Letters to the Editor: 'Grade gambling' at BU

Grade deflation is mentioned in every article about the Student Union. While I am still not positive what it is, or how they will tackle it, I have experienced another grading phenomenon, "grade gambling," which I believe may also warrant Union attention.

Grade gambling is the chance numerous professors offer their students to improve their grades by wagering upon final exam performance. Students happy with their grades as calculated thus far can elect to sleep in, while poorly performing students can atone for past failure by taking the test at its normal weight, or perhaps even choose (before beginning) how much they would like it to count.

This is great if you have nothing to gain, or nothing to lose. As a student in the middle, the question gets tougher. If you are average to above-average all semester and are getting a decent but not spectacular grade, you would have to score well above your previous scores to improve your overall grade. Any score below your previous average will hurt you, thus lowering your grade below what it would have been. It seems unfair to have a narrower margin for improvement and greater risk, when you did better all along.

I believe a student who fails at first but learns the material over the course of the semester is just as deserving of high marks as those who did well all along. Education should not however, be a game of chance, where making the wrong wager can diminish the performance you have already demonstrated. All it takes is misreading a question, a few algebra errors, shifting your little bubbles down ...

Professors have suggested that they make this option available because they think their students like it - and some clearly do, but also because it can drastically cut the number of final exams they need to grade. This is an unacceptable reason to make exams optional. If a professor has too many tests to grade, he or she should bring in teaching assistants or in the future teach a smaller class.

Having another chance to demonstrate your understanding is a great idea, if it can only help you. Granted most people will elect to take it, but this is no different than a traditional, mandatory final. A "drop your lowest" exam might be a reasonable solution. Another good idea is having sections matching the content of prior exams that could replace the individual previous exams - only if they were better.

This is a complicated issue. Life itself is a perpetual determination of risk versus reward and is seldom ever fair. University courses, nonetheless, must try to be fair to all students and give each a grade that represents his or her knowledge. Otherwise, what do the grades mean? I propose students reflect upon how this issue has affected them, and bring their opinions to the Union. But for now, stop reading the FreeP and go study.

Good luck on finals everyone!

Howard Simpson ENG '07