College Crew: Ever have a class where the average is an F.

[TuxDave]

Meh, I took a Linear Algebra class in the wrong section so I got the nasty professor and not the easy one. The easy professor had an average of 95% while mine sat at a pitiful 20%. Luckily I still nabbed a 95% average. WRECKING THE CURVE! Yeaaaah.

 

[j00fek]

Originally posted by: WW

Originally posted by: StatsManD
He even tells us, he doesn't expect anyone in the class to know how to do most of the problemss.

then he should get an "F" for teaching ability

I had classes like that too....you'd look at the test and think it was for a different class than the one you were taking

QFT

 

[Syringer]

Originally posted by: StatsManD
I should point out this is before the curve. He will curve the class to a B.

Then the average is not really an F then.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

I had a class in Strengths of Materials where a 34% was an A for your final grade.

 

[boredhokie]

It's a poorly structured class then. Classes should be designed for success, not failure. The prof is probably just stroking his ego and overpriced PHD.

 

[Kelvrick]

First day of class.

First words out of Professor's mouth.

Him: Hi, I'm Professor Joe Bob, 90% of you will fail this class. No, this is not a weeder class.

Us: WTF? :Q

 

[neutralizer]

Yeah, I have. It's called organic chemistry.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: Garet Jax

Originally posted by: StatsManD
He even tells us, he doesn't expect anyone in the class to know how to do most of the problemss.

They why the #&*%@! is he wasting his and everyone else's time?

yea no sh|t. i hated classes like that, its just as bad where the damn instructor reads from the book word for word and nothing else. its like story time.

 

[fleshconsumed]

Originally posted by: mugs
I did have a class where only 4 people passed (without a curve). I got an A (without the curve). If you decide that failing is acceptable because the professor will curve you to a B or C, then you deserve to fail. If you work your ass off to pass despite the difficulty, then you deserve to pass. "It's too hard" is a high school excuse. If you're not understanding the material, do what it takes to rectify that situation. Get a tutor. Talk to him during office hours. Doing as well as everyone else in the class is fine and all, but if you're failing tests and homework assignments that cover the class material, then you're not understanding the class material.

You probably haven't taken really WTF classes. I had several classes where average on the midterms or finals was 40-60 points, but those tests were doable and I usually performed way above average. However one of these classes really stands out. The teacher was absolutely horrible, supposedly PhD, worked at microsoft, made buttloads of money, but absolutely failed as a teacher. Couldn't explain anything, after first ten minutes she would start going off ten different off-topics and nobody could keep up with her. First test had 30 percent average, second test and final 50 (I suppose she made them easier because 30 points were too low). The last homework assignment, only several people turned in at all, because no one knew how to do a single problem on it. To my knowledge she is still teaching and students still universally hate her.


PS, funny that after taking classes like these I hate classes with no curve, especially 300-400 level classes.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: StatsManD
He even tells us, he doesn't expect anyone in the class to know how to do most of the problemss.

Then what's the point of assigning them?

 

[FallenHero]

I had an honors biology course in college like that. I had a 40% in the class and got an A.

First week of class he pretty much covered all of my high school science classes...bio, chem, A&P, and a fair amount of physics.

 

[eLiu]

Do you understand what a curve is? If he's curving the class to a B, then the average is not an F! The average would then be a B! It doesn't matter what the grades are pre-curve (unless of course there is no curve).

I had a thermodynamics class last term where passing was a 60-65, but the test averages were in the high 40s to low 50s. So if you made average, you failed.

