Why are Some Professors Unfair in Grading?

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The discussion centers around frustrations with professors and grading practices in a class. One student expresses anger over two professors: one who reused assignment questions for exams, and another who inflated class averages, leading to many students receiving high marks despite poor performance on previous assessments. This student criticizes classmates for wanting easy exams and high grades without effort, suggesting that such attitudes undermine the value of education and hard work. Others in the discussion counter that grades should reflect individual effort and understanding, emphasizing that students should focus on their own learning rather than comparing themselves to peers. The conversation also touches on broader societal themes, such as the implications of rewarding minimal effort and the importance of personal responsibility in education. Overall, the thread reveals a tension between the desire for fair assessment and the frustrations of students who feel their hard work is devalued by grade inflation and easy grading practices.
  • #31


rootX said:
Professors also agreed with that...

They agreed when you told them what to do? :rolleyes:

I hope most of this sounds so bad because it's lost in translation...
 
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  • #32


Cyrus said:
Nah, they don't. Trust me. I honestly don't think you have a clue what friendship means, nor do you really have any true friends. I think people use you, and you rationalize that as 'friendship'. You have complained about people using you to study in the past.

Wow..........im at a loss of words here. (It's that bad my friend).

BTW: how old are you?

:smile:

Maybe you are right. And yes, I also remember that.. people still do that :(.

20. :rolleyes:
 
  • #33


cristo said:
They agreed when you told them what to do? :rolleyes:...

They themselves said that exams were easier than any other past midterms.
 
  • #34


rootX said:
:smile:

Maybe you are right.

20. :rolleyes:

I don't see why that's funny.
 
  • #35


Cyrus said:
I don't see why that's funny.

It's funny that all of sudden I don't any clue ... since it's so bad :)

Anyways thanks for pointing that out. I truly wasn't aware of it.
I really don't want to carry all the drama out here... so I am stopping.

:zzz:
 
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  • #36


I would say it's because he is young, he must think a lot of things are funny :smile: but I don't have much room to say anything about his age...since I might be younger than he.
 
  • #37


mcknia07 said:
I would say it's because he is young, he must think a lot of things are funny :smile: but I don't have much room to say anything about his age...since I might be younger than he.

I would say otherwise but I won't because my ban will last much longer this time.
 
  • #38


Cyrus said:
I would say otherwise but I won't because my ban will last much longer this time.

Well, we all don't want that to happen again!
 
  • #39


Classes usually sucks. So, best thing you do is wait till it's your turn. :wink:
 
  • #40


rootX said:
One simply used assignment questions for the exam (I told him to be creative)

Let me add to the chorus of people whose jaws dropped when I read that you told your professor how to write his exam.
 
  • #41


rootX said:
I don't mind bell cuves but really hate unfair(unwanted) mark adjustments

One thing in the defense of rootX.

I can perfectly understand frustration of someone who sees that s/he is not rewarded for her/his efforts, moreover - s/he sees that others get the same reward for no effort. That is pedagogically faulty and demobilising. Lesson learnt: no need to try to excel, your efforts will be wasted by others. I am not sure if that's the case here.

To some extent that reminds me discussion we have not long ago: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=258832
 
  • #42


I hate when I am expecting a really hard test and I study really hard and I get there and realize I could have gotten the same mark without studying at all, and that a lot of people did. I find it frustrating when I work hard for something and others do not but reap the same rewards. I generally don't look at class averages, they don't tell me anything aside from how everyone else is doing, and that's irrelevant to me. I am not everyone else and neither are you, worry about your own marks and your own work and if you feel the test was too easy you could let the prof know. I've certainly told profs when tests were too difficult. The average after the midterm my in first year chemistry was below a 40. They don't bell curve here so we were all stuck with our marks. Thats how I ended up on PF in fact. I needed all the help I could get. I know lots of people had straight A's in the class and would have been offended had they adjusted the marks, but I would have appreciated it.
 
