<p>What do you guys think about this? Some people might say I'm just whining, which I guess I am, but just read this...</p>
<p>I got my Macro mid-term back today. I tied for the top grade in the class, so obviously I'm not upset about that. The average was about 81.1% and the median (50th percentile) was about an 84.4%. Some girl, who I know is not even an engineer or a REAL science major (chemistry, physics, bio)...and trust me...I know a lot of those kids...was upset that she got a C. Now, the test was 64 multiple choice questions, we had 90 minutes, and each question took 30 seconds or less to answer for the most part. Plus, the only math was basic arithmatic and about half of the questions were directly copied from the homeworks (which he would always give us the solutions for, so you could basically just memorize the answers and get about a 50% on the test, no "studying" involved). The syllabus says that the mid-term is worth half the grade and the final is worth the other half. We have known that since day 1. The girl is like, "Are you serious that there is only one more test?" And my "prof", who is really just a P.h.D. candidate, decided to let her reduce the weight of her exam to 25% and make her final worth 75% so she could have a second chance at getting a high grade. Basically, he took pity on her. Then, he proceeded to allow the whole class to opt to do that if they did below the average (which was a solid B according to him). By the way, I can't make my exam grade worth 75% of my grade just because I did well. I just want to increase my chances of getting an A, just like that girl. </p>
<p>Does anyone agree with me that this is against some kind of code of ethics for instructors? I mean, as I see it, he is condoning people who don't make the effort to do well on exams (which according to the overall stats and my description of the exam, was not very challenging). Maybe it isn't an ethical issue as much as it is a double standard. I don't know. I'm just really upset about it. I'm not complaining about my grade at all. The harsh reality is...school is about grades and to get good grades you need to be able to compete. I never got pity in O Chem or Thermo when I was struggling. If profs took pity on me, I might have a 4.0 GPA instead of like a 3.1. Comments?</p>