The First Year Five-Step Grade Acceptance Plan

And….we’re back. That was a short break—at least for those of us with kids following a
school vacation calendar. And now the
grades for our first year students will be coming out (at least here) on Friday
at 5:00 p.m. Yes, the grades will be
released to the students and then there will be a three day weekend for them to
absorb this information or perhaps organize their flaming torch posses.  In truth, I think this “buffer” period is a
good idea because it will give students (those who are unhappy with their
grades) some time to go through the stages of grief involved in law school
grades.

The first stage is “anger.”  Students
look at a (less than they expected) grade and are immediately angry at the
professor who gave it to them. Perhaps
some choice expletives about this professor cross their minds and lips at this
point. The student is certain that the
grade is personal despite all indications that grading is done blindly by exam
number. Some students never pass through
this stage and, in my experience, it does not bode well for their future
academic careers if they don’t.  A student who is stuck in this stage will not really be able to modify their strategy for the next set of exams.

The
second stage is “confused hopefulness.” This is a stage that not all students go through, but quite a few do
take a side trip here on their way to stage three. “Confused hopefulness” is when the student
thinks that perhaps there was a mathematical error or even that the computer software
failed to spit out the entire exam answer. In essence, the student believes that the grade is the result of some "tragic mistake."  This passes quickly, but if it doesn’t, the students will try to track
down the professor and discuss the exam-which, all in all, is never a bad
thing.

The third stage is bargaining. Students try to tell themselves (and anyone
who will listen) all the reasons why the grade could have happened. Notice that
I used the passive voice here–that was intentional. “I had a cold/migraine/anxiety attack.” “It was the first exam.” “The professor hates
me,” (this is often a relapse back into stage one). “Someone in the room kept blowing
their nose/coughing/tapping on the desk.”  Not one of the reasons will involve anything the student did, or did not do, to prepare for exams.

Sometimes there are legitimate reasons why an exam has gone awry. I don’t know why law students’ significant
others choose exam time to do it, but an awful lot of students get dumped at
this time of year. Sort of the double
whammy, dumped during exams and right before the holidays. Isn’t the
relationship going to be just as bad after exams? It isn’t like you’re going to see the student
much during this time, so what’s the rush?  As an Academic Support professional, I would personally like to throttle people who decide to sabotage someone else’s grades in this way (and here I am back in stage one…).

The fourth stage is “regrets.” (I’ve had a few, but then again,
too few to mention…). Student regrets
about study methods and classroom preparation start to form now. “Why did I study with those people I’ve never
seen in class?” “Why didn’t I make my
own outline or at least brief cases past September?” Or, my own favorite, “why didn’t I go to
those Academic Support classes?  I bet
they were wicked helpful.” (We are in Massachusetts after all….) I think the sooner a student gets to this point, the better. Owning responsibility for their grades, to
me, is the best indicator that a student will not be in academic distress much
longer. 

 The fifth (and final) stage
is “looking forward”: This is when
the student decides to get better grades at the end of the year. This is when they do the math and
figure out what grade they need on the final to bring their midterm grade up to what is
an acceptable level for them; and better yet, start to plan how to achieve that goal. This is
when a student asks for help, and here I am waiting for them on Tuesday morning
with a full candy jar and a box of tissues. (ezs)