When Cher Horowitz (played by Alicia Silverstone) giddily displays her report card to her father in the 1995 film "Clueless," he beams with pride — but not just because his daughter's grades are good. Cher and her father are especially proud because the report card is the result of a long string of battles with teachers for better marks: Cher is a grade-grubber.
Cher's actions, however, may not paint an accurate picture of today's classroom. The practice of "grade-grubbing," in which students beg professors for re-tests, make-up tests, paper extensions or higher grades with or without legitimate reason, is conducted with a certain degree of shame. "I have begged for grades a few times; I even lied about a family emergency once, but I try not to make a habit of it," said one student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "I think at Tufts, in general, grade-grubbing is kept to a minimum because we have a pretty sharp faculty, and I think they've heard it all when it comes to excuses."
Other students vehemently stated that they had never participated in any illegitimate form of grade-grubbing.
"I have never begged a teacher for a grade I didn't deserve," junior Nicholas Renner said.
Junior Darius Bittle-Dockery, an anthropology major, echoed the sentiment.
"I hated those kids in high school who would cry over grades they didn't deserve," Bittle-Dockery said. "Unless I feel like I truly deserved a higher grade and can prove it, I never ask for hand-outs from professors."
For the most part, many students and teachers agree that grade-grubbing at Tufts is kept to a minimum. But do Jumbos not grade-grub because they are morally opposed to the practice, or simply because it does not work?
Most professors on the Hill employ strict grading policies in their syllabi to combat the potential for squabbles over grades.
Associate Professor of Political Science Consuelo Cruz teaches courses which almost exclusively assign papers instead of tests. A clear policy regarding extensions stated in her syllabi seems to diminish the level of inappropriate requests, she said.
"I have a policy [regarding paper extensions], but I am open to listening to students requests," Cruz said. "I ask my students to spare me the frivolous reasons, but I do not assume before they speak to me that their reasons are frivolous. They have to show me that they are having a serious problem [in order for me to grant an extension]."
This policy seems to be common among Tufts professors.
"If a student has an illness or family emergency, I am always happy to give an extension," Political Science Professor Jeffrey Berry said. "However, for a take-home midterm, I am tougher because having the exam for an extra day or two is a real advantage."
When it comes to tests, almost all professors seem to have a "no re-test" policy if a student does poorly, and very few offer make-up tests.
"I announce of the first day of class, that if for some reason [the student] cannot take the test and has appropriate documentation such as a doctor's note, I will not offer a make-up but will simply re-weight that student's grade so that the missed test does not factor in," Economics Professor Gilbert Metcalf said. Although Tufts professors are by and large rigid on the issue of extensions and make-up tests, they do admit that they are willing to discuss a student's grade on a test or paper if the student feels the grade was unjust.
But for most students, such discussions make little difference in a final grade.
"Very rarely does the grade change [after discussion with the student] and it can be lowered," Cruz said. "I tell my students that if they wish me to re-grade their papers, the final grade could end up lower than the one they started with if I feel that the initial grade was too generous, but if they decide to take their chances, they can come to me."
"I have to think there was really a miscarriage of justice by the TAs in order to change a student's grade, and that is very rare," Berry said.
This willingness of Tufts professors to discuss a student's grade after a test or paper, despite its relative ineffectiveness, stems from the respect that the professors have for the students.
Very few professors thought that their students lied to them on a regular basis about events like family emergencies, although Professor Cruz did note one circumstance that indicated otherwise.
"Grandparents do seem to be dropping dead left and right," she said.
Associate Professor of Econ- omics David Dapice remembered one student whose reasons for a paper extension seemed a bit suspicious.
"I had one student who had their grandmother die three times," he said. "I suppose it's possible through divorce that he had three grandmothers, but it seems unlikely that all three of them died in the same semester. We straightened that out. Overall, however, I think that grade-grubbing is much less prevalent [on college campuses] than it was five or 10 years ago."
