dennis roberts ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote:
: At 11:09 PM 12/25/99 +0000, Jerry Dallal wrote:
: >I agree about respect. Respect and grades are two different things.
: >In graduate school, at least under my system, an A means this student
: >has given evidence of future success as a doctoral degree candidate.
: even on christmas day ... after eating WAY too much ... i challenge this
: statement. i doubt very seriously that the A means that the student WILL be
: successful in becoming a doctoral candidate
<snip>
: ... it could be a very SMALL and partial indication of what the student
: might do later ...
I think you're reading too much into my post. I said "evidence".
Perhaps, I should have said "some evidence". The question arose
"why grade on performance rather than effort?" This is an old
question. During the 60s, it was responsible for the Pass/Fail
system of grading.
So, why are grades necessary?
One way they are still very important is
for advising students whether to continue their studies,
in particular, whether to go on for the doctoral degree.
A string of As suggests the knowledge and ability are there.
Graduate Cs are warning signs that must not be ignored. They
must be addressed. There could have been personal problems that
affected performance. The course might be irrelevant to a
student's area of research. But it is unfair to
students to allow them to invest years of their lives
in a quest for which there is strong evidence that they
could be unsuccessful. It is unfair to the system
because of the blow to overall morale that
occurs when things start falling apart.
Letter grades can be used to help guide potential candidates only
if they are based on accomplishment rather than effort.
Besides, students from my university have a well-deserved
reputation for giving their best effort all the time.
There's the old joke about asking a soldier to jump and
getting the reply, "How high"? Here, students don't ask.
They jump *as high as they can*...every time. This is especially
true in my progam, where students are paying a great deal of
tuition for the skills to follow certain, low-paying, low-profile
but highly satisfying careers. You have to be dedicated to your field
to come here. They come prequalified in the effort category.
I feel honored to teach them. Many students
do more for humanity in a summer intership than I will ever
accomplish in a lifetime. I tell myself I earn small points
by making them more effective at what they do. Still, some
are better suited to go on for the doctoral degree than others.
Part of my job is to send the right signal from my perspective.
