going to class = automatic B or higher?

<p>From the NYTimes: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/education/18college.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/education/18college.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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A recent study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that a third of students surveyed said that they expected B’s just for attending lectures, and 40 percent said they deserved a B for completing the required reading.

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“If you put in all the effort you have and get a C, what is the point?” he added. “If someone goes to every class and reads every chapter in the book and does everything the teacher asks of them and more, then they should be getting an A like their effort deserves. If your maximum effort can only be average in a teacher’s mind, then something is wrong.”

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<p>apparently a lot of people think grades should be based on effort, and not achievement. Makes sense right? If you go to all your calculus classes, and read the book, you should obviously get an A. Whether or not you can actually do calculus should have no impact! Unbelievable.</p>

<p>Hmm, would I want the neurosurgeon who made the top of his class from achievement or the one who showed up and was passed?</p>

<p>For that matter, who gets the doctors who graduated at the bottom of their class?</p>

<p>My worst class ever, I never missed a class and even went to the professor on a weekly basis. I got a D. </p>

<p>It just bothers me when schools <em>cough</em> CHAPEL HILL <em>cough</em> give so many A’s and B’s. Some elite schools actually have rigorous grading.</p>

<p>In fact, it already kinda is based on effort. If you go to every class but goof off while there, you are no putting in the same amount of effort as someone who goes to class and actually tries to pay attention. I think most of these kids are delusional.</p>

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<p>If they can actually get to the point of being a doctor (as in getting accepted to and then graduating from med school, and then manage to be competitive enough to land a residency and finally make it out after another few years to be a doctor), they are most likely competent.</p>

<h2>Ever wonder why the steps to becoming a medical doctor are so hard? It’s so you can weed out all the less-than-great people you won’t want treating you. If in your original question you’re asking about doctors graduating at the bottom of their undergraduate class, well they won’t exist since they would’ve never been accepted to med school in the first place.</h2>

<p>and for the actual thread topic: if these kids want to be graded on effort, practically-speaking how is their professor supposed to know how much effort they put in?</p>

<p>I have professors who take attendance into account in grading, usually like, they’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and bump you up, if you are hovering between a B and C, or A and B, and you have been very attentive. But getting a B JUST because you went to class? No way. The worst class I ever had, I went to every class and still failed because I didn’t understand the material.</p>

<p>This is why older generations say the younger generations have a sense of entitlement. Just because you did well in hs, does not mean you’ll attain the same grades in college. Nor should you, since college is supposed to be filled with students of roughly the same intelligence level and higher, which means more competition. Sometimes your best isn’t as good as other people’s best, and they should be rewarded for submitting the best work.</p>

<p>^ so true. so much sticker shock when you first get into a good college though… everyone still really wants those As but a lot of them won’t get higher than Bs and then they can’t deal with that…</p>

<p>actually I’m just like that. go hard or go home, b----</p>

<p>I wish this were the case, especially with tough quant-related classes.</p>

<p>Actually, for me that’s what happened. My first term GPA was an A- by just attending class and doing the tests… although at my school an A- is 80%.</p>

<p>LOL, I just posted a similar thread, but I asked the question instead of made a statement.</p>

<p>I’m a grad student and I listen to TAs and professors groan about this all the time.</p>

<p>If you attend class, do the reading and actually try to absorb the information then there’s very little chance you’ll get lower than a C.</p>

<p>But some of these student’s have a warped sense of entitlement.</p>

<p>agreed, agentdemon</p>