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[musicta]

This is a (long) midterm evaluation from a few years back. It contains a treasure trove of condescension (i.e. teaching advice) from a student who been disgruntled in class after receiving 50% on the midterm. This was a class in how to read music, given at an Ivy League University. It moved fast, but my very international class was doing well. There were many 90s and even a few perfect exams; no one scored less than 85 except the bitter student. It's my favorite because it combines all the things one would hope for in the best student emails, and yet there's that arrogance.

Dear MusicTA
First of all, allow me to apologize for my bitterness in the last lesson.
I was very disappointed with my performance on the exam; not so much because of the grade (although I am not taking the course Credit/D/Fail), but because it demonstrated to me that my command of the material is very feeble.
The particularly unnerving part is that I had done all the work, attended all the lessons, gone through all the reading, and reviewed the material before the exam. And nevertheless, I found that I couldn’t perform the relatively simple tasks required from me (I think the exam was fair, and there wasn’t any part that seemed unreasonable to ask from a knowledgeable, well trained student).
Not only is this unpleasant experience new to me, but, fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be a part of a pattern ensuing my transition to Ivy League U.; I am doing very well in my other classes.
So I hope that this explains my frustration, which I had difficulty to suppress during the last lesson. And yet, at this point, it is important to be constructive – there is still more than half a semester left, and everything can be remedied, if the right steps are taken.
 
Proceeding to my suggestions for the course, allow me to use a slightly different format from the sheet that you gave out, hoping that it will be just as helpful.
 
As I might have mentioned, prior to my coming to ILU, I served in the (foreign country)military for three years; specifically in the Intelligence Corps. As part of my job during the later part of the service, I used to give regular lectures on various topics, and at times was invited to take an active part in instruction of cadets in the Intelligence Academy. There are a few principals that I found useful in trying to convey information or skills to others that I would like share with you:
 
   1.   Assume that your audience is stupid and lazy.  Aim to make them know despite that. If they turn to be smart and diligent, you’ll have a nice surprise.
   2.   Ask yourself constantly if you are certain that what you explained has been understood by the majority of the people present. If you have doubts – never give up. Fight with it until you get a message across.
   3.   Things that seem obvious to you, are far from being so to the students. This may be referred to as “instinct blindness”: perceiving processes as natural, from a position of knowledge, despite their being far from such. This is a hard point to overcome, and yet it is possible. Try to ask yourself as often as you can: “What do they know? What don’t they know? Is this new piece of information coherent with the picture that they have in they minds? Is it the logical next step from their position in the material?”
   4.   There is a difference between knowledge and skill. If you succeeded in conveying the first, you are half way through, but you have still half way to go. Make sure to convert the first into the second. In order to do this, it is necessary to supply the students not only with the concepts, but also with the instruments to deal with those. Questions that may be asked for this purpose: “Do they know how to do X, Y, Z with what I have explained?”
   5.   Don’t be afraid to repeat explanations. Don’t forget to connect the material previously discussed to the newly introduced topics – a brief overview never harms.
   6.   At the end of each lesson, ask yourself: What has been achieved? What was the progress made? At times, a very promising activity, unfortunately, turns out as a complete waste of time, because de facto , the students didn’t improve.
   7.   Homework is a good thing – but it should have a definite purpose. Some exercises are better the other. Try to choose the best. (Many times, those are not from textbooks, but self-made).
   8.   Grades: Grades should never be the forefront of the activity. The students should feel that the instructor is there to help them learn, to walk them through the unknown terrain, to excite them with things of which they never knew  – and yes, it is his dirty work which he must fulfill – to give away grades.
   9.   Tests: Despite the above said, tests are a good incentive for learning, especially for ambitious students. As a general rule, tests should not be harder than the regular work. It is preferable that the students do some homework and classroom assignments which are harder than the tasks they are presented in the task.
   10.   Teaching is a difficult craft, and no one can do it perfectly from the first go. It’s all about trial and error, preparing hard for the classes, rehearsing your explanations and not giving up (they say it’s a lot of work to be a student, they got it all backwards, it is much more work to be a teacher).
   11.   Establishing good candid communication with your students is the primary tool through which you can improve (and you do that very well, MusicTA). This is a very important asset. Don’t fear to ask questions like: “Did you learn anything today? What was bad about this lesson? What was good?”

