Politics: Onward from New Hampshire

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Not Me
Ty - if the grading system requires the prof to limit the number of A's and if an objective standard is used to determine who gets an A and who doesn't (as is the case in science and math classes), that is just not so.

If a prof can give out an unlimited amount of A's and the grades are based on subjective standards (i.e., you get an A if the prof liked your paper), then I agree, grades are an artifact of the system. Typically, you get an A if the prof likes you. That is how humanties classes are graded.

But if there is a curve and an objective standard, then only 10% (or whatever the curve is) of the class can get an A and those who get the A's are those who get the highest number of correct answers when taking a test.

See you liberal arts majors may not realize this but in science and math classes there is a right answer and a wrong answer, and the correctness of the answer isn't determined by a prof's fancy. The grade you get in a science or math class isn't an artifact of the system. It is determined by whether you knew the right answer or not. See this is different from say an English lit class, where you literally just make shit up and if the prof likes the shit you made up, you get an A.

I am tempted to explain why you are wrong, but this has to be one of the silliest debates ever on this board. So I will just say that it's not easy to make up really good shit, even if Hank's posts make it look effortless. People don't see the long hours he puts in, refining his material until even the spelling mistakes are just so.