Schools grading scale

ItsThatJenGirl, CNA · Dec 16, 2017

No it's not in the handbook and we weren't given a handbook during the orientation process. So from I'm gathering this is completely ok for my school have a grading policy like this

When were you given a handbook? We have to sign ours before we can start classes.

Is this a for-profit school?

And yes, it is completely okay for a school to have a grading policy like this. The school can actually do whatever it wants.

Livelaughlove72 · Dec 16, 2017

This is actually quite common. And most likely you were given this information during the admissions process. Schools typically require you to agree to abide by school policies as part of the registration process, you probably did sign something. College policies are published in the school's handbook or catalog which is available publicly, usually on the school's website.

caliotter3 · Dec 16, 2017

What it all boils down to is that their policy is their policy, and if you don't like it, you are free to go to another school. However, in the interest of reason, you should have been told the policy at the beginning of the program and you should have been given a handbook with the grading policy clearly stated.

CelticGoddess, BSN, RN · Dec 16, 2017

So I'm just trying to figure out a way to challenge my schools grading scale. They use a jupiter system and according the schools policy you have to have a cumulative grade of 78 on your exams before they add your out of class works, projects, and other assignments that you work so hard to get done in order to pass the class. Then if u don't get the 78 for ur exams they'll deduct the amount u would've got from your out of class assignments. Now is this fair to anyone? How could I fight this grading policy I'm not sure if this is legal or if this school have the right to grade like this?

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I have a couple of comments: As far as I am aware, there is no law (state, local or federal) that dictates what grading scale a nursing school has to use. The grading scale your school uses is actually more generous than my schools. You had to have an 80 to pass. We had to do class projects but they didn't count towards our grades at all. You don't do projects when you take NCLEX either btw.

Nursing school should not be about spoon feeding you facts. My instructors uses power points but it was expected that WE, the students, studies to understand the concepts. There wasn't enough time in the day to go over all the material, so they touched on it and made sure we didn't have questions.

And, as others have pointed out, if you can't maintain a 78% average, the grading scale and outside work is not your problem. You won't be given an option to do outside work to add to your score when you take NCLEX.

turtlesRcool · Dec 16, 2017

I'm not sure what you mean by "legal." Schools are free to set their own standards. Usually an accreditation organization oversees programs to make sure they meet minimum standards, but I don't know of any place that has been denied accreditation for being too rigorous.

Many schools have a higher passing grade than 78. For some programs a B- is a failing grade. You don't have a leg to stand on there.

It is pretty common to have courses be entirely, or almost entirely, test-based. I think my advanced med-surg had a midterm, a final, an ATI after the final, and then one little project/presentation that was worth 5% of my grade. That's it. Some of my other courses had smaller tests or quizzes sprinkled in here or there so we didn't have so much pressure on just a few big tests, but I don't remember there being any credit for classwork, and projects were minimal in my core nursing classes.

As for fairness, there's a difference between being truly unfair and just being difficult. Nursing school is meant to be hard. When you are working in a job where mistakes can cost someone his or her life, it's really important that you know the material well. I don't really want a nurse taking care of me who can't average more than a C+ on his or her exams. You ask if requiring at least a 78% is fair to anyone, and I think it's fair to the most important people - your future patients.

Ruixi13, BSN, RN · Dec 17, 2017

I do believe most nursing programs have something similar to this. My program requires a 75 average of exams to pass the course, even if you get an 80 in the course from assignments and other work you'll fail if your test average is a 74 or below.

KrCmommy522, BSN, RN · Dec 18, 2017

Nursing programs - any college program for that matter - can choose to grade however they like. Nursing schools are more competitive than most. I highly doubt that you were not informed of the grading scale - since you know about it, you must have been informed. I've never heard of a school not having you sign an agreement to the rules and policies - either during the admission process, orientation, or the first day of classes. As another poster said, if you just found this out now, then you MIGHT have a leg to stand on.

The school I graduated from, we had to have a cumulative of 75% on our exams before they even looked at our projects and homework. If we didn't get the cumulative 75% on our exams, we failed. Period. Yes, it's frustrating because you spend a lot of times sometimes on all that homework and all those projects, but those are really simply to help you learn the material better that you are going to be tested on.

