Grade point average is a very important aspect of your college career. Many grants and loans are based on your GPA and it also serves as a symbol of ability, not to mention status.

Aside from what content is taught in the classroom, the most important duty teachers have is grading their students. I think the grading styles of some instructors need improvement.

The different methods college instructors use to grade students is almost as diverse as the student population. I have one class where there are daily and weekly assignments due. Then I have another class where there are two tests and a paper for the entire semester.

I hear about classes that grade strictly by attendance, with some lowering a full grade for two absences. Attendance is usually a standard 5 to 10 percent of your final grade in classes, but then roll is never taken. Is it fair to go from having an A at 90 percent to a B with 85 percent because you may have missed four or five classes?

Then in other classes you can miss the entire semester as long as you pass the final. Is it fair that you come to class every day but the teacher is so bad, the book is so big and your time is so short that the best you can muster is a C?

In one of my classes, I recently had a mid-term. I only missed one class in two months, read the materials and took notes. Our instructor did not give us any study guide for the test, and the test questions were not consistent with the volumes of lecture information given to us.

I had no idea of what was expected, but could have done better if I did know. I cannot take the test over again so I am stuck with an average grade.

Now, I need to get 100 percent on the final and research paper to get 90 percent in the class. If I get 90 percent on both, then I drop to 80 percent. Yes, I am bitter and disappointed, but in myself, as well. Most students love when teachers grade on a curve, but I think that shows a failure of instruction.

The practice of students grading papers for teachers concerns me, too. I realize these graduate students have sufficient capability to determine a grade or level of competency for assigned work.

However, I do not pay money for other students to give me grades that will forever go on my record.

There is a grading rubric for paper assignments the university gives the instructors to use, but there is still analysis that needs to be done. Most instructors will review any questions regarding grades, but some students will not question it because they feel embarrassed.

I can imagine there are some less than sensational students and writers that teachers must endure each semester. I think most teachers do a tough job very well.

However, there must be some way to improve the system for grading students that a few teachers currently use. Without a clear understanding of expectations when it comes to test time, students will continue to beg for extra credit while hoping to get a good GPA.