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[Barbara Micek]

My colleagues and I were discussing the "I need an A (B or C) to keep my student loans" rhetoric that so many students share with their instructors @ the 11th hour. And like another respondent mentioned, we have all become somewhat callous to that remark. I just earnestly reply, "well you better start working very hard toward your goal". What we found from talking to one another, is that those students who claim to have never received below a B are often not being honest about their academic history.

[Greg]

I had one student who received a C- and told me that she never gets below a B.  Then she said, "Have you ever considered that it might be your teaching?"  I told her no but it is certainly a possibility that I would keep in mind.  Then she asked "where can I get one of those forms to file a complaint against you."  In an equally glib response I told her to "try student services."  

This was a student who asked if she could use crib notes during a test and would leave class early before we talked about some of the general things that would be covered on the test.  I think she was a sociopath.
I do think that many of my fellow instructors were inflating grades just to get better evaluations.

[Richard]

(I teach AP Language and Composition and run a four year Lit. program for gifted secondary students.)
1. Rewriting prevents whining. Of all the comments, only SWF mentions rewriting. So many of the letters seemed confrontational, bitter, spiteful: confronting or cleverly "one-upping" a student doesn't help him. My students must triple-space and print, so that I may quickly read and write suggestions (not answers) in the spaces.
2. Several responses mentioned xeroxing the best answers. Do so - as well as those which example common errors.
3. No one (I think) mentioned opportunities for extra credit - writing additional essays whose grades do replace, but are weighed, with required assignments.
Give the student all the rope he needs to haul or to hang himself.

[Julie]

I, too, hate the whining game, so I have changed my style of grading. It takes longer, but I get few, if any complaints, and students are generally responsive.

For essay exams:
-I write a key before I grade. When I give back exams, I refer to the existence of the key as being a crucial part of my grading style. This does several things: first, it removes some of the subjectivity of the grading process, for both me and the students. Students complain about essay grading because they don't perceive it as an objective process (like a multiple choice exams).

-Next, in every essay I grade, in my comments I include a "ways to improve" section that provides constructive criticism. This way, they can interpret my approach as helping them become better throughout the class, not passing judgement on them. This seems a semantic difference, but it is effective.

-Finally, if they are still reticent, I tell them to go home and type up their essay exam answer and bring it in to discuss their grades. Students who are not interested will never take the time; those that are serious often come up later and say they are too embarrassed even to bring it in -- often shocked that I gave it as high a grade as I did.  (Thanks to a colleague for this suggestion!)

For papers:
-Very much the same process: a key, a "ways to improve" comment section; I also encourage students to read it out loud to themselves.

Overall, I find that student complaints are minimized with extensive comments during grading. I found that even at large schools with huge classes, my time was better spent in the commenting process rather than the time spent arguing during office hours. My evaluations are generally very good, and I think part of it is this commenting strategy.

[smartypants]

Richard wrote:

> (I teach AP Language and Composition and run a four year Lit.
> program for gifted secondary students.)
> 1. Rewriting prevents whining. Of all the comments, only SWF
> mentions rewriting. So many of the letters seemed
> confrontational, bitter, spiteful: confronting or cleverly
> "one-upping" a student doesn't help him. My students must
> triple-space and print, so that I may quickly read and write
> suggestions (not answers) in the spaces.
> 2. Several responses mentioned xeroxing the best answers. Do so
> - as well as those which example common errors.
> 3. No one (I think) mentioned opportunities for extra credit -
> writing additional essays whose grades do replace, but are
> weighed, with required assignments.
> Give the student all the rope he needs to haul or to hang
> himself.

You try teaching 3 classes of 65 students and having the time to do your research and grade multiple submissions of the same work.

I give very detailed instructions for every assignment.  My research paper instruction sheet, for example, is six pages long.  I also spend a great deal of classroom time fielding questions about expectations and taking students to the library to give them hands on research time.  I also break large assignments into smaller parts so that they get consistent feedback from me over the course of the semester.  I am perfectly justified in (a) giving students the grades they've earned and (b) not allowing rewrites.

I don't think it is too much to ask that young adults, who've managed to make it through high school, follow the freakin' directions!