Recent recorded grades — Fall 2018: 3.89 GPA, 94.2% A/AB (n=69 letter grades); Fall 2020: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=23 letter grades); Fall 2021: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=67 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
Fall 2026
School and Society
Examines the interplay between schools and society, including cultural influences on pedagogy and policy.
Summary
1 / 7
The workload centers on approximately five papers with flexible timing for completion and no exams, while lectures and readings are sometimes viewed as optional compared to graded discussions and essays.
Grade history
↗ average GPA
letter grades
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F
All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapSophomore standing
- Sophomore standing
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- Sophomore standing
Professors
Fall 2026Edgar Valles is consistently praised for creating a welcoming atmosphere and engaging lectures using music and current events. Reviewers highlight his care for students and knowledge, though one notes political bias in a specific lecture.
One reviewer found lectures unnecessary and optional, preferring class discussions over 50-minute lectures. This student noted that most grading occurs in discussions or outside essays rather than through lecture content.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.87 GPA, 92.0% A/AB (n=100 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.93 GPA, 97.8% A/AB (n=93 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.94 GPA, 98.6% A/AB (n=144 letter grades).
No course-specific feedback yet.
Jennifer Otting is kind and engaging, though some find lectures occasionally boring. She is supportive and willing to help students correct mistakes.
Expectations are vague, and readings are skimmable. The course has strict attendance, no exams, and approximately four papers.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.88 GPA, 93.8% A/AB (n=48 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.78 GPA, 92.6% A/AB (n=95 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.76 GPA, 90.2% A/AB (n=41 letter grades).
No course-specific feedback yet.
No course-specific feedback yet.
No course-specific feedback yet.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Edgar Valles, Jennifer Otting, and Simone Schweber are the current instructors, but no reviews exist for them. Historical reviews highlight Elizabeth Hauck, Wallace Grace, Daniel Berman, and Emily Miller as supportive and caring. These instructors provided good feedback and engaging lectures, though some noted heavy reading loads or unprepared student facilitators.
DANIEL BERMAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2020, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
EDGAR VALLES is recorded teaching in Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
ELIZABETH HAUCK is recorded teaching in Spring 2018. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
EMILY MILLER is recorded teaching in Fall 2024, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
JENNIFER OTTING is recorded teaching in Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
SHANSHAN JIANG is recorded teaching in Fall 2018, Spring 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
SIMONE SCHWEBER is recorded teaching in Fall 2018, Fall 2020, Fall 2021. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
STACEY LEE is recorded teaching in Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2014, Fall 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
WALLACE GRACE is recorded teaching in Spring 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Fall 2026Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 002 | Classroom Instruction | 50 / 50 | 0 |
| DIS 303 | Classroom Instruction | 25 / 25 | 0 |
| DIS 305 | Classroom Instruction | 25 / 25 | 0 |
| DIS 307 | Classroom Instruction | 25 / 25 | 0 |
| DIS 308 | Classroom Instruction | 25 / 25 | 0 |
| LEC 001 | Classroom Instruction | 50 / 50 | 0 |
| LEC 003 | Classroom Instruction | 49 / 50 | 0 |
| DIS 301 | Classroom Instruction | 25 / 25 | 0 |
| DIS 302 | Classroom Instruction | 25 / 25 | 0 |
| LEC 004 | Classroom Instruction | 50 / 50 | 0 |
| LEC 005 | Classroom Instruction | 30 / 30 | 0 |
| DIS 304 | Classroom Instruction | 25 / 25 | 0 |
| DIS 306 | Classroom Instruction | 24 / 25 | 0 |
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.
Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Students describe the course as highly recommended and engaging, praising instructors for creating welcoming atmospheres and making material interesting through diverse teaching methods.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.89 GPA, 93.9% A/AB (n=196 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.86 GPA, 95.4% A/AB (n=218 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.87 GPA, 95.1% A/AB (n=205 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
The workload centers on approximately five papers with flexible timing for completion and no exams, while lectures and readings are sometimes viewed as optional compared to graded discussions and essays.
While students appreciate the engaging style, some note that lectures can be boring, and one reviewer reported that assignment expectations were vague, though the instructor was willing to clarify.
Topics
Skills
Grades
Fall 2026 · Projected
Before grades are released– average GPA
Approximate 80% prediction interval
About this estimate
The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.
The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.
8 earlier forecasts · 0.07 GPA average error.
Grades over time
Through Fall 2026
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Where this course fits relative to
Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels
GPA
Higher than % of other courses in this group.
Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range
letter grades
More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.
Typical course in this group: letter grades.
About this comparison
1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.
Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.
Sources & history
UW–Madison
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
School and Society
Recorded 2026-09-07Raw records
[
{
"run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
"semester": "1272",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"offering_id": "1272:310:005968",
"course_id": "EDPOL 300",
"course_uid": "course_956cbf0bb44c5080eeb87440",
"term_id": "1272",
"source_course_id": "005968",
"source_subject_id": "310",
"title": "School and Society",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"typically_offered": "Not Applicable"
}
]Rate My Professors
Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
Madgrades
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesModel outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
{
"model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
"model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
"task_version": "14",
"output_id": "691a5123f43804b613478b59bc48a620db4d935df44eccfdc6d6b3fd8a5f3bd0",
"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}