MA 265 Spring 2010 Walther Discussion grades - Rhea

I am against the plus/minus system. I think that the disadvantages of getting a '-' greatly outweigh getting a '+', especially in the instance of getting an A- as opposed to an A. Using the plus/minus system also makes calculating a GPA more difficult and time consuming. I think all classes should stick to the traditional A/B/C/D/F system, to make it easier on everyone.

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I am for plus minus grades. I seem to always be on the cusp of an A...

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I think the plus and minus system is a double ended sword. Pluses can be good to boost any grade and boost anyones gpa; however, minuses can destroy a grade. B- is just as bad as a c. I heard they may do something for A+ though...

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I'm not so concerned about plus-minus system. I would like to think that a grade of A- is as good as a grade of A.

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I am for the plus minus system. I think that the people who try a little harder to get a B+ instead of a B should be rewarded for thier hard work and some should be given a minus if they dont try as hard as others. However, I do agree with the person above that minuses can hurt grades even though you try your best. So i propose just a plus system...

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I think that the plus minus system is good for some people and less for others. For those who generally get A's, it seems to not be as benificial becasue there is no reward for an A+, only the penalty of a minus. I think for others, though, it is definatly benificial and provides good incentive.

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Is there a real discussion about just a plus system? That would be great.

I do not like the plus minus system. Naturally I would try to do the least amount of work to get the appropriate grade. So if I want a 4.0 GPA then I try hard enough to get a 90% or whatever, no harder. So with the plus minus system the grade cutoffs are closer together so there is not as much slack off room!

I am not a big fan of the plus minus system. It always seems to hurt grades more than it helps them. But after reading one of these comments about proposing just a plus system, I'm all for that.

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Personally I am for the plus/minus system. I always seem to be borderline with my grades. I also agree with the statement that people who work extra hard deserve a B+ compared to the people who don't put as much effort in. However, I also think that if they are gonna have A- then they must have something to benefit those people who get an A+. Its not fair to hurt people who get low A's and not reward those who get high A's.

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I have no problem with the plus or minus system. To me it seems that the grades always end up to even out, whether you are on the border of earning a higher grade or a lower grade.

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I am for the plus minus system for many reasons. One is the fact that it separates students into a much wider group, sorting out the top of the grade from the bottom of the grade much more distinctly. For example, someone getting a 97% versus someone getting a 90%. The person getting the 97% should be rewarded with a higher GPA grade since they got a higher percentage grade. Second of all, it allows more students to get a more of a median grade, it allows the outstanding to shine, and the people just on the border of failing to pass.

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The plus/minus system to me seems like little more than additional bookkeeping that isn't always needed. If in fact the pluses and minuses average out in the end, why implement them at all, especially if the incredible A+ is worth just as much as a still impressive A?

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I think the plus minus system is good. It's been beneficial for me, but I do understand why it bothers some people. I guess I've just been on the better end of the scale.

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I think plus/minus system is very beneficial in accessing a student's actual standing in the class. It is a calculated differentiation of student's grades. Having plus/minus grading system reduces the huge differences in scores but having the same grade. For ex. a person getting 100 on the exam and other getting 90 on the exam are not at the same level, but without plus/minus grading system would kep them at the same level. Having plus/minus grading system is helpful in providing equal opportunity and grades.

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I think plus and minus system is very effective, but I believe that the margin of plus and minus needs to be smaller than the the regular grade. For example, B- is 80-82, B is 83-86, and B+ is 87-89, so that the grade would better reflect the person performance and maximize the benefit of this system. Also, I believe that A+ should have a higher grade point that 4.0 if A considered to be 4.0.