I HATE professors like this

WickedLou9 · 09-24-2007, 01:01 PM

So what you are saying is that if I earn a 100% on an assignment, I won't get it. Anything at all that is below a 94 will mean that you don't get an A in the class.

I have a 4.0 right now and if this fucker and his irrational grading practices fucks that up I am going to be pissed.

Louis,

I don't usually give 100 % as a grade. A 94/95 % is an A in this class
- I don't give an A+ and the school/college doesn't give any grade
higher than an 'A'. So a 95 % is the top of the scale. What this means
is that to get a final grade of 'A,' consistent 'A' level work is
required throughout the semester.

-- Art Taylor

Louis E. Gallinaro wrote:
> Professor Taylor,
>
> I just wanted to ask you about some of the assignments that we have had so far. On most of them I got a 95%, which I am pleased with, but I wanted to know if there is anything I could do, or anything that I was missing that was preventing me from getting 100% ? Any feedback would be very helpful.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Louis Gallinaro
>
>

WickedLou9 · 09-24-2007, 01:03 PM

So it's virtually impossible to get an A.

Grade Scale

A = 94-100
A- = 90 - 93.99
B+ = 87 - 89.99
B = 84 - 86.99
B- = 80 – 83.99
C+ = 77 - 79.99
C = 74 - 76.99
C- = 70 - 73.99
D = 60 - 69.99
F = below 60

The annoying thing is that this is a computer networking class. ( part of the requirements for the CIS program ). I got my CCNA back in 2001. So this should be review for me. If I get anything less than an A it's just silly.

motivez · 09-24-2007, 01:39 PM

You could always try to drop and get another, less stupid professor. I wouldn't put up with that shit personally.

Ardentfrost · 09-24-2007, 01:41 PM

If you have all 95's, then what's the big deal? An A is an A, right?

motivez · 09-24-2007, 01:47 PM

Because if he had the extra 5 points on all of his assignments (which he should have, given by the fact that 95% is the highest grade), then a lower grade on one assignment wouldn't necessarily bump him down to below an A, and a lower GPA

Ardentfrost · 09-24-2007, 01:55 PM

so, don't make any lower grades on the assignments.

Problem solved.

Sorry, I just find it difficult to view it this way since I've been at Georgia Tech for the better part of a decade, where the professors suck more than Dyson vacuums. In most of my classes, a 70 something is an A, and those are the good classes. I've made 20's before that were A's. I've seen the class average on a test be a 9 (out of 100). I've been in classes where the professor's goal is to have 50% drop/fail rate. I barely know what it feels like to have my grade prefaced with a 9 on any assignment or test, even things I'm really good at.

Ask him what your chances of getting an A are. An A is an A, obviously you know the material, so just keep it up.

WickedLou9 · 09-24-2007, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by Ardentfrost

so, don't make any lower grades on the assignments.

Problem solved.

Sorry, I just find it difficult to view it this way since I've been at Georgia Tech for the better part of a decade, where the professors suck more than Dyson vacuums. In most of my classes, a 70 something is an A, and those are the good classes. I've made 20's before that were A's. I've seen the class average on a test be a 9 (out of 100). I've been in classes where the professor's goal is to have 50% drop/fail rate. I barely know what it feels like to have my grade prefaced with a 9 on any assignment or test, even things I'm really good at.

Ask him what your chances of getting an A are. An A is an A, obviously you know the material, so just keep it up.

it sucks because like motivez said, if I earn 100's on my other assignments and then get a 90 on one of them, the 100's are a buffer and I maintain my A. Essentially with this current system, any grade I get that is lower than a 95 will almost certainly prevent me from keeping my A. It's unfair. Especially if I EARN the 100% on crap like homework assignments. If i do everything I was supposed to, why can't I have credit for it? it's like penalizing me 5% for nothnig.

Ardentfrost · 09-24-2007, 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by WickedLou9

it sucks because like motivez said, if I earn 100's on my other assignments and then get a 90 on one of them, the 100's are a buffer and I maintain my A. Essentially with this current system, any grade I get that is lower than a 95 will almost certainly prevent me from keeping my A. It's unfair. Especially if I EARN the 100% on crap like homework assignments. If i do everything I was supposed to, why can't I have credit for it? it's like penalizing me 5% for nothnig.

Believe me, I know. I had a prof last year who reserved 6 points on the final grade for his discretion and said he NEVER gave all 6 points. Mathematically, that can ONLY hurt you. If he gives 5 points, then it can help you if you're REALLY close to the next grade up, but if you're close to the next grade down and he gives only 4 points or lower (which is more likely) then you'll drop an entire letter grade. It's bullshit, and his reasoning was "I've been teaching for 25 years, I think I've earned the right to administer the 6 points as I want."

