students grade themselves

[Lynne Belcher <lrbelcher@saumag.edu>]

When I was an undergraduate in the early 70s, the classes in which 
students were allowed to collaborate on their grades were considered 
the no-brainer classes.  The professors had the reputation of not 
really being engaged in their classes, and the students didn't always 
feel like they learned much.  Those who took such classes took them for 
an easy A.  I never enrolled in one of those classes because I didn't 
think I could or would be honest about what grade I thought I had truly 
earned.  

I have taken very few classes where I thought I was given a grade other 
than the one I earned.  I can only think of one class where I got a 
grade lower than the one I thought I should get.  I have taken several 
classes where I received a grade higher than the one I thought I should 
have gotten.  In those classes, I thought the professors hadn't taught 
me very much, and I was certain they hadn't really read the papers I 
had written.

Lynne Belcher
Southern Arkansas University