<p>I need your help!!!! Aren't we all aiming for 4.0s to get into graduate school?!?!?</p>
<p>I am taking this intro/pre-req science class (all pre-health students must take it!) in which the grading was done unfairly. Out of this ~200 student class, no one received a 4.0 (highest was a 3.8)!!</p>
<p>The test averages for this class were ~50% with a standard deviation of ~15%. At the end of the quarter, the professor "adjusted" the grades to create a specific mean, but the grades of those students at the top of the curve were barely adjusted at all. It turns out that if I used the professor's method, even scoring a 95% on his/her tests (the top 0.62% of the class!), still nets the student a 3.9 rather than a 4.0. In the end, no one in the class was even remotely close to the 95% mark and no one in this ~200 student class received a grade above a 3.8!</p>
<p>I understand students are supposed to "earn" their grades, but in hard science classes where most students are competing for grades to gain acceptances into graduate school, I feel that this professor's methods are grossly arbitrary, unfair, and unjust. How does the professor expect students to consistently score above a 95% when the average is a 50%???</p>
<p>I plan to appeal this to the department, but if I could hear your opinions and suggestions about this dilemma that would be fantastic. Has anyone else encountered a situation like this before? If so, how did you deal with it?</p>
<p>Thank you for your feedback and input.</p>