Grading Philosophy
My grading philosophy is simple: you earn your grade. An A is not a right but something that is earned. To earn an A, which stands for excellent, you have to do excellent work throughout the whole quarter. If any of the work you turn in is not excellent than it is not going to receive an A. If you do not receive an A on every piece work you do for the class than you cannot get an A for the class.
Furthermore, if you turn in average work and everybody else turns in failing work, it does not mean that your average work is or becomes excellent and the failing work becomes average. That is not the way life works. Instead, average work will always remain average work and failing work will always remain failing work. Life does not curve and neither do I. Furthermore, there is no bargaining for grades. To reiterate: you earn your grade! You do not beg for it and/or you do not bargain for it.
I sympathize with students who think that they should be given numerous opportunities to do well in class (i.e., more papers, quizzes, exams, assignments, extra credit, etc.). However, there are physical constraints on how many opportunities can be made available. I feel that three to four grading opportunities are ample and fair. Furthermore, understanding that students maybe unfamiliar with the teacher’s expectations, the first graded assignment will always be worth the least, the second graded will be worth a little bit more, etc... My belief is that after the first grading opportunity students will have a better understanding of my expectations and therefore, will be able to perform better on the subsequent grading opportunities, all else being equal.
Finally, my philosophy on missed exams or assignments is simple: a student should never miss an exam or an assignment except under exceptional circumstances. It is better to hand something in and get some points than it is to hand in nothing and get a zero. The exams and assignments are assigned early in the quarter and therefore, there is absolutely no excuse for missing them. So be warned that I will rarely allow students to make up missed exams or assignments. The only time I allow it is if the student has an excellent excuse that can be officially corroborated. Also, if something exceptional happens that necessitates that you miss an exam or an assignment please inform me as soon as possible and not after the fact. This is very important to remember. Email me or call my office and leave a message. If you get in contact with me and make me aware of whatever issues or problems you are having, then I am more likely to be accommodating.
Grading Methodology
Grading in Class Participation
Participation grades are determined using two criteria’s: quality of participation and consistency of participation.
I. Quality of Participation: To achieve a high participation grade, the participation must be intelligent, relevant and polite. Intelligent participation is indicated by thoughtful questions or arguments that are based upon or supported by class readings, lectures and general knowledge. I do not consider frivolous, cynical, and/or discourteous comments quality participation and in fact, such participation can actually lower your participation grade.
II. Consistency of Participation: Quality participation must also be accompanied by consistent participation. Making an intelligent point or asking an intelligent question one time or two times, is impressive but will not result in a very high participation grade. Consistency in participation (and by extension consistency in intelligent and informed participation) is indicative of general intelligence. Anything else could have been due to chance.
For those who may feel intimated or not sufficiently informed about what is being discussed to participate, I strongly stress that intelligent and curious questions also counts as participation. This last statement is particularly directed to those who are taking my classes as electives and therefore, may feel overwhelmed when having to compete with students who are majoring in the subject. I am aware of your concerns and feelings and strongly encourage you not to be intimated and not to refrain from asking questions or making points in class.
On one of my evaluations a student made the recommendation that I pick people to answer questions that way if someone is intimated and to shy to participate this would be the way to get them involved. If you are such a person, come and talk to me and I will call on you in class to answer question and therefore, you will get participation points.
For non honors 100 and 200 level classes the minimum participation grade is C-. For all other classes the minimum participation grade is D-. This is in recognition that at the 100 and 200 level students are still very young, shy and insecure about participating in class and my expectation and belief that by 300 and higher level classes students should and must get over such feelings.
You can be the smartest person in the world but if you never speak up or say anything no one will every know it! This is why I require participation.
Papers
Paper grades are determined using both absolute and relative (when appropriate) factors. The overall grade received on the paper is the average of the absolute and relative grade, again, if relative comparisons are appropriate.
I. Absolute Comparisons: This involves judging a paper based on its own merits. How well does the paper address the question asked by the professor? Does the paper take a stand? Does the paper do a good job of supporting and defending the point of view it takes? Does the paper consider alternative point of views and does it address them in the context of the argument it is making? From the above paragraph the following should be clear:
a) Papers must take a position: All too often the easiest thing for students to do is to sit on the fence. That is not what I am looking for in papers. Students must take a stand and defend it. This leads to point b.
b) Students must defend their position: While the first step is to take a stand, the next crucial step is to defend your point of view. Here I judge you on how well you defend your argument. Please note, in this class there is no wrong or right point of view! I am not trying to sell you a certain point of view. My job is to teach you logical and analytical thinking. That is what I judge you on! Thus, you can have whatever point of view you want, just defend it.
c) Consider different points of views in your paper: An excellent paper does not only take a position and defend that position but it also presents counter arguments to its own arguments and then defends itself against them. This is the only way to insure that your position is not trivial and/or undefendable. By forcing yourself to think about what somebody who disagrees with your point of view would say to your argument you force yourself to evaluate your own argument, to insure that it is clear and defendable. This is a very important component of my evaluation of any analytical paper and therefore, students should make sure that they include this in their papers.
