grades
Should you get a 'B' just for attending?
Common Grade concerns after receiving week 1 or week 2 grades
questions on grades. General notes:
A "B" is hardly time to panic. A’s should be harder to get so they retain their value when you do get one. Remember, B is “good”. Nothing wrong with good. There are things you can do to take it up to excellent and I hope in my crits I address those things.
Participation – I am encouraging everyone to expand upon comments during the week and spend a little more time there.
Student example that possibly gets docked a couple of points:
“You did a good job demonstrating your understanding of symmetry. I like
the two examples you selected, the chair and the lamps. Interior design
is a great field and I agree with your statement that symmetry adds to
a rooms balance.“
This is basically a “good job” response. We see in essence, “good”, “like”
and “great”...
You would want to expand on those comments.
Example (from the top of my head): “I like the two examples you selected, the chair and the lamps. The chair is centered in the room and provides a visual anchor due to its size and color. The lamps, symmetrical, flank the chair and provide a dynamic counterpoint to the heavier chair, allowing the eye to move from ground level to eye level.”
I appreciate all student concerns - remember, I was a student for many,
many years and I HAD to get A's, and was disappointed when I didn't.
But in hindsight the anxiety wasn't worth it, and actually I probably deserved
those B's.
It is encouraging to know some of you want to know more about my grading. That means you care. Let me know if you have any more questions and we can go over any issues (:
Here's another take on it -
Grades
Nothing wrong with a B. B is "good". A course where everyone is getting an A usually has something going wrong - grade inflation, for example. Often, although you are happy with the GPA you may not be getting your money's worth in feedback and it will hurt you in the job market later, or when you are putting together your portfolio.
An A is 'excellent' in every way. Harder sometimes to get - but not always - I can assure you that some of these assignments are very doable and with a little creativity can get you an A.
A C? Usually it could be 'good' but there issues with presentation, or understanding of the material.
D? Poor. We can all recognize poor work. And believe me, I have done poor work myself! (:
F? You are missing class and assignments, posting late work, not participating. Usually it goes along with factors (some out of our control) such as maturity, time, work, family...
Stay in contact with me for ANY issues that keep you from posting. I have
no way of knowing if you are the brightest and most responsible person alive
or a complete slacker (:
So stay in touch - I can be pretty flexible with life events - they happen
to everyone. But I'm very inflexible when you drop out of sight or post late
without contacting me.
Sometimes things happen beyond our control - and if you find that an illness, personal issue, financial issue hinder your work it may be that I have no more flexibility in accepting late work or excessive absences - but let's not cross that bridge unless we need to - you will know what your priorities are in a crisis - just keep me in the loop (:
A 100 to 92
A- 91.9 to 90
B+ 89.9 to 88
B 87.9 to 82
B- 81.9 to 80
C+ 79.9 to 78
C 77.9 to 72
C- 71.9 to 70
D+ 69.9 to 67
D 66.9 to 60
F 59.9 and below