<p>I attend a state university and recently I was taking a biology course. I had to take two exams, write critique papers and participate in class to earn points. In my first exam, I scored B average, but much of the points,5 points, were taken away for not underlining the math answer on the paper. I showed all of the work to get the answer and therefore asked prof to give more points. She denied to give more points on the answer since I did not underline the answer. No instruction in the question stated to underline the answer. I was struggling throughout the semester and felt that grading was not always fair when I compared with other students in the class. I always gained few points in other assignments after arguing during her office hours. At the end of the semester, she decided to add participation point which was 32 %. I attended every lecture and was the fourth person in the class for talk, according to her. Since I argued that 32% is too low, she raised the the grade to 67%. I’m 4 points away from getting B grade and she will not change the grade. I like to know if this grade change is possible? Is it alright to bring 5 point issue to her or supervisor again? Also, this is her first semester teaching at my university.</p>
<p>Go for it. It doesn’t sound like you really deserve an A from her, but you are certainly entitled to have your case heard by her, and if you feel she has not duly considered it, you are certainly within your rights to take it to the supervisor, and the next supervisor, etc. It doesn’t mean you’re right, but you can always ask. Worst case scenario, everybody tells you no.</p>
<p>4 points away out of how many points total? On a 100 point scale, 4 points is a lot. You’ve already argued with the instructor numerous times and repeatedly gotten her to give you breaks, and you’re still coming up short.</p>
<p>You always have the option of appealing a grade to the supervisor/department chair, but in my experience, in this kind of dispute the faculty member normally prevails providing he or she hasn’t been doing anything obviously discriminatory, and providing there are no math errors in the instructor’s calculations of your grade. Just because you would like a higher grade doesn’t mean you’ve earned it.</p>
<p>My son, who is a Geology major, received 0 out 10 points on a question in his first Calculus midterm this past semester. He did the problem correctly, showed his work and got the correct answer but did not use correct notation. I believed no credit at all for the question was harsh but there really was not anything that could be done about it. If you do not answer the question precisely the way the professor demands it, he/she is within their rights to award no credit. Also, my father, who was a high school math teacher for 30 years, told me that nothing annoys an instructor more than a student who constantly tries to argue for a higher grade than they were initially awarded.</p>