Skip to main content

You are not logged in. Your edit will be placed in a queue until it is peer reviewed.

We welcome edits that make the post easier to understand and more valuable for readers. Because community members review edits, please try to make the post substantially better than how you found it, for example, by fixing grammar or adding additional resources and hyperlinks.

7
  • 36
    You can't fairly assign a grade that a student didn't earn other than the maximum (A, 100%, etc.) or, perhaps, "credit" (which wouldn't count towards their GPA). No student I know of would be understanding of the situation and accept the assignment of a random grade near their current average.
    – Bill Barth
    Commented Feb 23, 2015 at 14:26
  • 5
    @BillBarth And, further, you can't fairly assign the maximum as a grade either—that's completely unfair to those students who put in more effort and time to get a better understanding, and defeats the certification process.
    – wchargin
    Commented Feb 23, 2015 at 15:20
  • 12
    "Some students may rightly feel they are entitled to a higher grade, those same students will likely understand the situation." is the final sentence that I see on my screen. I don't see anything in your answer about retaking the exam.
    – Bill Barth
    Commented Feb 24, 2015 at 0:39
  • 12
    This is a good example of what can happen if you take matters into your own hands: in a situation like this, many people are going to be unhappy seemingly no matter what happens. So you need to kick the decision of what to do high enough up the administrative ladder that you are not involved in any blame or appeals process that may take place. This is not a time to shoot from the hip, and though I think this solution is especially bad, just about any solution that the department head comes up with on his own (e.g. give everyone A's) will cause complaints and receive scrutiny from above. Commented Feb 24, 2015 at 5:01
  • 5
    @Pete - Exactly; this is why deans get paid the big bucks.
    – J.R.
    Commented Feb 24, 2015 at 10:33