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Midterm Grade Resources

 

All first year students receive midterm grades, as well as students of any class year who are on academic warning or academic probation.

Midterm grades are a chance to reflect on the semester thus far. Check in with yourself and ask....

  • Are these the grades I set a goal /wanted to earn at the beginning of the semester?
  • How will these grades contribute to meeting a goal for my semester or cumulative GPA?
  • Do my grades reflect my efforts?

 

Use the grades and comments to evaluate your time and efforts.

First of all, do you think the grades match the time and efforts your put into each assignment and each  class?

Use the resources available to help you use your time more efficiently.

Reassess your priorities. There may be a class that you thought was going to be the toughest, but it turned out to be not as difficult as you thought, and you have an A. Maybe some of the time you spent working on that class is better spent for the remainder of the semester on another class where you'd like to improve your grade.

Review comments carefully.

Many times, in the comments, your professor will share what they think you're doing well, and where they think there is more room for improvement.

EX "I love having you participate in class, you always share really insightful thoughts and questions. However, you struggled on the first exam"

Calculate the possibilities.

Another thing faculty often include in the comments is a breakdown of how the grade is calculated, and how much of your grade for the semester is left to earn. Take that information (or that information from your syllabus or on Canvas) to calculate a range of where your grade may be at the end of the semester and set a realistic goal.

 

If you're not happy with your midterm grades- that's why you received them, so you have a chance to adjust!

Once you've evaluated if you think the grades match the time and/or effort you've put in, figure out what needs to change.

Maybe you're not spending enough time on one of your classes- think about creating a study schedule (rule of thumb: for every hour you spend in class, 4 credits = 3 hours, you should spend 2-3 hours outside of class on reading, writing, studying for that class)

Maybe you have been spending a lot of time, but it doesn't seem like that time paid off- talk to your professor, a tutor for that class, or an academic skills tutor about better ways to approach studying that material.

1. Professor. They left you comments, but it's always helpful to go talk to them. You might get some extra tips on better ways to prepare or study for their course, or just learn more about their expectations.

 

2. Academic Skills. We have seminars (synchronous) and crash courses (asynchronous) on many topics from time management, procrastination, test taking, talking to professors, learning styles, and many more.

 

3. Tutors. Whether it is a tutor specifically for that class, a Writing Center tutor to help with written assignments and presentations, or an Academic Skills tutor, there is a tutor at WAC who can help you! Make an appointment on WCOnline, or checkout each office's website for more information: OAS, Writing Center, Quantitative Skills Center.

 

4. Advisors are another great resource to talk about which classes are going well or which ones you're struggling in, and helping to come up with a plan to meet your goals the rest of the semester. They can connect you with resources on campus, and since they're faculty too, they have great advice about how to study and talk to your professors.

1. Encourage your student to look at their grades and the comments from their faculty. Reiterate how helpful both can be, and that it's helpful to spend a few minutes reflecting on those and their time and efforts so far this semester.

2.Suggest that they calculate their average. Here is a resource from the Registrar on calculating GPA. Sometimes looking at a percent or a letter grade doesn't register the same way as knowing what that grade is on the 4.0 scale

3. Ask them what's challenging them AND what they're doing really well with.

4.  Make sure they're connected with and using resources on campus like their faculty, their advisor, and all the academic tutoring support available. If they don't know what to use, connect them with our office- OASFREEwashcoll

5. Remind them to take advantage of this opportunity. Some faculty submit midterm grades for students in other class years, but many don't. They can always check their grades on Canvas, but having the comments is so helpful!

6. Reassure your student that college is challenging and every semester is different, so it's okay if they don't have the grades they thought they would. One of the secrets to success in college is adapting to circumstances and being resilient. Help them use their midterm grades as a platform to adapt and adjust.