Pretty Sure Professor gave me an Incorrect Course Grade

College Life
1

Grades just came out for the fall semester earlier today, and I was quite a little shocked that my economics professor gave me an A- instead of an A. The class was broken down into four components – 2 tests, homework assignments, and a final. The professor also explained that in his grading system, the top 40% of the class (of 120 students) would receive A’s, the next 40% would receive B’s, and the last 20% would receive C’s or lower.

On the first exam, I received a 100. On that test, the professor curved the grades so that anything above an 80 would count as an A.

On the second exam, I received a 91.3. On that test, the professor curved the grades so that anything above a 75 would count as an A.

On the online homework assignments, you only needed to be in the top 80% of the class to receive full credit. The professor told the class that if you get at least a 60% on each homework assignment, you will receive full credit for the homework. My homework average was an 88.9%, which should easily put me in the top 80% of my class and give me full credit for the homework portion of my grade. (As an aside, I know I could have done better here. But the material on the tests was not the same stuff as the material in the homework and the professor had also mentioned about just needing to get the 60% on each assignment to get full credit here, so I figured an 88.9% would be enough to give me full credit here.)

I never received my final back, so I do not know how well I did on it. However, I was very confident after leaving the test. There were 3 questions (out of 22) that I was iffy on, but even if I got all of those wrong, the curve should have put me easily within the A range.

I already emailed my professor. However, I’ve emailed him multiple times during the semester from my university email account, and he never responds. I asked him after class if he could explain the two questions I got wrong on the second exam, and his response was pretty rude. So, I’m not sure that my email to him now will accomplish much. I also drove an hour to my school to see if he might be there, but he was not. The secretary at the economics department told me that this professor is known for never responding to emails from students, so she sent him an email about me too. What else can I do, since I really want to get this grade fixed from an A- to the A that I believe I deserved in this course?

2

Can you just go see him at his office after break? Ask the helpful secretary when his office hours are.

3

@intparent

I’m planning on doing that after break for sure. But I’m also applying to a few internships where the deadline is before next semester begins and I am also kind of concerned since last time I asked the professor about grades (on the second test), he was pretty rude.

4

You sound like someone who complains about every grade, every quiz, every test. Not surprised the professor is not responding promptly.

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^^ Not helpful, Tom. OP may be an annoying student, but I do not see any complaints about grades other than this one. Asking for an explanation about two wrong answers is not a complaint. Now … I’ll grant you that the reference to emailing the professor “multiple times during the semester” – albeit about unspecified topics – makes OP sound like a pest, but the professor sounds like an ass. I hope I’m allowed to say that. Would it help if I included a cite to A Midsummer Night’s Dream?

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@TomSrOfBoston

I do not complain about every single grade I get. For the second test, I merely asked him to show me what I did wrong so I wouldn’t repeat it on the final. I don’t think that’s so wrong. And the professor teaches 5 classes and has a total of around 450 students - I don’t think that he knows me at all, let alone well enough to judge my personality (his office hours were during different class times of mine this past semester, so I couldn’t go there). He does not respond to other students’ emails as well, as I’ve been told by my classmates.

And for other courses, I am willing to accept a grade that’s not an A if I felt like I deserved the worse grade. I was taking a Statistics and Probability course this past semester, and really thought that I was going to get an A- since I was running a 92 average. I wouldn’t have complained at all if she had given me an A- since I believe I deserved that. But I think she realized that I was pretty dedicated to her class since I went to her office hours a lot to make sure I understood the material, and she gave me an A. I wouldn’t have complained at all if I had actually gotten an A- there. It’s just that I think I deserved an A in this economics class here and am worried about approaching the professor based on my very few previous interactions with him.

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@AboutTheSame
What I meant by “multiple times in the semester” was at the beginning of the semester, I emailed him to inform him of the class dates I would be missing due to my observation of Jewish holidays. “Multiple” was not the correct word. I wouldn’t classify myself as an annoying student, I’m rather more on the quiet side and all of my other professors really like me since they know I put a lot of effort into all of their classes.

8

Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about the A vs A- for an internship application. If you are too much of a pain, he won’t change it even if you are right. Drop it over the holidays and go in after break.

