Fresh out of high school, many students relish the prospect of taking on a competitive field of study. These majors are especially enticing when they yield job security and the promise of a hefty paycheck post graduation. Students eager to pursue fields in medicine, engineering or chemistry have a formidable opponent to face: weed-out classes. 

Despite their effectiveness and the logic to back them, one key shortcoming of weed-out classes is the lack of university-enforced standardization of their grading scales. 

Weed-out classes are foundational classes, notably in STEM, that boast a heavy workload and harsh grading system. These courses separate the highest performing students from those somewhat less prepared for the future curriculum and produce a large number of Ds, Fs and withdrawals each semester. CE 214: Engineering Mechanics-Statics, for example, resulted in 55% of students earning lower than a B in the course in fall 2022. Other infamous weed-out classes include organic chemistry, calculus II, calculus III and physics. 

The idea behind these courses is they will save both the University and student the time and resources on their pursuit of a certain degree, if some initial courses prove too challenging. 

First and foremost, students should know there is no shame in having to withdraw from or retake these rigorous courses. Some students are even thankful to have faced these difficult classes early on. So, the system seems fair enough, right? Well, it would certainly be headed in that direction if it weren’t for the high level of variability in the grading scales for different sections of the same weed-out classes. 

Calculus 3 professors Leslie Kurtz and Stepan Paul have two distinct methods of determining a student’s grade. Kurtz bases 55% of students’ grades on tests, 10% on homework, quizzes and projects and the remaining 30% on the final exam. Paul, on the other hand, states in his syllabus that homework will contribute to a quarter of students’ grades, followed by the final worth 30% and the quizzes worth a total of 45%.  

Each professor has a different teaching style, and it’s a plain fact of college that you will appreciate some more than others. The uniqueness of each professor’s approach is something that students have to learn to embrace in order to succeed. However, one thing that should not be in the control of these professors of difficult introductory level courses is the grading scale by which student’s abilities are measured. 

Some classes are ominously exam-based. My roommate took MSE 200: Mechanical Properties of Structural Materials with Professor Lew Reynolds and said there was no homework and no participation grade to contribute towards her overall grade. 

In my experience, different professors allow students’ grades to be influenced by all of the above. The fool-proof method of weeding out students is compromised because this evaluation of students’ abilities is only valid when they are all measured with the same yardstick. 

Comparison between students in the exam-only grading section and those in the more reasonably structured section is a breeding ground for self-doubt.

Despite greater investment and effort in the course, students in the former section may fall short due simply to the professor’s course design, whereas students in the latter section may pass due to influential homework grades and generous extra credit opportunities. This comparison can lead to students having decreased confidence and motivation towards future courses early on in college.

Ideally, course grades should be a product of homework, exams, assignments, finals and occasionally attendance. This way, the students’ grade isn’t so heavily weighted on their performance on a single day. Most students take at least four classes at a time and will have some weeks where they need to prioritize one over another.

Regardless of what the grading scale looks like, what’s most important is that it is consistent throughout different sections of each class.

Sure, college isn’t always going to be fair and yes, that’s a part of life. But, the University shouldn’t allow professors to harness this message as a class philosophy. Instead, NC State should require professors to follow a fair method of standardized grading scales, especially because of the importance of weed-out courses to STEM curriculum and students’ future studies. 

Due to their significance, any means by which to make these difficult courses more regulated should not only be utilized, but embraced. The place to start is the grade composition, which should be uniform across all sections of any and all rigorous introductory courses.