Best,
Student who thinks he is older than MusicTA (he was older than the other students, but not quite older than me!)
 
Denouement: Student worked hard and turned it around. Happened to miss a few assignments and scored in the low 90s on the final. I think my favorite part of this one is that he thought a 73 should be a B. Is that normal somewhere?

Dear Music TA,
I went online today and saw that there was a grade available for the class.
Perhaps they made some mistake, but they posted a B as my grade for the course.
I was quite surprised because of the following estimation I performed in my head:
I did poorly on my midterm, and very well on my final. Both grades average out as a B
according to normal grading curves. (Around 73, I think).
As to the quizzes, I was under the impression that I was doing somewhat better than average on them, because most of my grades were higher than B.
Most importantly though, since the majority of the grade weight came from the multitude of the homework assignments - which I have been submitting perhaps most consistently out of the whole class, and on which I have been typically getting A’s and A-‘s – I was quite surprised to see that those failed to alter the baseline of my exam grade.
I’d be very grateful if you could help me figure this out, and perhaps clear out any on confusion that might have occurred.
Best, Student

We would all be in trouble at ILU if evaluations were not made *before* receiving final grades...
 

[helpful]

Yes, 73 is a B, actually borderline B minus. What did you think it was?

[steviep]

In most of Canada, 92.5 per cent is A plus.

Not in the US, as far as I know.  This kid's from Southern California, so as far as I know he has no excuse.

His math was wrong anyway.

[gennimom]

In the College of Ed here a 92.5 would be rounded to a 93, which would qualify as an A. Barely. The range for an A is 93 to 100. Other departments may have other ranges though.

[helpful]

In most of Canada, 92.5 per cent is A plus.

Not in the US, as far as I know.  This kid's from Southern California, so as far as I know he has no excuse.

His math was wrong anyway.

Then that must mean that exams are really easy! I make my exams hard and then an A is, like in most of Canada, between 85 and 90.

[steviep]

Then that must mean that exams are really easy! I make my exams hard and then an A is, like in most of Canada, between 85 and 90.

Well, not necessarily--at least, not in terms of the ultimate grade.  It depends on how exactly the distribution is set (and on the relative abilities of our students). 

It does seem strange to give an A to students who have demonstrated that they don't know 15% of the material. 

[philoctetes]

Then that must mean that exams are really easy! I make my exams hard and then an A is, like in most of Canada, between 85 and 90.

Well, not necessarily--at least, not in terms of the ultimate grade.  It depends on how exactly the distribution is set (and on the relative abilities of our students). 

It does seem strange to give an A to students who have demonstrated that they don't know 15% of the material. 

It does not mean that at all. It allows you to test not only basic comprehension, but also if they have mastered the material. You can make that last 20% very hard to get without fearing that you are ruining the grades of students who have attained an acceptable level of knowledge of the subject.

The standard grading in most Canadian schools is:

           A+:90-100, A:85-89, A-:80-84,
           B+:77-79, B:73-76,B-:70-72,
           C+:67-69, C:63-66, C-:60-62,
           D+:57-59, D:53-56, D-:50-52,
           F:49-34

Having gone to schools in the US and Canada in my younger years, I noticed that my letter grades did not change when I crossed the border, just their numerical value.

[snape]

In the UK a first class grade is 70%. However it is/was very difficult to get it. A fellow student once asked the lecturers why he only got 74 when he scored 5/5 on all the marking criteria.   

Then that must mean that exams are really easy! I make my exams hard and then an A is, like in most of Canada, between 85 and 90.

Well, not necessarily--at least, not in terms of the ultimate grade.  It depends on how exactly the distribution is set (and on the relative abilities of our students). 

It does seem strange to give an A to students who have demonstrated that they don't know 15% of the material. 

It does not mean that at all. It allows you to test not only basic comprehension, but also if they have mastered the material. You can make that last 20% very hard to get without fearing that you are ruining the grades of students who have attained an acceptable level of knowledge of the subject.