In his class I made a 53, 56, 35 on the tests, and I don't know what I made on my final, but I made a C in the class. I don't get it, and as much as I want to complain, I felt so lost in his class so I felt I just got lucky with a C. In one of my following classes, the prof did a review of the class I just mentioned and I knew everything she covered (other people were asking me how I retained so much from the previous class). That's what pisses me off the most. Making a grade that I think I deserve because the prof made the class so hard, but then ending up knowing a lot from the class b/c of how much I studied. My grade does not reflect my knowledge.

But hey, I'm the one that chose Georgia Tech. It's my own damn fault.

WickedLou9 · 09-24-2007, 02:16 PM

Originally Posted by Ardentfrost

Believe me, I know. I had a prof last year who reserved 6 points on the final grade for his discretion and said he NEVER gave all 6 points. Mathematically, that can ONLY hurt you. If he gives 5 points, then it can help you if you're REALLY close to the next grade up, but if you're close to the next grade down and he gives only 4 points or lower (which is more likely) then you'll drop an entire letter grade. It's bullshit, and his reasoning was "I've been teaching for 25 years, I think I've earned the right to administer the 6 points as I want."

In his class I made a 53, 56, 35 on the tests, and I don't know what I made on my final, but I made a C in the class. I don't get it, and as much as I want to complain, I felt so lost in his class so I felt I just got lucky with a C. In one of my following classes, the prof did a review of the class I just mentioned and I knew everything she covered (other people were asking me how I retained so much from the previous class). That's what pisses me off the most. Making a grade that I think I deserve because the prof made the class so hard, but then ending up knowing a lot from the class b/c of how much I studied. My grade does not reflect my knowledge.

But hey, I'm the one that chose Georgia Tech. It's my own damn fault.

I hate that attitude that he is doing you a favor. They need to be slapped up side the head with a dose of reality. I am paying to be there. I am paying for a service that he is required to provide. It's not like they are giving me a full scholarship. If I am paying for this bastard to teach me, I don't want him to act like he is doing me some big favor. I want him to teach me. And damnit if I earn an A, I want the A, because sometimes your GPA effects the job you can get when you get out of college. So by witholding a grade that you deserve all he is doing is limiting your options when you graduate. And what purpose does that serve?

My only solice is that his exams are multiple choice... so as long as I actually get 100% on the exam, He can't deny it.

Ardentfrost · 09-24-2007, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by WickedLou9

I hate that attitude that he is doing you a favor. They need to be slapped up side the head with a dose of reality. I am paying to be there. I am paying for a service that he is required to provide. It's not like they are giving me a full scholarship. If I am paying for this bastard to teach me, I don't want him to act like he is doing me some big favor. I want him to teach me. And damnit if I earn an A, I want the A, because sometimes your GPA effects the job you can get when you get out of college. So by witholding a grade that you deserve all he is doing is limiting your options when you graduate. And what purpose does that serve?

My only solice is that his exams are multiple choice... so as long as I actually get 100% on the exam, He can't deny it.

Word

It sounds like you know the material, but I can understand why you're being wary.

As for Georgia Tech, they make practically no money on undergrad students tuition. This is a research institution, so what matters is that the professors and their graduate lackeys do research and write publications and make discoveries. They couldn't give 2 shits about undergrad students, and most of them see teaching us as a waste of time.

It's sad, but it's true.

However, in the past 4 years there has been a major shift in the level of undergrad focus at Tech. It's been nuts. It really is a friendlier tech. The retention rate is still only 50% though.

Roonie · 09-24-2007, 02:44 PM

Originally Posted by Ardentfrost

. Making a grade that I think I deserve because the prof made the class so hard, but then ending up knowing a lot from the class b/c of how much I studied. My grade does not reflect my knowledge.

I agree with this 100%. I was pre-med getting ready to apply to medical school after already getting my BA in two other subjects and was also enrolled in a MA program at the time. I got into high end chemistry and math and I was lost. I studied so hard I knew the subject very well. Best grades I could get was C or less and I always failed at the damn multiple choice tests. I ended up not applying to med school because of those classes. Oh well...... I took a different direction. Still pisses me off as the grade does not reflect my knowledge on the subject.

WickedLou9 · 09-24-2007, 02:54 PM

Originally Posted by Roonie

I agree with this 100%. I was pre-med getting ready to apply to medical school after already getting my BA in two other subjects and was also enrolled in a MA program at the time. I got into high end chemistry and math and I was lost. I studied so hard I knew the subject very well. Best grades I could get was C or less and I always failed at the damn multiple choice tests. I ended up not applying to med school because of those classes. Oh well...... I took a different direction. Still pisses me off as the grade does not reflect my knowledge on the subject.

Yeah those are the weed out courses. Same thing happened to me with Organic Chemistry when I was an undergrad. I wanted to be a Vet, but they made Orgo THE weedout course for the pre-med kids. So they were intentionaly tricky on the exams and they wanted to fool people, not find out how much you knew. I flat out failed the course despite studying more than I ever had before.