Gmail Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com>
Comm 40 Grade
11 messages
Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com> Thu, May 26, 2005 at 9:26 PM
Reply-To: Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com>
To: caegwu@aol.com, cegwu@howard.edu
Professor Egwu,
How has your summer been so far?  I hope everything has been going well for you.
I am writing you because I received my grade for the class I had with
you this past semester.  I had expected to receive an A in the class,
but instead received an A-.  I was just wondering if you would be able
to send me a record of all the grades I received in the class, and
some record of how you calculated my grade.  I cannot calculate it
myself as I do not know the grades I received for the Speech Analysis
and the 12 Angry Men assignment.

Thank you,
Tony Rock
Caegwu@aol.com <Caegwu@aol.com> Fri, May 27, 2005 at 12:47 AM
To: tonyrock@gmail.com
Hi Tony,
 
You did excellently in the class, A- is an excellent grade. What brought you down just a bit was that you got an 88 on the first speech. And because the speeches are worth 13% each they can pul you down a bit.  So you ended up with a final grade of 94, wwhich is an A- (95 - 100 is an A).
 
Please don't obsess over the A-, you performed extremely well and should be proud of your progress!
 
Prof.
Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com> Fri, May 27, 2005 at 10:59 AM
Reply-To: Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com>
To: "Caegwu@aol.com" <Caegwu@aol.com>
Professor,
I'm not trying to obsess.  Rather, I am trying to make sure that the
grades I receive reflect what I earned.  On the first speech, I
remember that I at first received an 88.  When I went to discuss it
with you, it turned out that you had not filled in all of the columns,
and once you did my grade became a 90.  What's more, I received a 95
on the persuasive speech, a 98 on the group speech, and a 97 on the
ceremonial speech.  I was trying to calculate my grade using the
syllabus, but the 4 speeches were supposed to be 13% each, for a total
of 46% of the grade.  This is an obvious problem, as 13x4=52.  If you
keep these numbers the same, and keep all of the other percentages the
same, then you end up with a possibility of 106% for the class.  I
assume this is not how the grades were calculated, and I was just
trying to figure out how I ended up with an A- after my speeches were
90%, 95%, 97%, and 98%; my quiz was a 14/15 (~93%); my midterm was a
96%; I missed class only once the entire semester, and participated
regularly; and I completed all of my assignments thoroughly and on
time.  I was just curious, first of all, as to how well I did on the
speech analysis and the 12 Angry Men assignment, and secondly, as to
the way in which my grade was calculated.

Thanks,
Tony
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Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com> Fri, May 27, 2005 at 11:02 AM
Reply-To: Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com>
To: "Caegwu@aol.com" <Caegwu@aol.com>
Professor,
I'm not trying to obsess.  Rather, I am trying to make sure that the
grades I receive reflect what I earned.  On the first speech, I
remember that I at first received an 88.  When I went to discuss it
with you, it turned out that you had not filled in all of the columns,
and once you did my grade became a 90.  What's more, I received a 95
on the persuasive speech, a 98 on the group speech, and a 97 on the
ceremonial speech.  I was trying to calculate my grade using the
syllabus, but the 4 speeches were supposed to be 13% each, for a total
of 46% of the grade.  This is an obvious problem, as 13x4=52.  If you
keep these numbers the same, and keep all of the other percentages the
same, then you end up with a possibility of 106% for the class.  I
assume this is not how the grades were calculated, and I was just
trying to figure out how I ended up with an A- after my speeches were
90%, 95%, 97%, and 98%; my quiz was a 14/15 (~93%); my midterm was a
96%; I missed class only once the entire semester, and participated
regularly; and I completed all of my assignments thoroughly and on
time.  I was just curious, first of all, as to how well I did on the
speech analysis and the 12 Angry Men assignment, and secondly, as to
the way in which my grade was calculated.

Thanks,
Tony

On 5/27/05, Caegwu@aol.com <Caegwu@aol.com> wrote:
>
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Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com> Mon, Jun 6, 2005 at 12:19 AM
Reply-To: Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com>
To: "Caegwu@aol.com" <Caegwu@aol.com>
Professor,
I hate to bother you again, but I was wondering if you'd had time to
look at the questions I asked you in the previous email I sent you.

Thanks,
Tony
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Caegwu@aol.com <Caegwu@aol.com> Mon, Jun 6, 2005 at 10:12 PM
To: tonyrock@gmail.com
HI Tony, I did, and looked back over carefully again. Unfortunately, you still fell slightly short of an A. I'm not sure if you remember, but I did mention that I realized that the percentages were added incorrectly in the syllabus, so that I would have to adjust attendance. All the other percentages were the same, except attendance was now worth less at 7%, which of course was perfect for you.

Hope this helps

Prof

Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com> Tue, Jun 7, 2005 at 10:12 AM
Reply-To: Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com>
To: "Caegwu@aol.com" <Caegwu@aol.com>
Professor,
Unfortunately, it does not help me very much.  It does help me figure out how to calculate my grade.  I cannot do that, however, until I have all of my grades.  It would be helpful if you could at least show me some kind of record of all of my grades.  In fact, I only need my grades for the 12 Angry Men Assignment and the Speech Analysis (I have the rest of them, as I noted in a previous email).  My main problem has been, using your syllabus, trying to reconcile the grades I received throughout the semester with my final grade.  I am hoping you will be able to help me finally resolve this matter.
 
