Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 3507
Submitted: May 22, 2017 at 2:54:12 PM
First Name: Evan
Last Name: Sambasivam
Student Number: 10148091
Email: 14eks@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: ECON
Level of Study: 3
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Request a review of instructors' decisions on grading of final examination and/or term work
Code: MUSC 102
Term: Winter
Year: 2017
Petition Category: Request a review of instructors' decisions on grading of final examination and/or term work
Instructor's Name: Kip Pegley
Component: Final
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,
I chose this music history course as an elective due to my extra-curricular passion in music - I have been studying piano and guitar extensively for the last 15 years. This course offered a unique foray into a discipline in which I have both a deep understanding and unique passion. I familiarized myself with all of the works, which resulted in me receiving between 80 and 87 on all of the tests throughout the year.
I studied quite extensively for the exam, and felt incredibly comfortable with the material. I felt just as comfortable writing the exam - I didn't expect to receive 100, but I certainly felt as if I had done more than a satisfactory job.
When I received my final grade, I was surprised to find a C. Not only did this not fall in line with how I felt I performed on the exam, but also seemed mathematically unlikely. Coming into the exam with an 83.7, I would have had to receive a 42.1 to end up with a final mark of 65. I understand that there is the distinct possibility that I did not perform as well as I had hoped, but a balance of probabilities would suggest that it is unlikely that my understanding of music dropped 41.6 between the final quiz and the exam.
Given that the test was a scantron, I realize that it is possible that the machine read my quiz incorrectly - even a smudge can read as the wrong answer.
I am writing this appeal to request that my quiz be graded manually to ensure that my mark reflects my work. If it turns out that I truly did receive a 42 on my final exam, then that is something that I will have to come to terms with. That being said, given the puzzling nature of this situation, if it turns out that my mark has been severely deflated due to machine error, then I would like to remedy the situation in any way possible.
I chose this music history course as an elective due to my extra-curricular passion in music - I have been studying piano and guitar extensively for the last 15 years. This course offered a unique foray into a discipline in which I have both a deep understanding and unique passion. I familiarized myself with all of the works, which resulted in me receiving between 80 and 87 on all of the tests throughout the year.
I studied quite extensively for the exam, and felt incredibly comfortable with the material. I felt just as comfortable writing the exam - I didn't expect to receive 100, but I certainly felt as if I had done more than a satisfactory job.
When I received my final grade, I was surprised to find a C. Not only did this not fall in line with how I felt I performed on the exam, but also seemed mathematically unlikely. Coming into the exam with an 83.7, I would have had to receive a 42.1 to end up with a final mark of 65. I understand that there is the distinct possibility that I did not perform as well as I had hoped, but a balance of probabilities would suggest that it is unlikely that my understanding of music dropped 41.6 between the final quiz and the exam.
Given that the test was a scantron, I realize that it is possible that the machine read my quiz incorrectly - even a smudge can read as the wrong answer.
I am writing this appeal to request that my quiz be graded manually to ensure that my mark reflects my work. If it turns out that I truly did receive a 42 on my final exam, then that is something that I will have to come to terms with. That being said, given the puzzling nature of this situation, if it turns out that my mark has been severely deflated due to machine error, then I would like to remedy the situation in any way possible.