The standard grading in most Canadian schools is:

           A+:90-100, A:85-89, A-:80-84,
           B+:77-79, B:73-76,B-:70-72,
           C+:67-69, C:63-66, C-:60-62,
           D+:57-59, D:53-56, D-:50-52,
           F:49-34

Having gone to schools in the US and Canada in my younger years, I noticed that my letter grades did not change when I crossed the border, just their numerical value.

[voxprincipalis]

In the UK a first class grade is 70%. However it is/was very difficult to get it. A fellow student once asked the lecturers why he only got 74 when he scored 5/5 on all the marking criteria.   

Not to hijack, but when someone says they "got a first" in a subject, does that mean they achieved more than 70% competence in the subject? I have never understood this.

VP

[snape]

Not to hijack, but when someone says they "got a first" in a subject, does that mean they achieved more than 70% competence in the subject? I have never understood this.

VP

[/quote]

Not quite sure what you mean by 70% competence. Perhaps someone else can explain history of the UK grading system. I worked (when I was still teaching) on the assumption that an average essay would score between around 55 and 65. Whilst it was (in my discipline at  least) fairly unusual to fail (40), it was also fairly unusual to graduate with a first class degree.

In recent years there have been more students getting first class degrees, but that is another debate entirely!

[helpful]

Then that must mean that exams are really easy! I make my exams hard and then an A is, like in most of Canada, between 85 and 90.

Well, not necessarily--at least, not in terms of the ultimate grade.  It depends on how exactly the distribution is set (and on the relative abilities of our students). 


You use a bell curve. Definitely not fair to the students. I once taught a class where we had to use a bell curve. I found the curve penalized students who happened to be in a class with some extremely bright students.  With the bell curve, those students who were not as bright were penalized as they formed the bottom of the curve. In another class where they were with people who were similar abilities, their marks would be average or above average.

How is a bell curve fair?

[happybunny17]

Not to hijack, but when someone says they "got a first" in a subject, does that mean they achieved more than 70% competence in the subject? I have never understood this.

Having been through the UK system, I have to admit I still don't understand the marking/grading system.    All I know is that the highest possible mark that would be given was a 74.  70-74 was a first.  I don't think that is is a percentage, but I don't know what it means.  When I was applying for jobs outside the UK, my institution had to provide me with a letter explaing the system which could help prospective employers decode my transcript.  The letter just said that 70+ was a first and so I did as well as was possible.  So much for an explanation. 

And, to add to the different marking systems out there, I've also seen the mark of E.  I think E is from 35-50%.  It is still a fail, but I like to think of it as failed, but E for effort, whereas F means you really f&?%ed up.

[helpful]

The post that said F was 34-49 in Canada forgot to mention what is it below 34? I seem to remember that is an F as well (though I never went that low, though I did flunk two classes in my first year of undergrad, but mostly because for one I slept through most of the classes after playing Risk all night; and for the other one, I handed in the final assignment about a month late!). This didn't make me a bad scholar...after all, here I am now teaching undergrads!, but it does help me empathize with first year students, first time away from home phenomenon.

[atalanta]

The standard grading in most Canadian schools is:

           A+:90-100, A:85-89, A-:80-84,
           B+:77-79, B:73-76,B-:70-72,
           C+:67-69, C:63-66, C-:60-62,
           D+:57-59, D:53-56, D-:50-52,
           F:49-34

Are you talking high school grades? The above "standard" does not exist at my (major Canadian) university.

[helpful]

The standard grading in most Canadian schools is:

           A+:90-100, A:85-89, A-:80-84,
           B+:77-79, B:73-76,B-:70-72,
           C+:67-69, C:63-66, C-:60-62,
           D+:57-59, D:53-56, D-:50-52,
           F:49-34

Are you talking high school grades? The above "standard" does not exist at my (major Canadian) university.

Elementary school and high school.

 At several universities which I have attended and taught at the above grades reflect how they operated. What are the standards at your university?

As far as I am concerned, changing the grading standards for university to something completely different from high school is not a good idea!