Thank you,
Tony
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Caegwu@aol.com <Caegwu@aol.com> Wed, Jun 8, 2005 at 1:18 AM
To: tonyrock@gmail.com
Hi Tony,
 
12 Angry Men - 94
 
Speech Analysis - 90
 
prof
Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com> Wed, Jun 8, 2005 at 8:00 PM
Reply-To: Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com>
To: "Caegwu@aol.com" <Caegwu@aol.com>
Professor,

Thank you for finally giving me the grades for those two assignments.  I have a few questions, however, about the grades.

First of all, I was under the impression that our class discussion on the 12 Angry Men assignment had led to the decision that the assignment would be given credit based on its completion (like the "Diversity Speech," it would be given full credit if it was completed fully and correctly).  If that was the case, I am at a loss as to why I received only a 94 for the assignment.  Even if the grade was derived by the correctness/thoroughness/quality of the answers, I do not believe there was anything in my answers (or lacking from them) that would be cause for lowering the grade.  I would very much appreciate it if you could tell me why I was marked off for the assignment.

Regarding the Speech Analysis, I would like to know how you arrived at a grade of 90 (i.e. the actual grading system for the paper, which parts of the speech analysis were marked off or deemed incorrect/insufficient, etc).  Without understanding your justifications for this grade, it is difficult for me to decide whether or not I believe the grade to be fair.

As these two grades constitute 18% of my grade, I'm sure you can understand why I wish to discuss them.  Naturally, I would have preferred to discuss all of this during the semester.  I was unable to do so, of course, because I did not receive my grades on these two assignments until yesterday.

Thanks,
Tony
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Caegwu@aol.com <Caegwu@aol.com> Fri, Jun 10, 2005 at 12:06 AM
To: tonyrock@gmail.com
Tony,

Believe me, I understand your concern. I would see your view more clearly, had you received say, a B. I am in New York for the entire summer working on a project, and I do not have all of the GW material with me. Secondly, I am no longer teaching at GW and have accepted a position at a university out of the state. Thus, as soon as I return from New York, I will be preparing to move.

I have been teaching for many years, not just speech, but also evaluating writing assignments. Because one may have a high level of aptitude in speech or oral assignments does not mean it is necessarily paralleled in writing assignments. Your writing is very good, and I believe the grades you received for both of those assignments indicate that they are very good. As I said in class the 12 angry men assignment counted for a percentage of the grade, that is why we spent all the time voting on which way we wanted it to count. At no time did I ever say that you would just get credit for doing it. The later would be the case if we had voted on it as EXTRA CREDIT. I believe this was made clear in class.

In all fairness, if I gave extra points to you because you are a good student then I need to do a grade change for nearly everyone, becausee there were several good students. In the end it is the points and percentages that determine your grade, not necessarily me. I hope that you are clear and that my position on this is clear.

Prof. Egwu
Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com> Fri, Jun 10, 2005 at 4:18 PM
Reply-To: Tony Rock <tonyrock@gmail.com>
To: "Caegwu@aol.com" <Caegwu@aol.com>

Professor,

I apologize for the inconvenience that my questions cause and understand your reasons for not having assignments from GW on hand.  At the same time, I do believe the fact that I did not receive the grades for the two assignments in question during the semester gives me just cause to discuss them now.  Frankly, I am insulted by the implication that I have asked for "extra points" or any form of preferential treatment.  At no point have I asked for special treatment or to be given any "extra points."  I have, throughout our correspondence, kept the discussion focused on my grades.  I do not believe that asking a teacher to justify a grade is, in any way, asking for "extra points" on the basis of being a "good student" (which is the subjective opinion of any given person).  Not only do I believe such an analysis beyond the scope of grading, but I would never ask a professor to compromise his or her integrity.  As far as "seeing my view more clearly" is concerned, I don't believe the degree of the grade discrepancy should be an issue.  In all fairness, I believe that I have the right to be told - specifically - why certain assignments were marked down, especially given my borderline grade.

In the hopes of discussing the two grades in question more thoroughly, I am attaching copies of my 12 Angry Men assignment and my Speech Analysis (the title page for the Speech Analysis is a separate document, but I assume you do not need that).  I would appreciate a re-evaluation of the grades you previously gave these two assignments and, if the merit of the work warrants it, a change in the grades.  I would, furthermore, appreciate some sort of rubric/explanation of the grading system for these assignments for clarity's sake.

I hardly believe that such action would require a "grade change for nearly everyone."  If other students believe their grades to be incorrect, I'm sure they'll contact you to address their grievances, as I have done.  I initially contacted you because I was unclear as to the causes for my grade of A- (a confusion exacerbated by no mention in the syllabus or throughout the semester as to the cutoff for an A-.  I had initially assumed that 93 was the A/A- cutoff, as per typical grading systems, but you clarified that in a prior email).  As far as the classroom discussion of the 12 Angry Men assignment is concerned, I do not recall any "clear" conclusion to the discussion (as I recall, it was more of a sporadic discussion at the very end of our last class).  Though that issue is resolved, I still question any reason to mark off my answers.  I hope that by providing a copy of my assignment, I can help you respond to my inquiry.  Regarding the Speech Analysis, I do not mean to imply that a 90 is somehow a bad grade.  Instead, I merely believe that the quality of my work on the assignment may warrant a higher grade.  This is why I've requested some sort of rubric/detailed explanation of the grade - not to waste your time, but rather to understand your causes for the grade, so that we may both be on the same page.

Thanks,
Tony

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Questions for 12 Angry Men.doc
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Speech Analysis Assignment.doc
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