I’ll close my guest stint by musing on grading: what’s the current sentiment on the A+?
We don’t have the A+ at OCU, presumably because of past abuse. I see the abuse potential, sure, but doesn’t a grading norm that awards the top student in the class (and only the top student) an A+ make sense? It’d be a pretty easy way for a transcript reader to see excellence (and easy to explain on the transcript key). No?
Many thanks to the Prawfs gang, as always, for having me.
Posted by Brendan Maher on January 10, 2012 at 08:28 PM
Comments
Doesn’t the CALI award amount to an A+? I suppose I could give two CALI awards for the same class and call it a tie, although I never have.
Posted by: AnonProf | Jan 12, 2012 9:52:55 PM
I give an A+ rarely, and only if at least one of two criteria is met: (1) the student was head and shoulders above the rest of the class such that giving the student the same grade as the next-best performing students seems wholly inadequate, and/or (2) the student does incredibly well on the exam. I have, on occasion, given two students in the same class grades of A+
Posted by: Anon | Jan 12, 2012 3:57:53 PM
I use the A+ as a signal for booking the class, but more importantly, and therefore, less frequently, as: that exam was really quite impressive and instructive…
Posted by: Dan Markel | Jan 11, 2012 12:45:55 PM
Yes. I like the A+ in particular as a way to signal a student that “booked” the class.
Posted by: Jake Linford | Jan 11, 2012 12:02:06 PM