Why Are My Grades So Inconsistent?

[Zill1]

So a while ago I made a thread about how badly I did in pre-calculus. After failing I went back and ended with a B the second time. I got into Calculus I and failed with a redeemable failure (means I get to re-take my final) after studying my butt off; I did poorly on the final exam giving me a final grade of 49/100... so this spring I will re-write and hopefully do much better.

Anyway here I am now in Calculus II. I just got my midterm back and I ended up with a 95% on it. I have also written 2 exams for Linear Algebra. First one 45%. Second one 91%. I don't get it; I study the exact same way for everything I do but somehow I end up getting these weird grades... what the heck do I need to do to stay consistent?!

 

[fasterthanjoao]

I guess your thread is maybe about blowing off some steam since there aren't really any questions that anyone other than yourself can answer :p

From the marks you describe, I can see your frustrations - though you should consider that these courses are all different. Calculus may be calculus, but different topics are covered in I and II: it's also likely that the reason you did better in calculus II is because of the hard work you put into calculus I, the same applies to your linear algebra scores.

If you're worrying about consistency then try to break it down. Why did you get the 45% in Linear Algebra? Was the problem that things came up in the exam that you hadn't looked at? Did you have a lack of practice? Did you just find it difficult to understand the material?

There are obviously lots of factors that influence your test marks, until you feel you know what's affecting you, there isn't really much you can do to address it.

Otherwise, keep up the good work-ethic. Some people aren't great with exams - it happens - but if you put the work in, you've got a much better chance of ending up a capable student in later years when you've got such a solid foundation to work with.

 

[Choppy]

Another question might be where you stood on each exam with respect to the class average. If you got a 45% and the class average was 30%, you probably did okay - the professor simply came up with an overly challenging exam. Then further down the road, he or she made a subsequent mid-term a little less challenging to bring up the average.

 

[Craigsly]

That happened with me in physics II. I would put tons of time in consistently and although the course was of uniform difficulty I would get A's on some midterms C/D's on the remaining ones. Its puzzling, the best thing you can do is don't get discouraged...try to focus on what you are learning, as opposed to your grades.