Also, please note that simply presenting a counter argument is not enough, it has to be intelligent and well thought out, as is your response to it.
d) Evidence: An excellent paper is also one that incorporates lecture and/or class readings to make and defend its argument. One of the worst papers is a paper that is pure opinion without any sort of primary (readings) or secondary (lecture notes) evidence to substantiate the argument. So remember it is not just opinion but informed opinion that matters.
Here is an example from a student's paper. Please note how each point is stated clearly, then explained and expanded on (with evidence). Note the point, counterpoint, and rebuttal format.
When judging if a country is developing, the best indicator of development upon which to rely is the existence of stable political institutions. More specifically, the achievement of a recognized democracy indicates the highest level of development and more likelihood of continued development. The basis for my conclusion is threefold. First, the inevitable demand for economic and social growth by the citizens of a country will necessarily be met with a response by a democratically elected government. Secondly, established democratically elected governments are inherently stable and thus more likely to expand. Finally, if a thriving consolidated democracy forms, it will attract foreign and domestic investment, thus expanding the economic health of a country.
If a country has a strong and functional democracy, the people have the opportunity to mandate social and economic reform. With the ability to vote in elections, the citizens can decide who they believe will better their social and economic conditions. Absent a democratic political system, it is considerably more difficult for the populace to directly impact a country’s political and developmental direction. An effective democracy ensures that the people have direct input into the development of the nation.
Supporters of the United Nations Development Index would counter this position by emphasizing the importance of educated participation, not simply voting. They would argue that higher literacy rates and school enrollment percentages more accurately reflect whether or not a country is truly developing. Supporters of this opinion believe the United Nations Development Index encompasses a more expansive assessment of country’s march towards development.
In rebuttal, however, this measure of development is naïve and unrealistic. It is crucial to first establish a free government, as a literate and educated electorate under a repressive regime is one that cannot, in fact, appreciably develop. Education is not always available to people who are living under a government system that does not support it. According to Handelman, literacy rates are directly related to a government’s policies in the area of education (10). The educational system is subject to the whims and demands of political leadership. People may feel they can advance socially but it is impossible without the “approval” of the regime. The citizens may have the mirage of development, but such is not the case.
For example, during the Cultural Revolution in China, people were imprisoned or murdered for having an education. Schools were shut down and children were encouraged to join the army instead. In some countries, it might be the government’s vulnerability that prevents education. For instance the Taliban took over Afghanistan’s government and shut down the public schools. It is, in fact, the existence of a democracy which ensures the public’s educational opportunities.
In fact, the development and establishment of democracy innately supports education. In democracy, opposition parties would promote an educated electorate. Handelman supports this theory, arguing that, “Responsive and legitimate governments, constrained by competitive elections, are more likely to educate their people [. . .]” (10). This illustrates the direct correlation between development of political institutions and social reform.
II. Relative Comparison: If the paper assignment involves a specific set of questions then my evaluation of each paper is both absolute and relative. For example, if the paper assignment involves choosing one question out of two possible questions: I not only evaluate each paper using the absolute criterion above but I also evaluate each paper relative to all the other papers that answered the same question. In this situation, all papers are read once for an absolute evaluation and then all papers are read a second time for a relative evaluation. The relative evaluation necessarily compares how the different papers answered the same question. Here I look for how well each paper took a stand and defended it. Was one paper better than another in the way it took a stand and defended it? Was one paper better in the sources and evidence it brought to bear? Was one paper better in providing counter arguments and defending against them? Was one paper better at incorporating class lectures and readings?
Exams
Exam grading is implemented as follows:
I. True and False Questions: For a question to be true all parts of it has to be true otherwise it is false. Another way of saying the same thing is as follows: if any part of a true/false question is false than it is false. Please note that I neither have the time nor the inclination to make tricky true and false questions. For a question to be false, I have to make it false by stating something that is untrue. This is not done to be tricky or evil, it is simply done because all answers would be true otherwise and that would be a very silly true and false exam. Please note that true and false are usually worth the least in an exam.
II. Multiple Choice Questions: This is obvious. There is only one answer and this is the one that the student has to choose in order to get the points. Again, I neither have the time nor the inclination to make these tricky. So please do not over think them.
III. Short Answers: These typically involve defining terms and expounding on them. Simply, listing information is usually not enough to get all points but some explanation is required. A silly example may help. If a student is asked what are the three branches of the US government? Simply saying the Executive, Judiciary and Legislative branch will not get you all the point. Elaborating on the functions of each is necessary for all points.
IV. Essay Questions: See the policy on grading papers above. Although, I am less stringent given that there are time constraints on essay questions during exams. Thus, while I still look for the things stated above I am realistic about what to expect the student to do in a two hour exam.
Grading Scale
|
A |
100-94 |
|
A- |
93-90 |
|
B+ |
89-87 |
|
B |
86-83 |
|
B- |
82-80 |
|
C+ |
79-77 |
|
C |
76-73 |
|
C- |
72-70 |
|
D+ |
69-67 |
|
D |
66- 63 |
|
D- |
62-60 |
|
E |
59 |