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View Full Version : Worst grading policy ever!


areo16
02-25-14, 08:23 PM
Ok, so I'm taking a class called Advanced SQL. I submit all my assignments on time, answering all the questions the best I could, and I got a 22/50 Which isn't that good.
Anyhow, apparently, if I would have waited until after the assignment was due, then I copied and pasted the released correct answers to the questions (which the instructor releases to the class about 3 days after due date) I would have gotten a minimum of 50% on the assignments (25/50).

I have two 22/50 graded assignments. Why should I get less than someone who cheats and copies and pastes the correct answers from the released answer file when the assignment is overdue?

The syllabus says this (and the instructor has confirmed it):
Work must be submitted on time! Anything turned in late will be subject to points deduction of up to 50% (guaranteed 50% points deduction for work submitted after the answers have been released). THERE IS NO MAKE-UP or EXTRA CREDIT in this class although participation may be considered in calculating your final grade.


So no extra points for effort? For trying to answer the questions?

I guess I would have been better off cheating... :nope:

fireftr18
02-25-14, 08:49 PM
Difficult to have any opinion without more information. In these two assignments, it does look like you would have gotten a better grade, but in the long term, it may be easier for you to answer the questions and get even better grades making up for the low grades.

Red October1984
02-25-14, 09:14 PM
Similar things have happened to me or to my friends before.

We usually just complain...and if they aren't willing to take care of the problem they have a "complaint limit" somewhere.

Only ever had to find it once. :up:

TG626
02-26-14, 12:53 AM
50% is still a failing grade so what does it matter? (Seriously, I must be missing something)

Buddahaid
02-26-14, 01:03 AM
50% is still a failing grade so what does it matter? (Seriously, I must be missing something)

He worked for that failing grade. :up:

vanjast
02-26-14, 01:28 AM
Study harder .. and don't cheat.. you will be busted :03:

TorpX
02-26-14, 01:28 AM
I see what you're saying.

Encouraging cheating undermines our culture. :nope:

TarJak
02-26-14, 02:46 AM
What matters? The grade you get or the skills you develop?

kranz
02-26-14, 04:03 AM
I say screw the system, rape, steal, kill and plunder as long as you benefit from it.
I used to be a victim of similar BS in the past and that has taught me to cheat as much as you can. The final score is what matters most.
I'm being serious now.

Jimbuna
02-26-14, 05:03 AM
I say screw the system, rape, steal, kill and plunder as long as you benefit from it.
I used to be a victim of similar BS in the past and that has taught me to cheat as much as you can. The final score is what matters most.
I'm being serious now.

"Rape" :o

The instructor might be a male :)

STEED
02-26-14, 05:52 AM
I did heard about something in the UK about copy & paste teachers have software that can pick up on this sort of thing now.

Study hard and give it your best shot that is all you can do.

areo16
02-26-14, 07:10 AM
50% is still a failing grade so what does it matter? (Seriously, I must be missing something)

Right, for those two assignments, but its still better than 22/50. That would be 6 points I'd be gaining. Every point helps in this class. It's a hard class. And it looks like I wont be able to get a C, which I need for other classes. So I'll take every point I can get.

swamprat69er
02-26-14, 07:42 AM
Right, for those two assignments, but its still better than 22/50. That would be 6 points I'd be gaining. Every point helps in this class. It's a hard class. And it looks like I wont be able to get a C, which I need for other classes. So I'll take every point I can get.
IF it is such a 'hard class', then why are the people that are handing in assignments late getting any marks for said assignments? They should be getting goose eggs. 0/50

areo16
02-26-14, 05:47 PM
IF it is such a 'hard class', then why are the people that are handing in assignments late getting any marks for said assignments? They should be getting goose eggs. 0/50

Hense the title of this thread.

When I meant hard class, I meant the material.

swamprat69er
02-26-14, 06:32 PM
Hense the title of this thread.

When I meant hard class, I meant the material.
And the person doing the marking is not.
Have you taken this up with the person doing the marking?

vanjast
02-27-14, 02:08 AM
I more I read this, the more I'm amazed !!

..(guaranteed 50% points deduction for work submitted after the answers have been released). THERE IS NO MAKE-UP or EXTRA CREDIT in this class although participation may be considered in calculating your final grade.
If you haven't worked this one out... I'm not sure whether you should be allowed to pass :03:


So no extra points for effort? For trying to answer the questions?

This isn't a charity.. it's a test of your knowledge (that you've supposed to have learnt) on the subject.

I guess I would have been better off cheating... :nope:
This is a major problem in the world today.. no morals or standards.
I'm entitled to pass because I'm here.. if not I'll cheat.

As I said in an earlier post..
:hmmm:

areo16
02-27-14, 05:07 AM
This is a major problem in the world today.. no morals or standards.



Today? Apparently you think people had more morals and standards in the past... tell that one to Hitler. I'm he'd get a good laugh.

You've completely missed the mark. This thread is a critique of my instructor's grading policy, not the morals of cheating.

kranz
02-27-14, 05:37 AM
This isn't a charity.. it's a test of your knowledge (that you've supposed to have learnt) on the subject.

actually this is charity and double standards as he stated here:
if I would have waited until after the assignment was due, then I copied and pasted the released correct answers to the questions (which the instructor releases to the class about 3 days after due date) I would have gotten a minimum of 50% on the assignments (25/50).

I feel for you and don't listen to trolls who last saw a blackboard 50 years ago :03:

vanjast
02-27-14, 06:11 AM
Maybe you guys miss the point of wanting to achieve the highest marks you can, first time.

