i'm being pissed off and giving my friends 0 eprops, but i'm so impressed by your grades that i'll change my policy.  however, i still want to cuss: fuck shit ass cunt dick worm stink rot bitch cock.

@Emancip8 and @shelly100 - as an instructor, i get really frustrated with grading.  first, i'm fairly certain it is *impossible* for an instructor to discriminate between an 83 and an 87; the process of grading is simply not that precise. for instance, there are different types of mistakes (mechanical, grammatical, computational, conceptual).  a person could submit an essay, with lots of distracting punctuation; that still makes a unique original. and well-defended, argument. moreover, the traditional point system is F:0-59, D:60-69, ... A:90-100.  that is, even though it *appears* to be a 100-point scale, we only really grade in the top 40 points (intructors rarely give Fs).  it's all a farce.

worse, institutions end up forcing instructors to give lots of As (by curving) for reputation.  harvard, for instance, is notorious for having a very high average GPA among its student body.  at berkeley, the percent of students *required* to receive an A is higher for grads than for undergrads, for seniors than for juniors, and so on.  the result?  an A has lost its meaning.

this is why i adopt a holistic approach to grading.  the finest resolution i give is 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (0 = assignment not attempted).  an average grade of about 3 results in a B for the class, which means "Meets or exceeds all goals; presents a central idea; above average."  it's actually a very good grade to get.

i hate the american grading convention.  i also hate how much emphasis we put on grades.  often, grades do not reflect conceptual understanding, learning progress, etc.  this is why i advocate self-paced learning (but sadly cannot practice it just yet...); the student is only allowed to complete a class when s/he has mastered the necessary skills.  hence completion implies understanding, whereas, in the traditional system, completion means almost nothing (even when accompanied by a good grade).

ugh.

end{rant}