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[Fiona]

A brief rant on the subject of whining students who say, "I never got below a B in my life" and are "upset and confused" that they got C's on really, really bad writing in my class.

They want to meet with me in my office, but I'm going to tell them to go to the Writing Center first.

Office hours will just be whining.

Grumble, grumble.

[anon]

One way to prepare for the inevitable: have the department secretary look up the student's
grade history. Then innocently ask: "You never got below a B in 101? or 105? or 202? or ..."
(listing all the student's C's and D's)

[anon]

'the context of your previous courses is irrellevant. to be fair to all students, i can only grade you on your performance in this course'

however... it sounds like you have a freshman or transfer student who just found out that standards increase after high school/community college.  i'd suggest the counseling center for them too.

[anon2]

Closely related to the "I never get below a B" comment is the "I really need an A in this class" appeal.  Over the years, my tolerance toward such student comments has decreased significantly.

[Dr. Me]

I've done another version of anon's suggestion. I talk to the undergrad advisor and ask. Then, when the student comes in I say oh really, well then, let's go chat with the advisor so that we can make sense of what might be going on (I sound and look very empathetic and sincere). Then, we go to the advisor-- who then will look up the student's grades IN FRONT OF THEM. Works every time.

[Retain the Null]

My "favorite"... I need an "A" in your class because I am failing an important class.

[kif]

What's really exasperating for me is when the student is correct--he has never gotten below a B (or even below an A) in our graduate program, though he can't write and probably doesn't belong in graduate school to begin with.  It's my colleagues' grade inflation in previous semesters that drives me nuts.

[%sig%]

[anon]

I tried giving a grad student a B rather than the expected A once. He had never shown up to class, turned in work, or contacted me at all during term. He protested the grade and my chair  strongly suggested I change it. After that I gave up and just handed all grad students A's.

[Mendel]

anon wrote:

>> however... it sounds like you have a freshman or transfer
> student who just found out that standards increase after high
> school/community college.  i'd suggest the counseling center
> for them too.


Standards at our CC are extremely high- in fact each division has its grades assessed to be sure we aren't handing out too many As and Bs.


I don't mean to flame you- just  get tired of the stereotype tha CCs are academically inferior.  I interviewed at many 4 year colleges (primarily teaching) that I declined because their student performance was so poor, and accepted my current position becuase our students are held to very high standards.

I'm sure you didn't mean to offend- but you did hit my button!

[curious]

I have the same problem.  Students want all A grades because they are aware that college admin wants to keep students happy and keep them paying tuition.  Its a business and the business is not education.  Students know this and they see their time at university as the period where they pay for their degree.  Until we change the system and put some of the power back in our own hands, we just need to suck it up and give inflated grades--that it until we get tenure and then we don't have to fear student evals--the tool used for revenge by low performing students...

[kif]

This is satire, right?

anon wrote:

> I tried giving a grad student a B rather than the expected A
> once. He had never shown up to class, turned in work, or
> contacted me at all during term. He protested the grade and my
> chair  strongly suggested I change it. After that I gave up and
> just handed all grad students A's.

[reality]

First, I tell them that a B is a perfectly respectable grade.  No shame in a B.  And I will go over their work and point out places that they might be able to make improvement.

And if that doesn't work:  I smile brightly and tell them that I got a C- in calculus and a B- in honors Chemistry (in the same semester no less).  I'm now in the humanities.  We're not all good at everything. *SMILE*

Oh, and I also hand out my grading criteria at the beginning of the semester--for an A you need to show me some engagement and originality.  Competence gets you a B.

And in grad school a newly imported British prof gave me a B- for my less-than-stellar performance.  I was mortified, but certainly didn't have any justification to challenge it. She later apologized and said that she hadn't understood the "American" grading system and while she didn't feel comfortable changing the grade, she was willing to write a letter for my grad file explaning her grading.

It never occurred to me, ever, to challenge a grade.  I certainly didn't want to complain and have someone sit me down and tell me that I was truly mediocre.

[%sig%]

[history grrrl]

Okay, how about this: "This grade is far below the standards I have set for myself in college." For a B.

The no-so-subtle subtext (actually, not a subtext at all, since it was clearly stated): "I need high marks to get into teachers college" (a refreshing Canadian twist on the all-American "I need to get into law school" claim).

[%sig%]

[Tenured Feminist]

The other way to deal with this is to have a handout that clearly explains your standards for grades and show the complainer why this paper, which lacks a clear thesis, evidence, and counterarguments as well as being full of grammatical and stylistic errors, has earned a D+.

This invariably shuts them up.

[Two sets of grades...]

A. Based on my experience (I have access to students' online transcripts), 95% of the students are lying about their previous grade patterns ("Straight A's").

B. The rest, 5%, in fact have "perfect GPAs."  However, their previous performance is not part of your assessment in the currenct class.  Also, the reason why they have a "perfect GPA" often involves grade inflation.

C. I give TWO grades, following the controversial approach taken by a Harvard professor several years ago: The grade earned and the grade awarded.  Since I started doing this, virtually no one has complained about the course grade, probably because they realize that the "B" they got was a gift to begin with and the chances of them milking an "A" out of me are slim.

[%sig%]