  • #43


Borek said:
One thing in the defense of rootX.

I can perfectly understand frustration of someone who sees that s/he is not rewarded for her/his efforts, moreover - s/he sees that others get the same reward for no effort. That is pedagogically faulty and demobilising. Lesson learnt: no need to try to excel, your efforts will be wasted by others. I am not sure if that's the case here.

To some extent that reminds me discussion we have not long ago: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=258832

Yes, that's main difference between majority of students and some professors who promote equality over efficiency. (I don't hate people for getting good marks and I never complained to teachers/profs for giving away free marks but it is just wrong when efforts don't equate with rewards). IFortunately, mine most professors make sure that additional reward goes to people who study beyond what's in their lecture notes/assignments.

I was critical of general society because those of kind of socities don't survivie for long.
Consider if we give everyone enough money (either just handing out free money or giving loans) for fancy lifestyles regardless of their contributions (work) to the society. Everyone would be happy but the society wouldn't operate for long.
 
  • #44


rootX said:
Yes, that's main difference between majority of students and some professors who promote equality over efficiency. (I don't hate people for getting good marks and I never complained to teachers/profs for giving away free marks but it is just wrong when efforts don't equate with rewards). IFortunately, mine most professors make sure that additional reward goes to people who study beyond what's in their lecture notes/assignments.

I was critical of general society because those of kind of socities don't survivie for long.Consider if we give everyone enough money (either just handing out free money or giving loans) for fancy lifestyles regardless of their contributions (work) to the society. Everyone would be happy but the society wouldn't operate for long.

Name ONE such society. What a crock...

You really have a warped notion of reality in your head. I don't know why you continue to make such outlandish nonsensical generalizations.
 
  • #45


Cyrus said:
Name ONE such society. What a crock...

You really have a warped notion of reality in your head. I don't know why you continue to make such outlandish nonsensical generalizations.

1) Communism
2) Subprime mortgage crisis
?
 
  • #46


rootX said:
1) Communism

Communism doesn't survive very long? You do realize that communism has been around since way before the US even existed as a country, and is still a way of life in several countries around the world, don't you?
 
  • #47


rootX said:
Yes, that's main difference between majority of students and some professors who promote equality over efficiency. (I don't hate people for getting good marks and I never complained to teachers/profs for giving away free marks but it is just wrong when efforts don't equate with rewards).

So, really, what changed by them giving a few extra points to the whole class? A few other students who would have gotten A's anyway also got 100%? Did the student who got a 20% and was bumped up to 25% or 30% suddenly get an A for that? No, they're probably still going to fail the class.

You sound like the class know-it-all who rubs in their good grades and snubs those who are struggling. Do you go around telling your classmates, "That was such an easy exam, you all should have done so much better?" If so, I wouldn't be surprised if more than one of them is tempted to thump you over the head with the textbook.

Work on your people-skills! Seriously. Those are FAR more important for gainful employment in the future than whether or not you got the only 100% on an exam.
 
  • #48


rootX said:
2) Subprime mortgage crisis

:smile: That wasn't due to giving people more than they deserved, it was due to the greedy people who thought they were smarter than everyone else and could take advantage of them for profit. They were NEVER doing that to help out the people who got those houses, they were doing it to make the money off the interest on those loans while still retaining ownership of the house. Do you really think that has anything to do with a professor giving a few extra points on an exam? :rolleyes:
 
  • #49


Moonbear said:
:smile: That wasn't due to giving people more than they deserved, it was due to the greedy people who thought they were smarter than everyone else and could take advantage of them for profit. They were NEVER doing that to help out the people who got those houses, they were doing it to make the money off the interest on those loans while still retaining ownership of the house. Do you really think that has anything to do with a professor giving a few extra points on an exam? :rolleyes:

It was a point I made in the beginning that people want more rewards for less efforts:

In general, I just hate to see self interests, greed, and narrow thinking among my class mates or in society...

