That she felt it necessary to include those two sentences implies that she is one of those “many people”. And, in my experience, such people really do not fully understand how natural selection works, much less evolution in general. Thus, I remain skeptical that she did, in fact, answer the question fully and completely and was downgraded solely because of her closing remarks.
If the situation is as she described it, however, then the downgrading was likely uncalled for. The remarks were unneccessary, and do nothing to “complete” the answer, or make it more correct. But they don’t detract from an allegedly correct answer, either.
I think what the prof did was fair. It was an irrelevent statement in a college exam, and he can mark points off for that. It is bullshit for her to challenge the question. I hope he stands his ground. This is the pebble before the avalanche and if she learns she can get a grade changed by whining about it his life will be over - every student who gets a grade they don’t think is fair will challenge him. With helicopter parents already calling college profs about their kids’ grades, I don’t see this getting any better.
It is irrelevant, and she should have been docked for it. The points she lost will drive home the lesson. Cutting her slack for adding in fluff about an imaginary process will only encourage more of the same.
Oh she is- no doubt about that. I’m told from another student in the class that she was one of two or three students who brought up I.D. notions (“this peer reviewed Chick pamphlet says…”) several times in class, so the prof was already aggravated with her. I don’t know if she’d specifically been told to “drop it”, but even the student admits it was a “neener neener” of sorts.
PS- I think the professor took off about 4 or 5 points. It dropped her from a B (she had around an 82) to a high C and she says that lowered her course grade from an A to B as well. {reiterated disclaimer: I only have the student’s side}
As far as I’m concerned, this statement is objectively incorrect. The majority of people who believe that evolution is divinely inspired and directed don’t believe that because of gaps in the evolutionary theory - they believe it because the bible says that God created the earth and everthing that’s on it. It’s not a scientific deduction; it’s an excuse, and it doesn’t belong anywhere near a biology class.
If she’s brought ID up in the class room before, she shuold have known exactly how “neener neener” would be received. Maybe losing some points and dropping a letter grade will help her learn that being an obnoxious twit can have consequences.
I agree with those who say she should be docked for including irrelevant information in her answer. It’s not the same thing as doodling in the margins, while that would be inappropriate as well.
Also, no one should be allowed to pass biology if they believe in I.D. If you believe in that, you don’t understand the basic concepts of science and no reputable institution should let that pass.
I think a few points off is legit, especially in a science class, as ID is hardly a scientific concept.
From a strictly essay writing perspective, I think docking points is valid as well. You can’t make a statement like “various issues of evolution remain unexplained and or controversial” without at least outlining those issues.
Essay exams are like being interviewed by the police. Answer concisely and STFU, as the more you talk the more trouble you get yourself in.
Where is everyone getting that this was an essay, rather than a short-answer type of thing? A question about natural selection can easily be answered succinctly in a paragraph.
Dock the points and keep the “irrelevant” comment. She provided a very unscientific answer to a science question, showing that she’s not really getting anything out of the course.
Well, if she dedicated two whole sentences in a short answer question to I.D., then she should certainly get docked as irrelevant. I’m getting that its an essay from this being presented as an aside.
Really? Growing up, that would have been a B-. The cutoff between B+ and A- was always 90% when I was a kid.
Once you’re in college, the scale varies with every class and every professor, so I wouldn’t put much stock in any relation between a number and letter here.
An 82 is an A-? Jesus, man! Please forward me information on your school, because I would like to attend. An 82 at my school (and I believe every other school in the CSU system) is a B-. To get an A-, you have to have 90% +.
But if you began by writing the correct answer and ended with “but I think it was space aliens.” You’ve learned the facts that the teacher wanted to impart and you’ve shown that you can come up with that information on request.
That you’re a complete loon shouldn’t have an effect on your grade.
The OP also says “deducted several points”, which was later revised to “4 or 5”. One person’s essay is another’s short answer. This sounds like a general biology class, wherein I highly doubt a treatise on evolution is going to make up a major part of the final. Hell, I never had essays in my actual evolution classes!