So my quarter grade for English is 95.43 and in order to finish the year with an A+ (what goes on my transcript/used for GPA) I need a 96 this quarter…as our school calculates an A+ as a 4.3 and I need this to boost my B+ in another class I had this year. I asked my teacher to bump me up…is there anything else I can do? Or does this just not matter?
Do you still have a final? If so, then ace it.
I hate the whole idea of asking a teacher to “bump up” a grade. It implies that grades are negotiable, that an A isn’t really an A because it might be a B+. It lowers the validity of any grade that was legitimately earned.
@bjkmom This is assuming I get a 100 on my final, which I know I can get a 100 on because it is a presentation and people have gone already but my teacher is an easy grader and I know I can do a much better job than some of the people who got 100s (I also have three more days to prepare).
As do I. And A+ for that matter. And extra credit in honors/AP courses. But that’s just me.
If a student cares about getting a particular grade, then letting the teacher know this is a good idea, and not un-ethical at all. This is not the same as “bumping-up” a grade, so that word choice is misleading.
@squ1rrel So you’ve told your teacher that you really, really want the A+. Now do whatever she told you you had to do to achieve that. Good luck!
Kids here constantly miss As by less than a tenth of a percent. S19 got a B+ in a class that he was .02% short of the A. Our teachers tell the kids at the beginning of the year to not come to them to ask for a bump. Not going on happen. If they bump it up for one student then they would have to do it for another and on down the line so they are very careful with their calculations but, if the grade is not where it needs to be in the end, the student is out of luck.
And no extra credit in any classes at our high school!
Sounds like you can get a 100 from this teacher. Also, an A and an A+ seriously seem like the same grade. I wouldn’t worry about this. Our S got six Bs in high school and did very well in college admissions.
FYI, I once had an instructor that included her grading guidelines in the syllabus:
Never mind that it was mathematically impossible to get a 89.9999, but the message was clear - she was not rounding. I wish more instructor’s were as transparent.
Anyway, the difference between an A+ and an A to colleges does not matter because not all schools (thankfully) give A pluses. Personally, if possible, your energy is better spent getting the B+ to an A- than getting an A to an A+.
The issue is inconsistencies between teachers - especially in the same school and same department. Several teachers make it clear that they round up, some round up if you do well on the final, some don’t round. It’s the inconsistencies that drive me crazy.
Accept the grade you earn and move in. You probably have had, or will have, a 95.57 at some point.
Our school is very clear on rounding. The system into which teachers enter grades, and which displays grades to students, enforces the same, documented policy for everyone. I would agree that a lack of consistency would be troubling.
For schools that do have an A +, A and A- they do mean something different for gpa purposes. If you care about things like class rank perhaps it is important esp in places that class rank/% is really important. It can also make a difference for some local scholarships based on rank. However these are not things that effect everyone and can have zero effect on a student as well. However it is still more important to try your best all year/grading period vs wait to then end and ask for help bumping the grade up.
@momtogirls2 Here we just do decile ranking and then the top 10 are released; only the valedictorian and salutatorian are actually ranked. I thought a lot of colleges look at A+'s though…and I want to place higher in my school just for the sake of being ranked higher.
You’re a freshman, so it’s way too early (if there really ever is a time) to be so concerned about ranking. Colleges won’t care once you pass a certain threshold. Personally, I’d take the long view. You may have this teacher again. You may want to have this teacher write a rec. You don’t want the teacher to write a rec saying, “squ!rrel is a fine student except for the grade grubbing and the hubris.” Even if you don’t ask that teacher for a rec, teachers talk in the lounge; you don’t want the reputation amongst the faculty of being that kid.
@sq1rrel If I were the teacher and were asked to bump up a grade before the final presentation, I would not take it well. You are predicting in advance that the teacher will award you a 100 on that assignment, which could be perceived as arrogance or presumption. In my world, an A+ starts at 98 or 99 and an A- at 92, so you seem to be solidly in middle A range. Your school seems generous in its calculation of pluses and minuses.
In another thread, you reported that your calc grade was rounded up to an 87, or a B+ according to that instructor. As you seem really invested in your ranking and GPA, I advise you to strive for grades that are solidly in range, rather than skating on the edge.
@skieurope I like the clarity of that grading scale!
As mentioned previously, this is not the first OP has complained about a grade.
Teachers don’t like grade grubbers and if that is your reputation going forward in high school, college recommendations will be impossible to come by. Even teachers you like will not write the best recommendation if that reputation is consistent (which it looked like). So choose your battles wisely.
PLEASE don’t be a grade grubber. You can quickly develop a reputation for caring more about your grades than about your education which is a bad look on anyone.
You are a freshman. Please take a deep breath and relax a bit. All this stress about the course sequences in your HS, the difference between and A+ and an A is doing you more harm than good. Focus on being the best “you” that you can be and good things will follow.
As “sins” go, the “grade-grubbing” of top students is a mild annoyance compared to failing students that try to browbeat their instructors into letting them pass. Students shouldn’t do either, but one behavior is much more threatening than the other.
Mantra for the HS student:
Do not think 'Every point I get off of a homework or test is a point away from going to Harvard."
Think: “I need to do my best, and there will be a college that is right for me when I graduate.”
Do not think “If I don’t go to an Ivy League School/Top20, I am doomed forever.”
Think: “No matter where I go, I can bloom where I am planted. I can get involved and shine.”
Do not think: “My life is over…the kid in my math class is taking 20 APs and I am taking 5. I will never succeed.”
Think: “I need to challenge myself, but only to the point where I can still do well.”
@damon30 I don’t see any difference. Asking for a grade you haven’t earned is asking for a grade you haven’t earned, whether it’s a 96 or a 65.
And, nope, I don’t “bump up” a grade a kid hasn’t earned.
But I’m more than happy to give extra help any day before or after school.
It doesn’t matter. To what are we “racing”?