There was technically no curve, but most poeple who would've gotten F's received Ds instead. Gift from god right? lol


My real analysis class typically shows a double-guassian grade distribution (one at A, one at C). The amusing thing is that it isn't even a sketchy distribution... the difference between the 2 humps is sufficient to make lettering obvious. The IMO/MOP students make As. There are some Bs. The regular students make Cs. Most of the Ds and Fs drop the class (it is the most dropped class here). I got a B in it... very proud of myself. The professor actually told me that he was [pleasantly] surprised, as he expected me to get a C or worse. sweet

 

[DefDC]

I had an Archeology class that was stupidly difficult. I aced anything that was applied (like computer work), but the tests over the lectures were impossible. I swear the prof was giving tests from a different lecture and a different book. There were around 100 students in the class, and for 2/3 tests, I just started randomly marking bubbles on the scantron.... I got a C on most of them, and passed with a C.

Disappointing, because I was actually interested in the material...

 

[Garet Jax]

Originally posted by: eLiu
Do you understand what a curve is? If he's curving the class to a B, then the average is not an F! The average would then be a B! It doesn't matter what the grades are pre-curve (unless of course there is no curve).

I had a thermodynamics class last term where passing was a 60-65, but the test averages were in the high 40s to low 50s. So if you made average, you failed.

There was technically no curve, but most poeple who would've gotten F's received Ds instead. Gift from god right? lol


My real analysis class typically shows a double-guassian grade distribution (one at A, one at C). The amusing thing is that it isn't even a sketchy distribution... the difference between the 2 humps is sufficient to make lettering obvious. The IMO/MOP students make As. There are some Bs. The regular students make Cs. Most of the Ds and Fs drop the class (it is the most dropped class here). I got a B in it... very proud of myself. The professor actually told me that he was [pleasantly] surprised, as he expected me to get a C or worse. sweet

The only time classes should be curved is when they are being introduced. After a couple of iterations, the curves should stop.

Either the teacher sucks, the students are dumb or the material is too difficult. All of the problems are fixable. A curve isn't the answer.

Students pay to go to school to learn. If everyone fails, then what have they learned?

Same can be said if everyone gets an A+.

 

[Kanalua]

Yes...before the curve...

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Man, no wonder the people with college degrees can't do their job for sh!t while the people that didn't go do all the work. If you're making 40% and passing, we are doomed. I don't want a doctor that got a 40% on his finals to work on me. F that. I want to keep all my parts were they belong. The colleges need to start failing people that don't meet the grade. I didn't go to college but when I was in high school if you didn't make a minimum of 70% in a class, you didn't pass and had to do it over again.

This really goes to show that our education system is screwed beyond help, because they'll just pass people to keep them in school and to make money off of them.

 

[sourceninja]

I teach a class on basic linux usage and administration. It covers a minor howto on bash, basic commands, basics services, how to use them. How to use gnome, how to compile software, etc. The class has no homework, all labs are done in class with me there, and and 3 tests and 1 final. The questions on the 3 tests come directly from the book and are multiple choice or true/false. I review the book questions directly before the test, they are allowed to use notes and their computer to answer the questions.

8 out of 11 kids are either failing or have a D. I do not grade on a curve.

 

[GTJoe]

I had a Physics class where the average was in the 30's for the tests.

Originally posted by: George P Burdell
It was a math course with a 5-test average in the mid 20s. The highest score in the class was was 40. The professor said he would add 20 points to everyone's average, which meant only one person made a D, while the rest failed. We were left with no choice but to file a complaint, and the department asked the professor to STFU and make a decent curve.

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
Man, no wonder the people with college degrees can't do their job for sh!t while the people that didn't go do all the work. If you're making 40% and passing, we are doomed. I don't want a doctor that got a 40% on his finals to work on me. F that. I want to keep all my parts were they belong. The colleges need to start failing people that don't meet the grade. I didn't go to college but when I was in high school if you didn't make a minimum of 70% in a class, you didn't pass and had to do it over again.

This really goes to show that our education system is screwed beyond help, because they'll just pass people to keep them in school and to make money off of them.

Ummm, okay? I graduated college and there was a curve, but at the place I am working at, I am doing quite a bit of the work.

Some classes are just made to be more challenging than required. Some professors go beyond the curriculum to push the students to learn as much as they can. And the people who fail the average bell curve still fail. It is the ones who go over the average bell curve who pass.

