Second — the other kid probably deserved an A- — because the only thing that brought down his grade was the homework — and the professor probably knows that the grade on the homework is not so important. It is not within his rights to count homework less if someone does well on it — but it is within his rights to count it less if it is in the student’s favor. He may well have had a rule like “I will give a 70 in HW to any student who gets below a 70.”

It is always tough to figure out what grade to give to people on the border. I think your professor did the right thing. The other student got an A on the quiz, one test and the exam. You got an A on the quiz but failed to get an A on either test or the exam.

Bottom line — you don’t deserve an A and it isn’t any of your business that the other kid got one — but in my opinion, he deserved an A-.