Would you tell your teacher if he accidentally gave you a high grade?

Everyone else probably also bombed the final and/or class and so he curved the shit out of the final grades, especially so if the guy didn't have tenure, so I wouldn't worry about it.

There's zero benefit to bringing it up with him. Cut you some slack for being honest? What does that even mean?

Now is the time where you learn about curves.

It happened to me in one of my intro psychology courses back in the day. I thought my mark on the assignment was ridiculously high, considering that I only did 8 out of 9 parts of the assignment. I talked to my teacher about my mark and it turns out that the teacher grades on a curve and I put more effort into the assignment than most people did.

I actually felt bad for my teacher after that point. I mean, I didn't even try and I was one of the best students? That's pretty bad.

Snitches get stitches.

I had a professor once tell me college is hard enough, and that I should only tell her if she gave me a lower grade than I should have gotten. Depending on how many students were in the class, it's probably more likely he curved the exam or gave you a break because of your work throughout the semester than made a mistake. Also, if he's already turned in a final grade, it would probably be a great deal of work to change it. So I wouldn't worry about it, unless you feel telling him would be the right thing to do.

Hey man, let me tell you how glad I am I fought for that A when I was on the edge between it and a B. Because the first thing they ask at a job interview is inevitably "let's see your grades."

Did you like my fictional fucking fantasy tale? In real life, they might not even ask for your transcript. You could probably get along pretty far by just telling people you graduated from somewhere and pretending you know what you're talking about. Grades don't matter. Honesty and respect do. If you want recommendations in the future, it's best not to burn your fucking bridges for something that is as meaningless as a letter grade. Let him know. He will probably give you the lower grade, but he'll respect you, and that's actually useful.

I suppose I should have addressed the curve thing, because this was my first instinct as well, so I asked the facebook group full of students what grades they got, and a couple students who I know did consistently better than I did had Bs. Honestly I think the main reason I'm worried is because there's another student in the class with my first name and I'm hoping there wasn't some kind of mix up, cause then I'd feel pretty bad.

I once got a 190% on my final. It bumped my grade from a C to an A+.

If you think someone else is getting screwed over then That guy is going to bring it up (unless he already thought he did poorly)

1. Recon that shit find out other you's grade

2. If You Can't Turn Yourself In

3. Profit, Lots of it.

haaaaaaaaaaa...No.

hm. Now that changes it a bit. If you think it's an error where someone else should have gotten the grade you received, I would either contact the student to see if that indeed is what happened or contact the professor and see if that's what happened.

In general, I would say it is the responsibility of the professor to make certain the grade is right; so, I would not recommend contacting them about it. But if you are concerned about a possible error that may affect another student, it is reasonable to determine if that is the case and attempt to set things right.

Lawful Evil Hunter5024 got a B, which he's happy with, and he advised me not to tell him, so I guess maybe I just shouldn't? I still feel kind of gross about it.

Edit: To be clear, Lawful Evil Hunter5024 is the other dude with my name.

@hunter5024: If you know who that other person is, can you try to contact them and find out if their grade got messed up?

Really, they should be the one to catch such an error and bring it to the professor, not you, but you might as well try to find out if that's what happened.

@truthtellah: Yeah he got a B, and told me not to tell him, but I'm still unsure.

I've told them a few times before, though no one ever took the grade back. I'm not saying that's necessarily the right thing to do, but my conscience is affected heavily by that sort of thing quite easily as it only affected me. On the other hand, it's never been a case of pass or fail for me when it's happened, not even close, and I'm not entirely sure how I'd handle that situation if I'm honest; it'd rely on the context. How confident are you in your ability to do better when confronted with more difficult content in the next level of class? Was your ultimate grade a result of laziness (not completing assignments, not studying enough for the test, etc), or was it from a lack of understanding of the material? If you were actually struggling with the fundamentals to the degree that you should have failed, does it make sense to move onto more complex work that's going to be based upon it? If you're confident in your ability to succeed in the next class, then let it slide and press onwards, you're not going to get in trouble if your teacher marked your test incorrectly.

