Policy on Grades

Most students are very concerned about their grades. Many of them believe that this concern helps them to succeed academically, but most grade-consciousness actually interferes with learning (and hence, ironically, with getting good grades). Because the grade is merely an external motivator, it tends to undermine the attention, care, interest, and fun that makes for effective learning – and it is the effectiveness of your learning that the grade measures. Making a fetish of grades is a bit like marrying for money; lots of people do it, but it’s a bad idea for many reasons.

The following description of what grades mean in this course is to help you moderate your concern about grades. It is useful and legitimate to understand an instructor’s grading policy and plan a general strategy, but your grade will ultimately reflect your interest and performance in the coursework, the class process, and the subject matter, not your attentiveness to grades.

F. These are surprisingly difficult to get. Even a student who has difficulty with the course material and dislikes the professor can generally avoid failure through diligence. Attending class as well-prepared as possible, consulting with the professor to pinpoint difficulties, responding to criticism, and putting written work through extra drafts in advance of due dates almost always keeps the F at bay. On the other hand, lack of preparation or attendance, not turning in assignments on time, and avoiding confrontation with the problem can lead to failure.

D. A grade of D represents only a minimal level of understanding and skill with the course material, and usually reflects some problems in committing to the time and effort a college course demands. It is not, however, a failing grade; it represents some rudimentary learning and effort on the part of the student, and while it is generally unsatisfactory to both students and professors, it is not an insult to anyone’s intelligence.

C. Few people like to think of themselves as average, but most of us perform most tasks at roughly an average level of proficiency. A course grade of C sometimes represents really good scholarly work that is inconsistent or lacks diligence, but often it simply reflects solid and reliable average work, in which there is no shame. Even a very good student may sometimes get a C in a challenging course, reflecting honest effort and respectable but modest accomplishment.

B. B grades represent reliably above-average work, or excellent but somewhat inconsistent performance. Unlike the grading policies in some high schools, a B in a college course is not a reward for potential or personality, but a reflection of genuine achievement that goes well beyond basic expectations for one or more course elements. Earning a B in a college course is (and ought to be) very challenging.

A. Work that earns an A is excellent overall, with no major weaknesses. It generally shows some well-developed talent for the subject-matter, and an imaginative passion to explore it further. Student work by the end of the course is on the whole clear, precise, and well-reasoned. A-level students are generally able and disposed to offer sustained analyses of competing viewpoints within the field of study, and are sensitive to important implications of their thinking. They also tend to be helpful to and considerate of others in the learning process.

(adapted from the Foundation for Critical Thinking)