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: sourceninja
I teach a class on basic linux usage and administration. It covers a minor howto on bash, basic commands, basics services, how to use them. How to use gnome, how to compile software, etc. The class has no homework, all labs are done in class with me there, and and 3 tests and 1 final. The questions on the 3 tests come directly from the book and are multiple choice or true/false. I review the book questions directly before the test, they are allowed to use notes and their computer to answer the questions.

8 out of 11 kids are either failing or have a D. I do not grade on a curve.

Is this at a college/university or a technical school? There is a difference.

The college I went to pushed most undergrad students to go to grad school. Some schooling is totally based off of training the person for a specific job, some schools train the students so that they can do the job or they can further their schooling. There is a difference.

 

[erub]

Originally posted by: eLiu
Do you understand what a curve is? If he's curving the class to a B, then the average is not an F! The average would then be a B! It doesn't matter what the grades are pre-curve (unless of course there is no curve).

I had a thermodynamics class last term where passing was a 60-65, but the test averages were in the high 40s to low 50s. So if you made average, you failed.

There was technically no curve, but most poeple who would've gotten F's received Ds instead. Gift from god right? lol


My real analysis class typically shows a double-guassian grade distribution (one at A, one at C). The amusing thing is that it isn't even a sketchy distribution... the difference between the 2 humps is sufficient to make lettering obvious. The IMO/MOP students make As. There are some Bs. The regular students make Cs. Most of the Ds and Fs drop the class (it is the most dropped class here). I got a B in it... very proud of myself. The professor actually told me that he was [pleasantly] surprised, as he expected me to get a C or worse. sweet

What's IMO/MOP??

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: fleshconsumed

Originally posted by: mugs
I did have a class where only 4 people passed (without a curve). I got an A (without the curve). If you decide that failing is acceptable because the professor will curve you to a B or C, then you deserve to fail. If you work your ass off to pass despite the difficulty, then you deserve to pass. "It's too hard" is a high school excuse. If you're not understanding the material, do what it takes to rectify that situation. Get a tutor. Talk to him during office hours. Doing as well as everyone else in the class is fine and all, but if you're failing tests and homework assignments that cover the class material, then you're not understanding the class material.

You probably haven't taken really WTF classes. I had several classes where average on the midterms or finals was 40-60 points, but those tests were doable and I usually performed way above average. However one of these classes really stands out. The teacher was absolutely horrible, supposedly PhD, worked at microsoft, made buttloads of money, but absolutely failed as a teacher. Couldn't explain anything, after first ten minutes she would start going off ten different off-topics and nobody could keep up with her. First test had 30 percent average, second test and final 50 (I suppose she made them easier because 30 points were too low). The last homework assignment, only several people turned in at all, because no one knew how to do a single problem on it. To my knowledge she is still teaching and students still universally hate her.


PS, funny that after taking classes like these I hate classes with no curve, especially 300-400 level classes.

This class - did it have a textbook?

 

[Scarpozzi]

Originally posted by: cRazYdood
I had a digital circuits class that was pretty similar. The homework wasn't too difficult, but the exams were horrible.

I took a digital circuits class like that and made a 60 on the first exam, a 39 on the second, and didn't bother showing up for the third.

I took the class again a few years later and made an A. I think I made a 96 on the first exam, 95 on the second and 91 on the third. It helps to know what to expect on the exams when it comes to things like that. My Operations Management exam this semester was a lot like the Circuits because it was all specific jargon and equations that you wouldn't normally know without some book or reference. Extremely hard to test on unless you practice a lot before hand. I usually suggest 16-20 hours of studying for those kinds of exams.

 

[jman19]

Yup, I had a real (R^n) analysis course where people were literally laughing during the final... it was so hard that I thought I was going to drop from a B to a D on the test, but fortunately there was a nice curve on it (don't think anyone would have passed the final without it).

 

[cloude27]

yes