Oh, then don't say anything. Why would you say something?

I mean, would you get a F and thus think you should have to retake the class? Or is this just feeling bad that you think a possible error got you a B instead of a C.

If your professor made the mistake, it's their mistake. Feel fortunate.

Honestly, I'm never into the idea of trying to convince a professor that they gave me the wrong grade. Maybe other people have had different experiences, but I deserve the grades I've gotten. I've been in your shoes just recently more than once (thought I was getting a B, but ended up with an A), but I'm not going to question their process.

Most professors will tell you to accept it and move on with your life. They might hear you out if you protest for a higher grade, but I can't imagine how they'll react if someone wants a lower grade.

Try not to feel too guilty about it, though. I try not to see how well others did, as well. It just leads to disaster because someone will just be upset.

@truthtellah said:

It could have been an F. The final was worth 30% of the grade, which means depending on how well I did on it, my overall grade could have been anywhere between 52% and 82%. So my dilemma is that I feel bad getting a grade I'm certain I didn't earn legitimately, but if I do tell him he will probably revert me to my actual grade, which could totally be an F.

And you think you need to retake the course for the future use of your education?

Do you feel that your Japanese is deficient and thus you need another semester of it to serve your future needs?

@truthtellah: I suppose not.

@hunter5024: Do you have a good relationship with your professor? Like, do you participate in class more than others?

That's kind of the only reason I could imagine. I'm not the smartest person in the room, but I did leave an impression and I guarantee I received more A's than I should have because I learned in undergrad to develop a decent relationship with the teacher during the semester.

It sucks, but teachers can be fairly subjective in their grading. Maybe he likes you and felt that you deserved an A regardless?

@hunter5024: And how are you paying for college? Would this put an added burden on you or loved ones to spend more time and money on another course you don't need?

Personally, while I understand your concern over this odd turn of fate, I would simply be thankful I somehow passed.

@wjb: Actually yeah. I suppose that could've played a factor instead of just a blatant mistake, but that doesn't seem like a very cool way to get a grade either.

@truthtellah: If I failed this class then I would actually lose financial aid, which I was counting on to help buy a car to get to work and school next semester. So I suppose you're right, it's probably too disastrous a consequence to take the risk. I just hope he doesn't realize on his own I suppose.

@hunter5024: Then, well, let's hope this stroke of good luck endures. :)

@hunter5024: It rarely is. In my market research class, I ended up with an A and a girl next to me got a B even though she probably did just as well. I didn't divulge my grade, but I was curious what was the difference between me and her.

Based on the circumstances with what you just said, I'd leave it. Even if there is the extremely rare chance it was a mistake, the professor won't change it back.

Hopefully the second class will go well!

About three hours ago I entered final grades for an undergraduate history course. Approximately two hours ago I realized I had accidentally given one student several points more on a paper than he had actually earned. This jumped him from a C to a B in the course. Do you know what I am going to do about it? Absolutely nothing, its my mistake and I shouldn't punish him for it. Don't worry about your grade and just take the score; if the professor brings it up then don't contest it, but in this particular case (the grade has likely been officially entered in as your final course grade) you don't need to own up to it.

What's the point of telling. By doing absolutely nothing and just carrying on with life you end up with a lot to win and nothing to lose. It's a win-win situation.

Man, for a second there, it was like an episode of TWD. All these moral decisions.

Lawful Evil Hunter5024 will remember this.

Well, I guess honor wouldn't be honor if most people didn't have none.

It's probably intentional, I've had teachers like this before, if you bring it up you're just putting everyone in an awkward position. It's up to you, but honestly just spend some time here over the Christmas break bringing your skills up to the level that would've gotten you that A and count your blessings. Post Secondary is a business not some bastion of higher ideals, the same dean who would chastise your professor for this sort of thing will bend a knee to fellate the next celebrity or corporate success story who walks through his office door.

Even if it was too low, I probably wouldn't bother. They'll even out eventually.

