Thursday, April 10, 2008

The joy of final course grades

A reader has kindly submitted this astounding email from their archives:
Subject: Grades

Dr. [Last Name],

I received my grades early this morning and I saw I got a C- in [your service course]. I don't know all of my grades for [course number] but this does not seem absurd. However, I am concerned about how [my best friend and co-major] managed to get a C+ in the class. Not to put [my best friend] down, but for me it's safe to say that my attendance, effort and grades were consistently better than [best friend]'s throughout the semester. The fact alone that I attended double the classes he did and turned in triple the amount of homeworks than he is grounds for a better grade in my opinion, at least the same! Unless he did substantially better than me on the final, I cannot possibly see how my grade is so much lower. Not to be an added burden, but I would appreciate it if you could justify this difference.

Thanks a lot,
[First Name Last Name]

My suggestion for a reply: "Oops, I guess your friend should have a C- too. I'll be sure to let him know you pointed this out."

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