Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 8333
Submitted: November 16, 2021 at 5:03:24 PM
First Name: Emily
Last Name: Gauvreau
Student Number: 20074874
Email: emily.gauvreau@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BCOMP
Plan: BMCO
Level of Study: 4
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Request a review of instructors' decisions on grading of final examination and/or term work
Code: CISC 221
Term: Fall
Year: 2021
Petition Category: Request a review of instructors' decisions on grading of final examination and/or term work
Instructor's Name: Yuanzhu Chen
Component: Midterm 2
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: I have already had a discussion with my professor to understand the reasoning in their marking scheme and admitedly I still believe it to be unfair. I therefore reached out to the undergraduate assistant Karen Knight as well as the undergraduate chair Juergen Dingel and they suggested the next step be this appeal submission.
The professor made the decision for our midterm that only the final answers matter and the reasoning which a student chooses to get there is not allotted part marks. This statement means to me that it matters more than a student memorizes the answers of previous questions, rather than demonstrate an understanding of the class material.
For context, I just wrote Midterm 2 for CISC 221 that had a total of 15 marks. The first question was worth 6 marks (40% of the grade) and the second was worth 9 marks where 3 marks was for 2a and 6 marks for 2b. The professor has decided not to award any part marks for the questions except 2a, which means if your final numbers/answers are incorrect, even though the entire step-by-step process is correct, you can earn a maximum of 20% for part 2a, exclusively. Considering exams are meant to test your understanding of the material rather than your ability to memorize results, it does not make much sense to me.
The first midterm focused on material that was not emphasized in class resulting in a class average of 30%. After much discussion with the Professor they made the decision to bell curve the exam with each student gaining an additional 30% on their grade. This therefore brought the class average to just above a passing grade.
My experience with both of these midterms makes me very concerned in regards to the marking format of the final exam and my ability to be successful in this course.
I am reaching out through this appeal in hopes to resolve the midterm 2 grading scheme as well as document the scenario should the exam produce the same result.
The professor made the decision for our midterm that only the final answers matter and the reasoning which a student chooses to get there is not allotted part marks. This statement means to me that it matters more than a student memorizes the answers of previous questions, rather than demonstrate an understanding of the class material.
For context, I just wrote Midterm 2 for CISC 221 that had a total of 15 marks. The first question was worth 6 marks (40% of the grade) and the second was worth 9 marks where 3 marks was for 2a and 6 marks for 2b. The professor has decided not to award any part marks for the questions except 2a, which means if your final numbers/answers are incorrect, even though the entire step-by-step process is correct, you can earn a maximum of 20% for part 2a, exclusively. Considering exams are meant to test your understanding of the material rather than your ability to memorize results, it does not make much sense to me.
The first midterm focused on material that was not emphasized in class resulting in a class average of 30%. After much discussion with the Professor they made the decision to bell curve the exam with each student gaining an additional 30% on their grade. This therefore brought the class average to just above a passing grade.
My experience with both of these midterms makes me very concerned in regards to the marking format of the final exam and my ability to be successful in this course.
I am reaching out through this appeal in hopes to resolve the midterm 2 grading scheme as well as document the scenario should the exam produce the same result.