(Grading mistakes) Don't let your professors ruin your G.P.A.

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How to email a professor about a mistake they made

You’re sitting at your computer and reviewing your grades, and you realize that there is a mistake.

Panic sets in.

You don’t know if you should approach your professor and bring this to their attention because you’re scared to talk to them, but you also don’t want to suffer because of their error.

Or maybe you think that you are misinterpreting your grade and aren’t quite sure if there is really a problem so you don’t want to speak up.

As a former professor, I want you to have the confidence to talk to your professor about your grades because it’s important to you.

In this article, I am going to explain when and how to talk to your professor about a grading error. You definitely want to tell your professor that they gave you the wrong grade.

And I am going to include a little bonus. I will tell you how to tell your professor a question was marked wrong when you think you got it right.

Let’s say that you are taking an online quiz and see that one of your questions was marked wrong, and you disagree. And you’ve got some pretty strong evidence to argue differently.

This can be considered a grading error too because your grade suffers when questions are marked wrong when they shouldn’t have been.

All this matters.

I am going to help you out in all of these areas because several grading mistakes could happen.

Whenever you have the human element involved, mistakes can arise.

That’s life, but most of them can be worked out.

When should you talk to your professor about a grade mistake?

If you are their student, and you see a genuine grading error, you should reach out to them. Don’t hesitate to speak up. Even if you aren’t sure there is a problem. It’s best to make sure and get some clarification if you ever have any doubt.

What’s the worse that is going to happen? Your professor may have a great explanation. It isn’t going to hurt to talk to them about it.

Here are some common situations that could arise where grading errors occurred.

• Wrong grade entered - If your professor simply entered the wrong grade, and you have proof that it was entered wrong, let them know. There isn’t much argument here.

• Incorrect scoring - Let’s say that you realize a question was marked incorrect, but you have evidence that shows it should have been correct, talk to them.

• Missing grades - If you submitted an assignment, and you received a zero OR your grade book suggests that you are missing that assignment but know you turned it in, it’s safe to say that you should talk to your professor.

• Confusion about grade calculation - If you cannot calculate your grade because you don’t understand what formula they use to average your grade, you will need to clarify with your professor to clear up any confusion.

• Mathematical error - Let’s say that you have evidence that suggests that your professor has a mathematical error in their grading scale and your score is wrong, you should talk to them.

These are some of the most common grading errors that would warrant a student to talk to their professor about a grading mistake.

Obviously lots of things can happen, so don’t feel like you can’t talk to them about other issues that weren’t listed here.

Look, professors aren’t perfect. Mistakes can happen. Professors could invert numbers when they are entering them or they could get students mixed up with one another and enter the wrong grades.

These things shouldn’t happen often, but they do happen occasionally.

I can honestly say that in fifteen years I never made a grading error, but I triple checked every single grade after I entered it. I took it seriously.

But sometimes professors have graduate assistants who enter grades for them, and things can get overlooked. Cut them some slack and help them learn from their mistakes so it doesn’t happen again.

It could have some serious consequences for students if they have a grading mistake. It could even cause some students to fail the class.

But you might think that you shouldn’t bring it up because it doesn’t change your grade that much.

I disagree.

Even if the error barely budges your grade, you should talk about it.

Why?

Because your professor needs to understand that a mistake was made. It could effect other students’ grades too and it needs to be corrected. No error is too small to discuss with your professor.

I am going to tell you how to deal with this because it’s not your fault and your grade shouldn’t suffer because of it.

How to email a professor about a wrong grade?

First, gather all of your evidence. When you are going to bring this to your professor’s attention, you should get everything organized to show them before you approach them.

You might read and reference their syllabus, have your graded assignment handy, or pile together any other evidence that supports your case.

Remember, your professor may have hundreds of students, and you should make it as easy as possible for your professor to understand the issue and fix it quickly.

And sometimes it’s your word against there’s and you should have evidence to support your case if they’ll agree to change it at all.

After you’ve gathered whatever evidence you have, I suggest you go in person, if possible.

But an email will typically suffice.

Here is an example of what an email may look like when asking your professor to review a grading mistake.

Dear Professor Smith.

I am in your ENLG 101 course which I am thoroughly enjoying. I review my grade book weekly to make sure that I am on target for my anticipated grade in this course and to understand what areas I should improve upon. During my last review, I noticed that my exam grade was entered as a 28 when I received an 82. I know these might not be the final grades as you could manually change them later after review, but I wanted to notify you so that I can continue to see my current grade reflected in the grade book. I know how easy it can be to accidentally flip the numbers when entering them into the grade book and I wanted to make sure that this is what occurred. I have a screenshot of the exam copy attached to this email so that you can see the received grade. Can you look into this for me and let me know what conclusion you come to after your review? I appreciate your time and look forward to your response.

Okay, not every situation is going to be so simple. But this email shows you the most important elements to include when you email your professor about a grading mistake.

First, let them know who you are. Don’t make them hunt for your grade book. Try and be as factual as possible.

