ABSTRACT
Colleen was a student in Mr. McAlister’s Calculus course in her senior year of high school. The students’ “senior privilege” exempted them from their final exam if they were averaging an A or a B in the second semester. In the last week of class, Mr. McAlister read off a list of students’ names who were exempted and called Colleen’s name. Elated, she walked out of the room knowing that she would not have to take the Calculus exam. The following week, when grades were posted, she discovered that she had received a B in the class. She was upset because she thought that Mr. McAlister had read a list of the names of students who were exempted with an A, and if she had known that she had a B average, she would have elected to take the final exam to attempt to raise her score. She went home that night and told her parents about the situation. Her father called the teacher to ask what had happened. In his response, the teacher explained that Colleen had been averaging a B for the fourth quarter, and that with the level of material being studied, she should be proud of her performance. In response, her father said, “But if only she had known that you were going to give her a B. . . .” Mr. McAlister interrupted, “I didn’t give her anything; she earned the grade that she received!” Upset and realizing that they had reached an impasse, they both hung up the phone, and Colleen graduated with the only B she had received in 4 years of high school mathematics.
