I have a kid with a 89.3% average in my class. I checked, and it is in fact his only B (well, B+) with the rest all As. He came in today and asked if there was anything he could do for me to bump it to 89.5 so it rounds up. I told him doubtful, but I'd think about it tonight. My class average is very high already, and this 89.3% was already with an extra credit project that brought him up from around 87%. He is a very nice kid, and he does participate so I am sort of tempted, but I don't know where to draw the line. Would you bump him up?
If he tries his best in class, I'd bump him up. I would give him some small assignment to do so that he doesn't feel like it was handed to him with no extra work.
I agree - I would as well. If it's that close and he's that motivated, I'd encourage that interest, motivation, and effort. It would be one thing to "give it away" and another thing to "bump" significantly be several points, but with .2% you're dealing with a difference so small that there's likely no statistically significant difference between 89.3 and 89.5 when you factor in measurement error of your assessments.
I think it depends partly on your school policy. At my school, I would be allowed to make an adjustment. A high school teacher in my district would not be allowed. to do so.
I would. I had a kid make a 99 in my class and was so upset they didn't get a 100. So I just gave them a 100. Good kid, they deserve it.
It would depend, is it an honors class or a regular class? If regular, I'd say, sure. But not honors. I'm at a competitive school. If the reason he was so close was because of extra credit, I couldn't justify (to myself) him being given an A that he did not earn which would put him on equal footing as someone that earned a 97 on his own. Wouldn't be fair to the kid with a 97. I would feel like total dirt if down the road the 89.3 kid won a scholarship that the 97 kid wanted. Or made the top ten when the other didn't.
The most important things to remember with grades are to be fair and consistent. If it is normally your policy to bump students who are close because of participation or other positive reasons, then do it. Just make sure you are consistent with the other students as well.
ITA. The only exception for me would be if there was an outlier grade that brought the grade down substantially. And a good reason for that lower grade.
I look at every borderline grade (usually within a point) and consider whether to bump up each student based on their work, preparation for class, participation, etc. For me, it really depends on what is lowering the student's grade. Is it one poor test (and the student has since shown mastery)? Or is the grade from a missing assignment or two?
(I think this is exactly the reason that we need to reconsider our traditional percentage-based grading scale. What's really the difference in student mastery between 89.3 and 89.5?)
This is why I believe all schools should just adopt standards-based report cards so we can measure on mastery instead of work ethic.
Dang! These are some interesting responses. With the pressure we're under in our school to have all our grades plot into a bell curve (And the kids knowing it because they see administration passing kids they know failed...so, they barely try) .7 is not even a blip on my radar, to be honest. If the highest actual average in my class is a 65, that becomes my "A"....65 is my new 95. If there's another one close, that's my second "A." If I have a couple in the 50s, they're my three or four "Bs", 50s would equal 80s, etc. I make sure I have those grades plotted in a bell curve with every class. Naturally, everyone has their own unique environment within the confines of their own school, so deciding to give someone a point, or .2 of a point may be a big deal to them. But in my case, giving 10, 20, 30 points or more to a final quarterly average is about as worrisome to me as a cloudy day.
This could make a difference in his GPA. Colleges are very competitive. Having a child that just began her freshman year, I know that every A matters. So, give the kid a break. Just by the fact that he is asking shows that he cares about his work and is putting forth effort. Yes, give him that point.
Which is exactly why I would NOT give him that point. It is hard to get into good schools. By giving him this edge to go forward, you've made it harder for the other kids that did much better than him.
I would bump him up. I see on college sylalbi and high school alike that "attendance, participation, and class contributions may affect grades on the borders"
We are highly discouraged to give grades with nines at my school. I always bump up unless I have a very good reason not to.
How old is he? I would be more prone to bumping a kid up if they were in Middle School. It's better than a kid I had come in after the grading period ended with an 87% and he was complaining that I should bump him up because I was the only B he had, and how could I give him a B, etc. etc. I said no of course, because one, he chose to come after the grading period had ended, two because it's an 87! and three, because I catch him chatting over me often in class. I checked his report card, and his claim that I was his only B was apparently a lie as well. So no guilt. I think you have to be careful with the bumping ups. I mean yes, at this stage in their lives it doesn't matter too much, and would be helpful to some of their futures if you just gave them a few points, but do it too often, or if they are able to do it in a lot of their classes, they go to college thinking they can complain to the professor and get their grades bumped up as well (which they can, I've done it multiple times -- but it's a bad habit to get into). It also contributes to the grade inflation that has been plaguing education recently.
Is bumping a grade from 89.3% to 89.5% really considered "grade inflation?" Personally, I'd bump up the grade. I always round up--not down. That's just me, though.
Again, for those arguing against bumping up, are you really confident that the margin of error is less than 0.2% in the grading system? Most standardized assessments have far more than that, and most grades are based on assessments that are far less psychometrically sound that many standardized assessments out there. Given that he's demonstrated effort in a variety of ways, I'm not seeing how allowing the student to complete extra work to earn a grade (89.5) that's already likely not statistically different than the one computed (89.3) is harmful?
He is in 10th grade math. I think what I will do is tell him to bring in a test where he thought I was too harsh with the grading, and demonstrate that he understands the problem. One or two points on a test should make that bump. Thanks for the advice.
. Tenth grade is an important year. He will be shopping for colleges next year. Think about the long term effects of that B. You are doing a good thing here. If he had an 85 that would be different. I could bet that you don't have kids asking often to help them out with a fraction of a point, because most don't care enough to question. It is nice to have the few that want the better grade and are willing to do something extra to get it..
I think you have a good plan. I don't have any real grades in kindergarten, but if I did, I would take a look at any grade ending in a 9.
No, because you already gave him extra credit to get from an 87 to an 89. Would you bump him from an 87 to an 89.5?
This is what I was thinking, too. And it's more like going from an 87 to a 90 if I understand correctly. I wouldn't do it because you already gave out the extra credit.
That's how I feel. Next grading period would you consider giving enough extra credit to bump a student from an 85 to a 90?
Well, as it turns out, my supervisor asked all of us to drop the lowest quiz grade for the first MP so doing that gave him the bump anyway and ended my dilemma.
I don't bump term grades, but I might for final grades (which is what colleges see). I also don't give extra credit opportunities.
Yes, although it did artificially inflate some grades. I would not have offered the extra credit had I known I would be dropping one. Oh well.
Our system allows us to bump students if we feel they deserve a little boost. I don't record a grade for participation, so that is where the "bump" would come from. I do not give extra credit work. When a student or parent asks if there is anything they can do to get a few extra points at the end of the grading period, I say "Yes, you can go back and complete the assignments you failed to turn in. No, I will not give a you new assignment when you failed to complete some of the regular assignments." I open most of my classes with a Bonus Question, which typically is worth 1 point. My CT used this system and would add the accumulated points to the lowest test grade for the quarter. Even if a student had earned 20+ "bonus points", that only raised their overall average by 1-2 total points in the end. A college professor of mine also allowed us to earn "bonus points" in class, only those points would be added directly to the NEXT test we took. I've adopted this policy as well. The kids may not earn as many points for each test as they would for the lowest test, but they get 3-4 test grades increased instead of just 1, so it actually helps their overall grade more. I always try to make sure the kids have had a chance to earn at least 10 bonus points for each test (usually more). That gives them the chance to improve every test by a full letter grade. Sadly, though, only 1-2 actually take full advantage of that opportunity.
