Grades- do instructors round up?

vmoh18 · May 15, 2009

75 at my school is failing, im pretty sure its the same at most schools. please explain how one can master and fail something at the same time?

I was being sarcastic. Anything below 80 at my school is failing. I believe the same as you.

Bicster · May 15, 2009

I was being sarcastic. Anything below 80 at my school is failing. I believe the same as you.

my apologies, sarcasm often gets lost in translation on forums.

~FutureNurse~ · May 15, 2009

I think something you need to learn (and quicky) is that it takes alot more than making an A on a test to be a nurse. It takes compassion (which you seem to be lacking in), it takes putting yourself in other's shoes. So what if some people can read a textbook and make an A on a test. While others study just as hard and still make a C. People are different, and have different life situations. You shouldn't be so judgmental, and call people "mediocre" when you really don't know anything about them or their life. Some people have learning disorders, or terrible test anxiety. Are you saying these people will not make as good a nurse as you will? Shame on you if you really think that. I hope that is not what you think,and I have just read/understood your statments wrongly. I don't understand why some people are like this. We are all going through the same thing. You think we would all look out for each other. Who knows?

vmoh18 · May 15, 2009

Well, I hate to bust your little bubble..but (at most schools) C DOES equal RN, and there is really nothing you can do about that now is there?

No there isn't. But as my CI told the students in our class what are you going to do when you are on the job when you are having to look everything up because you did not learn it while in school. You are going to have very angry coworkers and doctors yelling at you all the time.

Bicster · May 15, 2009

I think something you need to learn (and quicky) is that it takes alot more than making an A on a test to be a nurse. It takes compassion (which you seem to be lacking in), it takes putting yourself in other's shoes. So what if some people can read a textbook and make an A on a test. While others study just as hard and still make a C. People are different, and have different life situations. You shouldn't be so judgmental, and call people "mediocre" when you really don't know anything about them or their life. Some people have learning disorders, or terrible test anxiety. Are you saying these people will not make as good a nurse as you will? Shame on you if you really think that. I hope that is not what you think,and I have just read/understood your statments wrongly. I don't understand why some people are like this. We are all going through the same thing. You think we would all look out for each other. Who knows?

Ok, you keep working on compassion and putting yourself in other shoes, Ill be in the corner studying and knocking out those A's. We shall see who gets further.

~FutureNurse~ · May 15, 2009

lol---your poor soul! Darlin' I hate to tell you, but we have to keep an 80 at my school. So, I am still doing well. At least a B, and I have compassion. So--I think I will go further. God help the poor people who have to work with you.

bekindtokittens · May 15, 2009

In my nursing program there is no rounding.

76.99% = FAIL

This is clearly outlined in our nursing program handbook and in each class' syllabus. There have been people who have complained, but the instructors stood their ground and the students ended up repeating the class. There does have to be a line drawn. So what if I want an A but I have a 92.49%, should they round that too? After all, it's only 0.01% away from the rounding cutoff, right?

I see nothing wrong with not rounding, because it's getting something you didn't earn.

allnurses Guide · May 15, 2009

Depends entirely on your school. My grad school rounds up if it's over 0.5.

JakeyWakey · May 15, 2009

I missed an A- by 0.05% in my advanced med-surg class last semester. 89.95% I was begging on my hands and knees for them to round up, but our entire department has a policy that they don't round up. This semester I'm going to miss a B+ in Ob by 0.06 percent also!! I have a 86.94% and need a 87 for a B+!! AHHHH!! I'm a total type A personality! It kills me!!

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · May 15, 2009

Wow, this thread has bitter written all over it :argue:

Where I teach, we round up the final grade if it is over 0.5. It is the school policy, and not left up to the individual instructors. 80 is passing, so 79.5 gets rounded up to 80. 79.4 would not get rounded up. It is what it is. There needs to be a solid line. If you let the 79.4 pass, then it becomes 79.3, and so on. Can we round up for students to get an A?

Contrary to what you all believe, it is HEARTBRAKING for professors to see students fail by 1 point (or a fraction of a point). Especially when you know the students are trying so hard. But the reality is, not all of them are trying as hard. And not all of them are cut out to pass. If a student was carrying a failing average throughout the semester, and was depending on the final to pass, the odds of that happening are extremely thin. Not impossible, but very slim. If they could not get a 90 or better on the individual exams, how could they suddenly get a 90+ on a cumulative exam? These are often the ones who 'fail by one point', when in reality they needed more than one point on any given exam to boost their average.

libnat · May 16, 2009

i also like teachers who curve, not rounding up but normal gives an artificial inflation in a really tough/lot of people failing class so it doesn't matter.

Rylee2008, ASN, RN · May 16, 2009

They do round at my school. An A is a 93.5 or higher, but our assignments and papers do not count toward our grade unless you are passing with a 79.5 at the end of the semester. The rounding was just started this year due to the fact that not many A's were given out and with 80 being passing some students with 79.5 or higher weren't passing.