Perhaps a better way of saying it is that if you need to grade-grub to just barely reach the needed GPA threshold for the possibility of admission to some target (e.g. a selective college, medical school, or high rank law school), that target may not be a realistic one. Those who can earn the needed GPA without grade-grubbing are those for whom that target is more realistic.
They would say it’s grade grubbing. While some people might not care that an error got them a 95 as opposed to a 98 or something, I would care. Why should I accept a lower grade because someone else messed up?
If an error in grading caused a grade to be lower than it should be, I don’t believe that it is grade grubbing to ask for an error to be corrected. That being said, I believe grades are earned and not given. In response to " having to be on for every quiz, homework assignment,etc", I don’t think it is unreasonable to expect students to do their best for every assignment, and if they’re having difficulty with an assignment or subject, they should seek out the additional assistance they need before the test or assignent is due rather than wait and try to barter and bargain for extra points or extra credit. For whatever reason, many youth today feel entitled to receive a grade or reward just for showing up whether they put forth the necessary effort or not. We need to prepare our children not only for college, but for life. I am expected to be “on” everytime I enter my workplace. They need to get used to standards , IMO.
As a college professor, I am always grateful when students point out an errors I have made in their grades.
It’s grade-grubbing when a student knows that I round final grades up from a 3.8 to a 4.0 and then ask me to round up their 3.7 to the 3.8 in order to get the additional round up to 4.0.
It’s grade-grubbing when a student asks for an extra-credit assignment without understanding that I would be obliged to offer the same opportunity to all of my students.
It’s grade-grubbing when a student offers to bake me a pie in exchange for a higher grade. (Sadly, this happens all the time. I suspect it must have worked with some of their high school teachers or they would not still be asking.)
A pie? Wow those students don’t understand that once you’re in college, it’s the major leagues. At least offer 5 or more. Different flavored of course. You need to put in some effort for a grade!
I have seen (college) course home pages stating that if the student wants to have a question on a test regraded, the instructors will regrade the entire test. Presumably, this is to discourage grade-grubbers, since they run the risk of losing points on other test problems on the regrade.
I have asked a teacher or two in high school to round up if my grade was over .5 when it really mattered. For example, I had a 93.6 or something of the like in pre-calc and asked my math teacher if he would round that up, which would change an A- to an A, where math had previously been not one of my stronger subjects and I was looking to raise my overall GPA. That being said, I was a student who was a relatively high performer all year and put a significant amount of effort into the course, constantly staying after with the teacher and participating in class lessons. I don’t think I would ask a teacher or professor to round up, or otherwise grade-grub, if I wasn’t confident that I had a good relationship with him or her and I had proven throughout the course that I was putting a serious effort into my work.
I can’t imagine asking a professor for extra credit or offering baked goods (lol) for a boost, though. That seems so childish. Though I’ve only been through 1 year of college, it seems like professors really appreciate early intervention (i.e, coming in after your first sub-par grade to discuss how to improve/what the professor wants to see) rather than waiting til the end of the semester to say “I know I’m technically a B, but you were my favorite prof, so can I have a B+?!”
@snarlatron …I’ve enjoyed reading you contributions to CC, but I either don’t understand or don’t agree with what you have to say here…at least for students in college…maybe high school is a different story.
- If a prof or teacher is assigning different grades between two students whose grades differs by 0.2% of the grade or less, the prof is just not doing their job. Grading is part of a profs job, and it should be done professionally. The professors should find gaps in performance before assigning grades. The difference between an B+ and and A- should ideally be 0.5% to 1% of the grade.
- Students should be addressing significant grading errors in homework, tests, and final class grade calculations.
- Well written tests are part of a professor's job. It is ok for students to complain about tests that are written poorly. I've had a few of those, and I have complained.
- Making issued about grades in undergrad can raise your GPA by ~0.1-0.2. Getting a 3.6 instead of 3.4 is a big deal, and you can always find profs to give great recommendations where you didn't have to "fight" for grades.
What I do find deeply annoying and unnecessary is the following:
- Students complaining about grading issues that make less than 0.1% of a total grade…especially when a professor is going out of their way to assign the final grades fairly.
- Students asking for special treatment with regard to grades.