Professor Problem, Any Options?

[goldberry]

DD loves biology and does really well in it.  The College Biology class she has a really grumpy profession who is uber strict about everything.  Ok fine.  But he won't let them see the test results, even if they set up an appointment.  This last test, the ENTIRE CLASS failed. No one passed. DD went in feeling very good about the material, I was helping her study and she was spot on.  She got a 64.

 

DD asked him very respectfully to please allow her an appointment to see the test, because honestly she doesn't know how to focus her studies to improve.  He said all the questions were: this one is good, this one is better, this one is best.  If you didn't get the best one you missed the question.  He said absolutely not, she cannot see the test.

 

Is this okay?  Does she have any recourse here?

 

ETA, she is a HS senior at community college, if that matters.

Edited April 11, 2017 by goldberry

[OneStepAtATime]

Wow.  I don't have answers but Wow.  How is she supposed to gain knowledge and better understand if he never lets them review what they did incorrectly?  And the entire class failed?  And no one is allowed to review with him specifically why?  What is his long term goal here?

[goldberry]

I don't know. She just asked him if he won't let her see the test can he help her determine what topics to study.  He said, "Everything."

[regentrude]

She needs to contact the biology department chair and explain the situation.

 

I cannot imagine that the college backs the professor up on this; there needs to be transparency about grades. How else can fairness be ensured? 

[regentrude]

ETA: our campus (and I imagine this is standard) has a committee that deals with "capricious grading" (which is an actual term.). Professors cannot grade nilly-willy and must be prepared to justify their grading and to demonstrate that grading was done fairly for all students.

[Clemsondana]

I went to college at one State U, grad school (where I was a TA) at another, and taught at a CC for several years. This would not have been OK at any of them. Some teachers did not return tests because they reused them, but those would allow you to see them in their office. I have never heard of a prof anywhere who wouldn't discuss a test with you. I have taken classes in the sciences that had a huge curve, so that a 65 was an A, but you knew that when you found out your grade. They would tell you the high, low, average, standard deviation, etc, and then tell you where the As, Bs, and Cs were. Those classes had tests that were like that by design - they covered so much material that you couldn't answer it all - but they never would have said 'Everyone failed'. My own teaching philosophy is that if a few students fail, it might be their fault, but if everybody fails, it's my fault. Ugh.

[goldberry]

I found the dean of the department, DD is afraid if she says anything he's going to tank her grade worse than it already is.

[OneStepAtATime]

Someone needs to say something.  If not, it won't every get changed.  This isn't right or a good way to learn.  The department needs to know.  Can she approach other students and have multiple people independently say something so she doesn't feel singled out?

[Julie of KY]

It needs to be brought to the attention of the department. 

[OneStepAtATime]

And hugs.  That really stinks.  

 

FWIW, although this is a very different scenario, when I was in 8th grade I had a math teacher for my last period that was teaching us literally nothing.  He would hand out mimeographed addition and subtraction pages while he went to the payphone to talk with his wife.  She was pregnant and the pregnancy was not going well.  While I sympathize with his situation he was there to teach and he was NOT teaching.  I learned zilch that year.  He would even sometimes ditch school to drive to see her, leaving us unsupervised.  Two kids got into a fight and one threw a desk at the other one.  It impacted his head, splitting the skin and causing him to bleed.  The teacher lied and said they had been fighting in front of him.  A student complained since we weren't actually learning anything and he was worried he would be ill prepared for High School math.  He was suspended for lying.  The staff didn't believe him over the teacher's story.  I wish with all my heart the rest of us had had the gumption to go in and report him. If more of us had said something the school might have acted.

[J-rap]

I found the dean of the department, DD is afraid if she says anything he's going to tank her grade worse than it already is.

 

What a bizarre situation!  If she talks to someone, she should be able to remain anonymous.  Or perhaps if other students feel the same way, they can go in together to talk to someone. 

[goldberry]

She sent an email to the dean. *sigh* Why can't people just do their jobs?  DD wants to MAJOR in biology.  How many excited kids do these kinds of teachers just crush the life out of??

[regentrude]

I found the dean of the department, DD is afraid if she says anything he's going to tank her grade worse than it already is.

 

She can request that her identity remain confidential.

[Bootsie]

I have seen some situations where students are not allowed to see exams.  I taught at a school where there was a departmental final exam that was standard across sections and the department did not want the questions leaked.  That is a bit different because you had a group of professors creating the exam and overseeing the grading.  Also, it was given at the end of the semester, so there was not the argument that the students needed to learn from their mistakes.  The department considered the exam purely evaluative and not a learning opportunity.  The situation you are describing is much different.

 

Has she been to the professor's office hours?  I am wondering if somehow he misunderstood what she was asking. 

 

The department chair can (and should) keep her identity confidential.  This would be an easier situation than in some grading issues, because it could be any student in the class who is doing the complaining (not just one who has a complaint about the specifics of how his paper was graded.)

 

[hopskipjump]

No advice - but what a jerk. Really. Some professors forget they're in the business of passing knowledge along to the next generation... not proving their own superior-knowledge! :glare:

 

Hope there is a peaceful and productive resolution for your dd in this situation.

[goldberry]

I looked the guy up on rate my professor and he has horrible ratings across the board. :(