What would you do - bad grade on paper

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

So I am really writing this for my friend because I am out of ideas on what to tell her.

Goes like this, she wrote a paper that I proof read and thought it was a very good paper. When she turned it in, the teacher gave her a 42% citing that it lacked substance and critical thinking. The student did not think this was fair and asked that her paper be graded/reviewed by another staff member to basically see if she deserved that grade. The teacher got back to her today and said that she can either keep her original grade, or that she could take the other teachers grade that reviewed the paper but is not allowed to see that grade or any comments that were made by the instructor that reviewed it. Its a bad game of Deal or no deal is how I see it. Is it even fair to do that?

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I believe the deal is childish and somewhat meant to confuse and intimidate rather than fairly address her grievance. The student does not deserve this treatment. If the other instructor gave her paper a better mark, then she should receive that mark if that is the official decision. If the other way around, the other instructor recommended a lower grade, then she should receive the original grade. Either no review at all, stick with first grade, or allowances for grade change based on results of review. You can't have it both ways, which is what the instructor is trying to do. I wonder if he got the second instructor to collude with him to thwart the student.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Medsurg.

For me its a no brainer....how much worse could the "unknown" grade be??? I mean really.....if it's a 42 or a 36, is the difference in that grade really gonna make that much difference? Maybe I should first ask....is it 42 out of 100? If it is, go for the unknown grade, its a gamble yes but I can't imagine that it could be any worse and if it is how much more is it really going to hurt the overall average? If the grade is better than the original....BONUS!! On another note, I don't agree with the teacher putting your friend in this position at all, but that wasn't the question.

Anyway, JMHO!

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She should check to see what the school's policy on rereads is. We have guidelines for the steps to request a reread. The grade from the faculty member we request to reread is the grade we keep. I'm with pharmgirl though; how bad could it be?

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

There is no official policy on rereads, just final grade appeals.

She called up the head of our dept and said she was going to have a meeting with her. I told her to just take the other teachers grade but maybe she will get somewhere with the head.

These two have a history that stems from the last semester that climaxed with the instructor yelling at the student loudly in the halls of the hospital so we think it might have something to do with that.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.

You know, a couple of my classmates have been given very subjective criticisms...so subjective that they are unsure of how the instructor arrived at them, and therefore, they are also unsure of the behaviors necessary to improve.

I advised them to expect the "nursing process" to be used on them also. ASK the teacher, "How did you arrive at this judgement? What was your subjective and objective data for your assessment of me?" Yes, it puts the instructors on the spot, but unless some concrete behaviors are pointed out, there is no improvement that can possibly be made.

The same thing applies to your friend. Yes, she has now taken the route of the reread, but is it possible to go back to the original instructor and say, "I understand your assessment of my paper, but please show me the specific areas of my paper that led you to this conclusion." If she really did bomb on the paper, the teacher shouldn't have a problem with doing this. If she didn't really bomb the paper, and it's an interpersonal issue, I'm pretty sure a lot of hemming and hawing will be going on.

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I got chastised by a classmate one time for taking a course with an instructor known to be out there in left field. Unfortunately, stupid me did not know I should have avoided this person like the plague. Lo and behold, I found out why. If the student and the instructor have a history together, she should have avoided him like the plague.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.
I got chastised by a classmate one time for taking a course with an instructor known to be out there in left field. Unfortunately, stupid me did not know I should have avoided this person like the plague. Lo and behold, I found out why. If the student and the instructor have a history together, she should have avoided him like the plague.

Cant do that at our school. There is only one instructor per course so you HAVE to have that instructor no matter what. It is not the ideal situation trust me.

She has gone back to the original instructor asking for advice/clarification and she refuses to offer any insight to it. It really is just a childish game going on and it sucks to say the least.

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