Low Standards
Posted by Stuart at 03:11 PM on August 16, 2003School continues to be fun and challenging for me, although since this is my second full semester, things are definitely easier this time around. (So far at least.)
It hasn't been all fun and games, though. Today, for example, was a bit of a disapointment for me. I turned in the final number grades for my pass/fail math class, but didn't turn in letter grades because it wasn't my job to decide where the pass/fail line would be drawn. Throughout the semester I tried to encourage my students to do as well as they could, insinuating that 60% would be a good cut-off for passing the class. Once the scores were tallied at the end of the semester, I looked them over and figured that maybe 50% would be an OK passing grade based on how my students performed.
Today I found out what was needed to pass the class. Want to guess? All you needed was 35%. THIRTY-FIVE PERCENT! The final exam was multiple choice so if you answer "C" for every question you have 25% already! So really all you have to do is know how to answer 10% of the questions correctly and pick C on everything else. Unbelievable. Needless to say I was disapointed, disheartened and unmotivated. Why try when all you need is 1 out of 3? Don't get me wrong, I don't want students to fail. But how can I encourage them to do their best when the standards are set so low?
One student (a good one) had to drop out of the class after the midterm. He made a "B" on the first test and a "C" on the mid-term. He didn't attend class after the mid-term, didn't do any homework, and didn't take the final. He still passed the class even though he has no idea what we talked about in the second half of the semester. Good for him, I suppose.
Unfortunately, I think it is. I have heard "Thai people are no good at Math" so many times it makes my head spin. Of course a statement like that is ridiculous. I think the real statement should be "Thai people (the Thai educational system) does not put that much emphasis on learning Math."
No, just for the preparatory math class, which is something of an exception. Unlike regular classes, the students only get a pass/fail grade rather than A/B/C/D/F.
In most classes, it usually takes something like a 50% score to get a D, 85-90% for an A. I agree with what Stuart said about the Prep Math class though.
Just wanted to point out that we do have some fairly decent and normal standards here.. even though the 35% thing for prep math is a bit of a disgrace.
best regards,
ari fleischer
"Ari" is right... A 35% passing score is not standard, it's just standard for Preparatory Math, it would seem. In almost all of my other classes my cut-off line is (usually) 60%.
oiy, well, I have horrid memories of my math classes in university where they graded on a modified curve.
It seems in the class I took, one needed about 79% to get a "D" and about 88% to get a "C" and about 97% to get an "A".
Of course, I can only think of two instances where I ever referred to a complex equation (and I just looked it up) in my work life.
Charles, you raise a good point. Is this math class really all that useful? Actually, yes, in the case of my students here in Thailand, it is very useful. Many of the kids in my classes will be inheriting their family business once they get a degree. When they are running that company and are computing the profit or loss, I hope they get better than 35% accuracy!
Even without inheriting the family business, math is very important, right? I'm not saying everyone should memorize and remember the quadratic equation their entire life, but everyone should at least have an appreciation for numbers and their relationships so that they can be productive citizens. How much National Debt is too much? How much money should my country spend to create a "regime change" in another country? Etc... :)
Is this the standard?