At my university, the undergraduate catalog defines grades this way: A -- excellent B -- good C -- average D -- barely passed F -- failed I -- incomplete
So, "C" is "average," eh? To check this definition I downloaded all grades for undergraduate courses for the just completed semester. Here is the distribution of final grades: A -- 38% B -- 30% C -- 18% D -- 7% F -- 7% I-- 1% Mode = A, Mean = B, Median = B. I have proposed that the catalog be updated to read this way: A - Average B - Barely average C - Could have been average if the student had attended class, read the book, completed the assignments, etc. D - did worse than Dubya F - Failed, but if the student begs enough for post hoc extra credit, this can be changed. I - I am still trying to decide whether to give the student an A after e put so much effort into persuading me it is not e's that e did not get an A and that I would be responsible for ruining e's life if I gave any grade other than an A. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Christopher D. Green [mailto:chri...@yorku.ca] Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 12:16 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] lazy American students Nicely stated, Chris. --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)