My school also only used PowerPoints. The instructor's would lecture some, and the instructor's didn't even mention half of the stuff we were tested on during exams. There is not enough time to go over everything that we need to learn. All the instructor's can do is give us some important points and then they expect us to build on that during clinicals and by studying.

Well I spoke to a friend of mine who's a professor at another college and she said she never heard of a grading policy where you have to average a 78 cumulative exam grade before everything else is added. Then if you don't everything you've done is a zero and it's minus frm the grade you get. So if test grades cumulative is a 77 then they'll minus 12 points for everything else that you've done

The friend of your's who is a professor at another college must not know anything about nursing school grading policies. As you have read in the other poster's comments this is the norm for nursing schools. A cumulative of 78% on exams is around what every other nursing school has. Some schools have higher cumulatives (such as 80%), some have lower (such as 75%), but as you can see, it's all in the same range. You are expected to know the information well - after all, they are training you for lives to be in your hands! - which is why they expect such high standards. If you knew the information, getting a cumulative 78% on your exams wouldn't seem so crazy.

Instead of worrying about how to fight this policy, suck it up, focus on studying the material, doing well on the exams, and then you will pass. Or, find another nursing school and transfer - but I'm afraid you won't be happy with their policies either, since they are all pretty much the same!

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Dec 18, 2017

Instead of worrying about how to fight this policy, suck it up, focus on studying the material, doing well on the exams, and then you will pass[/Quote]
Sage advice!
OP, do you not agree that one who holds an RN's responsibility should be held to a high standard? If it were you or your loved one in that bed, wouldn't you want to know that your nurse had proficient knowledge aeb A's and B's in school?

KrCmommy522, BSN, RN · Dec 18, 2017

Nursing programs - any college program for that matter - can choose to grade however they like. Nursing schools are more competitive than most. I highly doubt that you were not informed of the grading scale - since you know about it, you must have been informed. I've never heard of a school not having you sign an agreement to the rules and policies - either during the admission process, orientation, or the first day of classes. As another poster said, if you just found this out now, then you MIGHT have a leg to stand on.
The school I graduated from, we had to have a cumulative of 75% on our exams before they even looked at our projects and homework. If we didn't get the cumulative 75% on our exams, we failed. Period. Yes, it's frustrating because you spend a lot of times sometimes on all that homework and all those projects, but those are really simply to help you learn the material better that you are going to be tested on.
My school also only used PowerPoints. The instructor's would lecture some, and the instructor's didn't even mention half of the stuff we were tested on during exams. There is not enough time to go over everything that we need to learn. All the instructor's can do is give us some important points and then they expect us to build on that during clinicals and by studying.
The friend of your's who is a professor at another college must not know anything about nursing school grading policies. As you have read in the other poster's comments this is the norm for nursing schools. A cumulative of 78% on exams is around what every other nursing school has. Some schools have higher cumulatives (such as 80%), some have lower (such as 75%), but as you can see, it's all in the same range. You are expected to know the information well - after all, they are training you for lives to be in your hands! - which is why they expect such high standards. If you knew the information, getting a cumulative 78% on your exams wouldn't seem so crazy.
Instead of worrying about how to fight this policy, suck it up, focus on studying the material, doing well on the exams, and then you will pass. Or, find another nursing school and transfer - but I'm afraid you won't be happy with their policies either, since they are all pretty much the same!

Just realized I was wrong about my cumulative it was 80%

AceOfHearts<3 · Dec 18, 2017

The only thing that factored into our grades at my school were the exams. We had other assignments that were graded and we had to do well enough to pass, but did nothing for our grades.

lehaley1989, ADN, RN · Dec 18, 2017

This is a pretty common grading policy. In my program, you have to meet 2 criteria to pass: an 80% exam score and 80% overall grade. Extra credit points are occasionally awarded, but are not added to your exam or overall grades until you have met both benchmarks. Meet one and not the other? You don't pass the class.

Sandpiper12, ADN, RN · Dec 19, 2017

My Fundamentals class had a policy that they don't average in anything else until you have a 75 exam average, and if you don't maintain a 75 exam average, you do not pass the course - which in our case means you're out of the program, because it's only offered every 2 years when the program starts.

They can grade however they want, I feel like a 75 average is very fair, honestly.