The fact that you failed first time, means that you haven't worked hard enough... Then you say, why should I bother when I can cheat and get 50%.

Considering that, that is one of your options, before considering rewriting in an attempt to do better, would put you in the same ballpark as those that you've mentioned..

The classroom ethic has always been the same for millenia... To learn and do your best, honestly!!. The medium might change, but that's no excuse to cheat.
:03:

.. and I don't know why the pass mark is 50 for IT subjects.. our pass marks are 75 with no answers to play with.

kranz
02-27-14, 12:48 PM
.. and I don't know why the pass mark is 50 for IT subjects.. our pass marks are 75 with no answers to play with.
our pass marks are 90%.

vanjast
02-27-14, 04:38 PM
Then those that pass first time are definitely worth their 'weight in gold'.. no cheating of course :D

swamprat69er
02-27-14, 07:30 PM
actually this is charity and double standards as he stated here:


I feel for you and don't listen to trolls who last saw a blackboard 50 years ago :03:
The last blackboard I saw was 27 years ago. And I still am asking the same question. Did you ask the teacher/professor or whomever it is that marks your work why cheaters get better marks than people that do the work and hand it in on time?

kranz
02-28-14, 05:16 AM
Students cheat because they are allowed to. Teachers nowadays are too lazy to prepare a 2nd and 3rd version of the retake test. They don't have time to divide a group into smaller ones, to separate students from each other, they don't have time to discuss failed tests, they don't have time to think what they give for a test etc etc etc.

A short example, happened to me 3 years ago.
English philology, reading comprehension classes. I had straight As for vocab tests and but I failed the final reading comprehension test - like 80% of people who got A version of the text. Everyone who got the B version passed. In my case, my final grade wouldn't be A since I failed the reading. A friend of mine asked the teacher whether she saw a problem in the distribution of grades. A bit embarrassed she said: 'ok guys - sit back, you will retake the B version of the test, happy?'. So we took the test knowing the correct answers and got our As.
She didn't investigate into the problem. She took the easiest, band-aid solution. Was justice done? In a sense, it was.

I could write similar stories until the rest of the day. We, both teachers and students, have been lowering the standards for a very long time now.

swamprat69er
02-28-14, 07:30 AM
Students cheat because they are allowed to. Teachers nowadays are too lazy to prepare a 2nd and 3rd version of the retake test. They don't have time to divide a group into smaller ones, to separate students from each other, they don't have time to discuss failed tests, they don't have time to think what they give for a test etc etc etc.

A short example, happened to me 3 years ago.
English philology, reading comprehension classes. I had straight As for vocab tests and but I failed the final reading comprehension test - like 80% of people who got A version of the text. Everyone who got the B version passed. In my case, my final grade wouldn't be A since I failed the reading. A friend of mine asked the teacher whether she saw a problem in the distribution of grades. A bit embarrassed she said: 'ok guys - sit back, you will retake the B version of the test, happy?'. So we took the test knowing the correct answers and got our As.
She didn't investigate into the problem. She took the easiest, band-aid solution. Was justice done? In a sense, it was.

I could write similar stories until the rest of the day. We, both teachers and students, have been lowering the standards for a very long time now.
I think that lazy wench should go back to teaching kindergarten. Schools over here, from Gr.1-8 pass kids along whether or not they know the work. I know of one kid that only screwed around all through what we call public (Gr.1-8) school and passed onto the next grade every year. The teachers reasoning for this was, 'we don't want him to feel left out because he doesn't pass with his peer group'. What a crock of BS that is.

In you case areo16, I think your teacher is one lazy so and so and you got screwed. Don't have the time you say? BS to that too. They got way more time than the average working stiff. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do about it other than complain to higher authorities. Maybe if there are enough complaints against this teacher something will be done about it. But don't complain about your marks, complain about the cheaters getting higher marks.

In my day, IF we got caught cheating the cheater got 0, zip, zilch and nothing and was watched closely on all tests and exams after that. On assignments all assignments were due on the due by date. PERIOD Those that were not in on time lost 25% the first day, 25% the second day, 25% the third day and another 25% the fourth day. After the fourth day, you might as well not bother because you were getting zero anyway. My point is that while our teachers had 2 months holidays in the summertime, and 2 weeks at Easter and 2 weeks at Christmas totaling 3 months holidays every year they still had the time for the kids and made them learn the stuff before they passed on to another grade. I know of a couple of 16 year olds that drove to public school. (Normal age to leave public school was/is 13) (Normal age to get a drivers' License is 16.)

CaptainMattJ.
03-01-14, 06:06 PM
.. and I don't know why the pass mark is 50 for IT subjects.. our pass marks are 75 with no answers to play with.
The pass mark is NOT 50%. The way the class is graded (All of my classes are graded similiarly) is that your final grade at the end of the quarter/semester is determined by how many points you earn over how many possible points could be earned. In all technicality, he wouldn't have "passed" that assignment even if he cheated. But the extra points he wouldve gotten wouldve contributed to an increase in his final grade. To get a final passing grade, its usually about 70%, or a C-.

Kazuaki Shimazaki II
03-01-14, 09:58 PM
Ok, so I'm taking a class called Advanced SQL. I submit all my assignments on time, answering all the questions the best I could, and I got a 22/50 Which isn't that good.

Umm, maybe this course isn't for you anyway if you are getting <50% consistently despite putting in effort?

I do see your point. It is easy to say "Have Honor, Fight the flow" but in principle yes the marking scheme should make it favorable for you not to cheat.

But I guess the instructor thought the diligent would at least be able to get 26/50 which will still give them an edge over those who copied the answers :-)