Prof yanked for tough grading
Apparently, classes can’t be too hard at LSU:
Dominique G. Homberger won’t apologize for setting high expectations for her students.The biology professor at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge gives brief quizzes at the beginning of every class, to assure attendance and to make sure students are doing the reading. On her tests, she doesn’t use a curve, as she believes that students must achieve mastery of the subject matter, not just achieve more mastery than the worst students in the course. For multiple choice questions, she gives 10 possible answers, not the expected 4, as she doesn’t want students to get very far with guessing.
Students in introductory biology don’t need to worry about meeting her standards anymore. LSU removed her from teaching, mid-semester, and raised the grades of students in the class. In so doing, the university’s administration has set off a debate about grade inflation, due process and a professor’s right to set standards in her own course.
Here’s an interesting bit.
At the point that she was removed, she said, some students in the course might not have been able to do much better than a D, but every student could have earned a passing grade. Further, she said that her tough policy was already having an impact, and that the grades on her second test were much higher (she was removed from teaching right after she gave that exam), and that quiz scores were up sharply. Students got the message from her first test, and were working harder, she said.“I believe in these students. They are capable,” she said. And given that LSU boasts of being the state flagship, she said, she should hold students to high standards. Many of these students are in their first year, and are taking their first college-level science course, so there is an adjustment for them to make, Homberger said. But that doesn’t mean professors should lower standards.
The author doesn’t mention her previous class experiences, but I would imagine the high failure rate is new and unusual. If that’s the case, then the professor was probably changing her practices to make a point about grade inflation. Still, it’s probably a point that should be made.
Good thing she had tenure.
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The reason students don’t perform well is because they’re not required to do so. This is true from elementary school up until (or even beyond) college. It’s a shame that she was removed. Universities desperately need more professors like Homberger.
Well I think that she should not make things so hard anyway. Come on, it’s intro. Bio. freshman need a chance to adjust. She should not adjust her standards, but if a huge majority of the class did not do well, then that says something about her teaching.