It doesn’t hurt to include something polite in the email, like how you enjoy the class, or why this error impacts you. I did that in this email as you can see. Edit it to fit your circumstances better.

Then give them the error. Be specific.

After that, I would try to explain what you think might have happened. If you have an explanation for the mistake, let them know. This helps them resolve it more quickly.

And finally, provide your evidence.

Don’t forget to thank them for their time.

In any correspondence with your professor, be as professional as possible. Make sure you have correct grammar too.

Sometimes a professor might not get back to you quickly enough, or at all. If that’s the case, feel free to reach out to them again and I have an entire article dedicated to helping you understand how to follow-up.

Now, all you can do is wait. And if you get a response back that you don’t agree with but you still have ample evidence that suggests an error still exists, you can check with your college on their grade appeal process.

Most colleges have some formal grade appeal process, but you need to discuss the mistake with your professor first.

And then you need to follow all of the requirements for a formal appeal at your university. Check your student handbook to find out more details if you have to go this route.

Please remember that grade appeals can only be used in unique circumstances and you’ll need to meet that criteria. You can’t just appeal a grade because you think you deserved a better grade or that your professor made hard or confusing test questions.

That won’t cut it.

What to do when your professor marked a question wrong but it’s right?

Okay. I promised I would give you a bonus and here it is.

Sometimes your professor might mark a question wrong when you know you got it right.

And you have pretty good evidence to support it.

This can happen sometimes. Questions aren’t always perfect and sometimes they can be interpreted differently among students.

Before you present this issue to your professor, you need to do your homework first.

Consider the question you are going to argue with your professor.

Do you have solid proof it is wrong?

Sometimes students can misinterpret questions or there is more than one right answer but one is the BEST answer choice.

When you discuss this with your professor, you could ask to learn more about the quiz statistics. See if your professor can tell if other students had similar issues with the question too. If they can pull the stats for the question, they might see a pattern.

Find out what materials your professor wants you to use for the questions. Is your professor wanting you to answer the questions based on your own research online, or from a textbook? Or maybe they assigned some materials for you to review and then answer questions based on that text only.

This is very important and you can’t miss this step.

If you are going to argue why a question is marked wrong but is really right, you need to show proof and it shouldn’t be from another source.

And if your professor expects you to ONLY use a certain book to answer the questions, you shouldn’t find a different answer within another source.

Sometimes there could be a different answer to a question depending on who you ask, but you need to stick to the materials your professor wants you to read.

For example, if you have a question that asks about some statistics. And you were given a textbook to read and answer the corresponding questions. But then you go online and search and come up with something completely different than the textbook, this isn’t likely going to work.

Why?

Because your professor is asking you to answer questions based on the materials they provided and not something you found elsewhere.

Now, if you find the answer marked wrong but you found contradicting information in your text, you have a good case.

When you email your professor, you need to recite the question in its entirety. This way your professor doesn’t have to search for your question within the quiz.

Then explain your situation.

Let them know that it was marked wrong, and you were confused because of the information you read in the text that contradicted the quiz question.

Then cite the text that supports your argument. You can include a screenshot or include the text within your email.

Try and make it as easy as possible for your professor to quickly resolve it.

And I would avoid directly telling your professor that the question is wrong. Instead you should say that you are confused and wanting clarification.

Then it’s up to your professor to review.

If you get a response and it’s not in your favor, and you understand their explanation, move on.

Sometimes you might still be confused about the question, and it’s okay to clarify some things, but remember, your professor creates the assessments for the course and can grade accordingly.

I wouldn’t assume that any professor would want to intentionally impact students’ grades with incorrect questions so trust that they will make the right decision.

Can my professor change my grade after the semester ends?

Yes, your professor can change your grade after the semester has ended but it will depend on how much time has passed. If it’s only been a few days, they can put in a grade change request. I have seen professors do this before but it needs to happen quickly after the end of the semester. Otherwise, a grade change would only be completed if a student appeals their grade and your request is approved.

Keep in mind that there are usually deadlines for students to file a grade appeal. Check your college’s policies. So, yes, there are ways that a professor can fix their grading mistakes, even after the semester has finished, so don’t hesitate to talk to them if you were given the wrong grade.

What if my professor gives me a higher grade than I deserved?

If your professor gave you a higher grade than you earned in the class, and it isn’t a much higher grade, your professor may have done this on purpose. Professors have a lot of discretion when assigning grades to students so maybe they thought you deserved it. If you don’t think you deserved the higher grade, your professor may have entered the grade wrong into the grade book. I have seen these types of errors occur and professors had to re-enter grades.

Your professor may have entered wrong grades for everyone OR it could be an isolated incident. You could reach out to your professor and talk to them. Send them an email and ask them to verify what your final grade was in the course. You should ask them how they calculated your grade to get a better understanding. Maybe you have misunderstood how your grade was calculated.

If they check, and they tell you the same grade you see on your transcript or in your grade book, maybe you did deserve the grade and there wasn’t an error at all.

I would keep a copy of that email so you have it later to prove that you asked them about the wrong grade entered, and you were told it was correct.

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