 04/16/2020 at 15:02

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I can send you a PDF if you like. Or a Word doc. I’ve saved this meticulously for 26 years through various computers. It’s a great piece. 

ttyymmnn > jeepoftheseus 04/16/2020 at 15:09

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When I was in my first undergrad school, I spent more time drinking and toking than doing work. I enrolled in a Basic programming course, but by the end of the semester I had done may half of the program assignments. However, I never missed a class meeting. The class was taught by a TA, and o n the final, the last question was, “What grade do you think you should get in this class and why?” I answered honestly: “I don’t know what grade I should get, since I have not turned in all the required assignments. However, I have attended class regularly, and I think I have demonstrated my understanding of the material by passing the exams.” I got a C in the course, and I was fine with that. 

ttyymmnn > shop-teacher 04/16/2020 at 15:30

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Agreed 1000%. Also, I saw an ad for  this and thought of you. Don’t know if you’ve seen it.

Shop Class

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 15:42

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No, I haven’t seen it.  I really haven’t been watching much more TV than usual in this shut down.  I’ve managed to stay pretty busy.

Klaus Schmoll > ttyymmnn 04/16/2020 at 15:55

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It copy/pasta’d well into a word doc, but thanks I appreciate it.