@hunter5024: dude, your eligibility for financial aid aid is riding on the grade you get in this class? Of course you shouldn't say anything, in fact, I should delete this topic and you should never speak of this again.

Whoa guys. What if this is the final. Maybe he's testing my honor, to see how much I've really learned about Japan.

@hunter5024: And if you fail, he'll honor kill you right in front of the class!!!

On a more serious note, how well do you know the professor? Does he seem like a stern dude? In this situation I feel like it all falls on whether or not you're in good standing with him. If you are, then yeah you should tell him your opinion, otherwise I'd just ignore your conscience and power through it.

Well, clearly you should just commit seppuku now.

Every professor I ever had would look the other way if you got a higher grade than what you should have. They don't want to do the extra work to give you a lower score. If you and the rest of the students like them then they'll get good evaluation reports. Pair that with the good grades the students get and they'll get to keep their job or get a raise. They have no benefit for lowering your grade.

YOU JUST GOT CURVED, MOTHERFUCKER!

Welcome to the wonderful world of the curve. Learn to love it, because it won't always be there for you...

If you're worried about seeing him again, just load up on whatever the hell the Internet's recommending. Anki, WaniKani, JapanesePod101, Erin's Challenge, some other stuff, etc.

No person in their right mind would ever correct a teacher to get a lower grade. That's insanity and does not benefit you in anyway at all.

This is an important life lesson: Sometimes you just get lucky. Learn to appreciate it, because life will shit on you at some point.

It's the right thing to do, no doubt, but it's happened to me on a midterm or two in college and it's a test of morality I didn't pass.

An exception would be if you were graded an A+ but should've gotten an F or something...in which case that's just the professor's fault.

@hatking: I've had this discussion with my dad. He thinks if I don't get a job until I get my Master's, my degree alone will earn me more money. (He goes to McDonald's all the time, but thumbs his nose at getting those kinds of jobs when you're just starting out, and won't let me apply.) I keep telling him it's not like that anymore, and I'll be shit out of luck because I have zero experience. The people hiring me won't be able to tell if they can trust me to come into work every day and put in the effort, because I have no references.

I'd ask the teacher, OP. It could be a case of actually doing better than you thought, or a curved grade, or a genuine mistake. I'm the kind of person who'd be honest even if I get nothing out of it, or if it comes to bite me in the ass in the end.

@mikkaq said:

I think I'm so accustomed to the latter that I'm incapable of trusting the former.

@medacris: References or, even better, knowing people is how it works now. If you get in good with your instructors or professors, a lot of times you can ask them for some assistance when looking for work later on. Professors rarely go straight from school to being a professor, meaning they often know their respected fields. Sometimes you'll get lucky and a professor can put you in touch with somebody who is looking to hire some fresh faces. Of course all this trades on your ability to earn the respect, mutual respect, of those who teach you. And you'd be surprised how little good grades actually go toward earning that respect. Teachers, and people in general, don't just respect you because you're inherently good at something. They like to see you earn it, they want to see passion and dedication, and get a sense that you give a shit if you're just floating by.

Of course I only speak from the experience of having seen this around me. Friends, coworkers, family who are all where they are now because of who they knew, how they treated people, and a personal dedication.

Edit: I should add the annotation that it matters a great deal what field you're in. Anything in the arts, having friends is imperative, you'll get nowhere with burnt bridges. The business field seems to be a little less crazy about this depending on the city you live in. Seems like business work is work that has to get done, and you'll be able to find something if you're in a major area. As for medical and law fields, well I can't give any advice there because my friends in those fields are still in school.

That happened to me once. I took an instructor's class, studied but really struggled with the topics on the final exam. I needed an A on the final to get an A in the class, but could have turned in a blank sheet of paper and still passed. Deciding I had more important things to study, I didn't review and went into the exam feeling very unprepared. I pulled off an 80%, at best.

Since I always run into my instructor, I asked how I got an A. The instructor liked the fact that I led class discussions, seemed that I knew what I was talking about, and just gave me an A on the final.

My instructor also turned out to be a llama.