Is it legal?

**AetheLove** · 03-09-12, 03:59 PM

Originally Posted by judedeath

Could someone explain to me this grading on a curve stuff? Like they change your mark or something?

It's most common in classes that assign a letter grade (A through F). The instructor looks at the distribution of actual (numerical) grades, and compares that distribution to an ideal or expected distribution of letter grades. They then decide which grade to assign to which ranges of scores.

As White alludes, there are many ways to do it and most of them are arbitrary. I know of professors who strictly limit the number of As they give out. They may even tell the class on the first day, "Only the top 3 students will get an A."

The prof I mentioned in the earlier post did nothing like that. He knew the material, and he knew how to judge if you had learned it. If the entire class learned it all, then he'd be perfectly content to give them all As. If the entire class was full of fuckups, he'd fail them all. The first class I took with him, about 30 of us lasted to the end. Two got As.

One of my stats professors kept a history of every score on every test taken by every student he'd ever had. His "curve" was based on the entire historical data set.

Cheers,

AetheLove

**DJ Ms. White** · 03-09-12, 04:03 PM

I am going to talk to him, but only after I learn about the specific guidelines for this type of stuff from the ODS and my advisor. My prof isn't the type you go in to see unprepared. Going from there, then I will go to the Dean of the History College.

**Alundil** · 03-09-12, 04:40 PM

Originally Posted by AetheLove

One of my stats professors kept a history of every score on every test taken by every student he'd ever had. His "curve" was based on the entire historical data set.

LOL go figure

**judedeath** · 03-09-12, 05:04 PM

Originally Posted by AetheLove

It's most common in classes that assign a letter grade (A through F). The instructor looks at the distribution of actual (numerical) grades, and compares that distribution to an ideal or expected distribution of letter grades. They then decide which grade to assign to which ranges of scores.

As White alludes, there are many ways to do it and most of them are arbitrary. I know of professors who strictly limit the number of As they give out. They may even tell the class on the first day, "Only the top 3 students will get an A."

The prof I mentioned in the earlier post did nothing like that. He knew the material, and he knew how to judge if you had learned it. If the entire class learned it all, then he'd be perfectly content to give them all As. If the entire class was full of fuckups, he'd fail them all. The first class I took with him, about 30 of us lasted to the end. Two got As.

One of my stats professors kept a history of every score on every test taken by every student he'd ever had. His "curve" was based on the entire historical data set.

Cheers,

AetheLove

Ah, ok I see, I haven't had a class that graded with letter grades since elementary school and even then it was A is you got from 100 to 80 or something like that, the letters were to make it easier for the kids to understand.

**DJ Ms. White** · 03-09-12, 05:21 PM

Let's see I also had a prof who was so busy finding the Higgs we all got A's. Then there was the time I was completely out of it because of my schizophrenia (before I was diagnosed) the day of my final...looked at the grades...would still get a 79 with a 0 on it, so I said, "Fuck it." Got an A. Had another one who only gave out 2 A's to her 3 classes; I was one of them and she let me sit in one of the more comfortable leather reclining chairs and listen to my ipod. There was also a quarter where I was again having problems with my disability and decided to just not turn in my mostly finished essay on some ancient lit (it just needed a little polishing...I'm a perfectionist OK?). The voices convinced me it wasn't worth turning in. That was 30% of the grade. Got an A.

**AetheLove** · 03-09-12, 05:55 PM

Hey, I love school stories.

Second class I took with the hardass, only about 10 people in it. Spring semester. Last day of class, final exam in a week. One of the people asks "Professor Johnson, would you be willing to run a review session for the exam?"

He says "Sure, that'd be fine. Where shall we do it."

... at which point the class joker (no, it wasn't me) says "Let's have it at Harry's" ... which is a bar near campus.

And without missing a beat the prof says 'Ok. Harry's is fine. Tomorrow at 6? You (points to joker) can stop by my office about quarter to 6, I need someone to carry the flip-chart."

At 6pm the next eve 7 of us are sitting at tables outside at Harry's, professor Johnson walks in with joker in tow. They set up an easel with a huge pad of paper. Prof tows joker with him over to the counter, sends joker back with two pitchers of beer an a stack of cups. Prof comes back with a carafe of wine and a glass.

None of us had yet said a word, because it's just too surreal.

Prof sits down, pours some wine for himself, kinda waves at the cups to us, pulls out a pipe, packs it, lights it, takes a few puffs, a sip of wine, and says "So, what do you want to know?"

It was awesome. We were there for about 2.5 - 3 hours, drawing all kinds of shit on the chart, going over models, reviewing the entire semester.

Yes, not all of us should have been allowed to drink. No one said a thing about it.

Cheers,

AetheLove

**DJ Ms. White** · 03-09-12, 05:59 PM

Just remembered an example of a bell curve one of my Sunday school teachers told me about (cool guy, triathalon athlete, Olympian, saved a bunch of peoples' lives once in a flood). His professor in one of his grade classes had the policy that grades would be distributed on a bell curve. So, even if you made a 95, if that was the lowest score, you were going to fail the course. Lowest grad was a 91...that person did indeed get a failing grade for that class.