Rant About Grading Schemes

Ok, I admit, the rant you're about to read will sound ridiculous. It was triggered by something insignificant, however it has larger implications which concern me.

Today I received the break down of my grade in my fourth year psychology seminar class. Ten percent is participation marks, of which I received 9. Yes, 90% is a great mark (see previous blog post) BUT I was the student in the class who participated in all discussions and attended every class. I participated more than ANY other student in the class. Others agreed with me.

So, I thought that even though it was one silly percentage point, I should still argue for 10/10 since I was the most deserving of that mark. I presented my case and was met with the most ridiculous resistance I'd ever come across. The professor argued that he must uphold university standards and that a 7 meant I was good, an 8 meant I was great and a 9 was an A+.

I counter argued with the idea that it should not be impossible to achieve a perfect grade, espeically within a participation grade. Participation marks, in every other class, are completion marks. If you do what's asked of you, you get full marks. Furthermore, any other professor would have given me the extra point simply because a) I actually cared enough and bothered to argue it b) I had good reason and c) it's not a radical enough change in marks to care.

And yet he refused.

I don't care if I get that one percentage point, however I do care about the principals underlying that judgement and about how poorly I was treated in this situation. It should never be impossible to obtain perfect marks. If no one can achieve above 9 out of 10, it should be out of 9. Holding students back simply because you feel uneasy with perfect marks is no excuse. Set aside your personal issues and award the marks that the student(s) deserve(s).

Schizophrenia

Do you ever find yourself liking things for ridiculous reasons? I decided I loved the song Schizophrenia by Jukebox the Ghost (incredible band by the way) but...despite the song actually being really really good, I think I like it that extra little bit solely because it's entitled Schizophrenia, a major psychiatric disorder/disease that is of particular interest considering I am a psychology major.

Jukebox the Ghost manages to create a sound that almost perfectly matched my conception of the disease. I've never been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but I imagine if I did, I'd feel pretty cracked out a lot of the time and extremely conflicted. Now, because of my lack of diagnosis, I can't tell you it's accurate...though I do know a few people I could ask...BUT either way, it's a wonderful song and I highly recommend you take a listen.

One piss-off though: I'm Canadian, and despite being on tour with the Bare Naked Ladies, which are hugely popular in Canada, I couldn't find a tour date for Toronto. Tsk tsk.

So, dear reader, have you ever discovered you liked something mainly because of some more or less insignificant detail?

Why is 91 so much better than 89?

Today I received my mark for a take-home midterm I wrote a few weeks ago. The mark was 91%, which is a fantastic grade, however, only slightly above normal. So why was I so much more happy with that mark than I would be if I'd received say, an 89?

Well, I could shrug it off as just being a good mark and leave it at that. But no, the nerd is not capable of letting things go. You see, if my usual grade for a class was an 80, and I received an 82, that's hardly worth celebrating, it's simply good for a sigh of relief. However if I normally received an 89 and instead received a 91, somehow that change is much more significant than the previous 3-point difference.

I have not researched this topic (yet), however I do know that some research has been done concerning numbers and our individual perceptions differ across digits. Not only do the individual digits contribute to our perceptions, I would wager that an important factor is crossing the threshold between 80s and 90s (or 70s and 80s, etc). When the first digit changes, as opposed to simply the second digit, it suddenly seems as though more change has been achieved, and thus more achievement.

This phenomenon demonstrates yet another way that people are irrational, however, it does make good sense. More visual change intuitively seems like it would lead to more actual change. This is not so, but it seems like it would be a useful tool; both in the sense that this perceptual anomaly may be a good mental short-cut in most cases and in the sense that it could be exploited, and has been within marketing and business.

Should this be exploited by professors in order to gain the trust and approval of their students? Ensure that initial grades are in the upper portion of a range, just on the cusp of the next higher grade, and then ensure that the students' marks cross that threshold. What other possible implications could there be? I invite readers to comment on any research they may be aware of or any ideas they have on the subject.