I agree survival was wrong word. But, they are definitely unhealthy and less prosperous.
 
  • #50


I think that as long as you know your potential, the marks you get do not matter.
Marks are a superficial way to compare students.
 
  • #51


You sound like the class know-it-all who rubs in their good grades and snubs those who are struggling. Do you go around telling your classmates, "That was such an easy exam, you all should have done so much better?" If so, I wouldn't be surprised if more than one of them is tempted to thump you over the head with the textbook.

I am not a prodigy and neither I have really high IQ. So, I have similar capabilites. Even most people said that there was no need to inflate marks and that the second exam was one of the easiest exam we ever saw. It wasn't only me.

Work on your people-skills! Seriously. Those are FAR more important for gainful employment in the future than whether or not you got the only 100% on an exam.

Fully agree!
 
  • #52


rootX said:
It was a point I made in the beginning that people want more rewards for less efforts:



I agree survival was wrong word. But, they are definitely unhealthy and less prosperous.

There you go again, saying outlandish nonsense.

What do you mean by 'unhealthy'? You seem to throw this term around. And by what measure are you claiming they are 'less prosperous'? Because they didn't score as high as you did? Maybe they are doing other things like actual research that you're not doing. You really stick your neck out there when you make such ludicous accusations about people you don't even know. You're an elitist snob.
 
  • #53


rootX said:
I am not a prodigy and neither I have really high IQ. So, I have similar capabilites. Even most people said that there was no need to inflate marks and that the second exam was one of the easiest exam we ever saw. It wasn't only me.

I recommend to stop comparing yourself to others and instead focus on your own learning.
 
  • #54


rootX said:
IIn general, I just hate to see self interests, greed, and narrow thinking among my class mates or in society...

Have you looked in a mirror lately? What about your complaint here ISN'T indicating self interests, greed and narrow thinking?
 
  • #55


Moonbear said:
Have you looked in a mirror lately? What about your complaint here ISN'T indicating self interests, greed and narrow thinking?

Sorry but I really don't understand how I am greedy and narrow minded for
2) Hurting my own interests because my marks are also getting inflated
1) Criticizing people who
-praise professors who give us easier assignments and free marks and bad mouth about professors who us something hard.
-who want everything to be easy but want the best things in return
-who came to university just because of money and want to get out of it as soon as possible.
 
  • #56


rootX said:
Sorry but I really don't understand how I am greedy and narrow minded for
2) Hurting my own interests because my marks are also getting inflated
1) Criticizing people who
-praise professors who give us easier assignments and free marks and bad mouth about professors who us something hard.
-who want everything to be easy but want the best things in return
-who came to university just because of money and want to get out of it as soon as possible.

Really?...do you stop and think before you post. What kind of sweeping statement is that?


Who is hurting your own interests? You just want to brag about getting a 100 while every one else can fail.
 
  • #57


rootX said:
Sorry but I really don't understand how I am greedy and narrow minded for
2) Hurting my own interests because my marks are also getting inflated
That's the greedy part. You're not satisfied with getting a good mark if other people are getting good marks too.

1) Criticizing people who
-praise professors who give us easier assignments and free marks and bad mouth about professors who us something hard.
-who want everything to be easy but want the best things in return
-who came to university just because of money and want to get out of it as soon as possible.

And that's the narrow-minded part to hold that view of your classmates. Are you always so condescending toward other people as you are toward them?

And are you always so ungrateful? Want to work your fingers to the bone for a living? Go get a job on a construction site.
 
  • #58


Moonbear said:
That's the greedy part. You're not satisfied with getting a good mark if other people are getting good marks too.

Could be I am misreading something, but I think rootX stated that he doesn't care about other peoples marks as long as they are deserved, not got because marking scheme is such that half of the class gets an A no matter whether they know something or not. That's not greed, that's feeling of unjustice.
 
  • #59


Did he say 'half the class'?
 
  • #60


i luve this thread

really i do

marlon
 

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