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@anony12 : Understood. Your initial post did not give that context. Nor did it convey that what you apparently meant was an explanation for multiple absences as opposed to multiple emails. At this site, we are often trying to figure out things from minimal information and have to try to read between the lines. Sometimes we get it wrong. Apologies.

10

Bingo.

It’s not a pressing problem, so it can wait until after break.

11

Doing the quick math, it seems like the professor may have input grades without the curve you’ve been mentioning.

Not knowing the weights for the different grading components, my crude maths tell me:
[100 (exam 1) + 91 (exam 2) + 89 (HW)] / 3 = 93.3%, which some professors consider an A-. If you got anything 93.3% or lower on the final, then this would drop that A- even further into A- territory. IF you got all 3 of your “iffy” questions wrong, you scored a 19/22, which is an 86%, which would pull you back closer toward the A-, assuming he’s not actually applying any curve and that the grading components are all weighted equally. Even if you only answered one question on the final for a score of 21/22, that’s about a 95%, which would pull you around a 94% overall grade . . . to much student surprise is still considered an A- by some professors. I have no idea what your course syllabus shows for grading mechanics though. Total conjecture, I know, but reading your post that’s exactly how my mind was reasoning it.

I agree with the above - don’t sweat so much at this point, especially that you’re returning for next semester. With over 450 students, I’m not terribly surprised this professor is characterized as unresponsive. I’m sure a face-to-face during his office hours after break can get the answers you seek. An A- and A usually do not make a difference when supplying transcripts for an internship, unless the minor deduction to your GPA puts you on the edge of a required GPA to be eligible for the internship. Best of luck.

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If the exams are such that a 75% or an 80% is the threshold for an A on the exam, I highly doubt an overall course grade of 95 the threshold for an A in the course.

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Just as an update: The professor saw the email from the economics department’s secretary and started emailing me yesterday. He said that the cutoff for an A in the class is a 93.

He also said that because my grades were in descending order (100 down to a 91.3 down to the 81 he said I got on the final), he will not give me any curve for my final grade but would rather take the mathematical average. He basically said that he selectively chooses which students he applies the curve for, and it was of no matter that all of my grades were above the thresholds for an A on the singular tests. I sat in the front row of every lecture for every class session (except those that I explained about in a post above), and he did not once mention that descending order of test grades meant that I would not receive a curve on my final course grade. I double-checked his syllabus, and the syllabus does not even mention this. He was pretty rude when he was responding - at one point he said “Please move on and focus on other things besides this grade,” but would not tell me the class average on the final, let me see my own scantron and final exam (I don’t think I got an 81 on the final, and there was actually a problem with the scantron for the first exam which bumped everyone’s grades down until someone pointed it out to the professor and he fixed it. I thought something similar might have happened), or any other pertinent information that I asked for.

After about two hours of emailing back and forth yesterday, he finally said that he’d change the grade to an A. I don’t know what got him to change his stance, but I was pretty much resolved that I’d have to go to the department head. I hope that he ends up changing the grade like he said he would (he responded back that it’ll take a few weeks to get everything processed), but I have written proof in my email now which says he’ll change it to an A.

14

Whelp. At least you can move on. Hope you don’t need to take another class from him.

15

Sounds like you get an A for being a pest! Not sure this skill will be beneficial for you in the workplace, but enjoy your A…

16

Yes, I would avoid his classes in the future!. You don’t want to start out with his being annoyed at you.

17

I do not plan on taking any more classes with him, as this is by far the worst experience I’ve had with a professor during my three semesters of college. I am planning on doing a finance minor, and a prerequisite for the beginning finance classes is this economics class. So, I believe I am done with economics and won’t have to worry about needing to take this professor again. I told my parents about this whole thing, and I think they’d be really upset with me if I’d ever consider taking this professor again. :slight_smile:

I view my email dialogue with him as standing up for what I believe I deserved. I still find it weird that he wouldn’t tell me anything about the class average for the final, check for mistakes on the scantrons similar to what happened on the first exam (there the scantron marked two answers incorrectly that should have been correct, he needed to recompute everyone’s grades), or give me any other information that I feel I was not out of line for asking about.

18

I don’t think after the semester he will change your grade. As long you talk to a dean then MAYBE its a possibility

19

He said he would …

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@intparent pffft, what’s the point in reading anything beyond the OP before posting? Especially when we’re talking about an additional 16 posts. 16 posts!!! What is this, war and peace?