A case of grade inflation out of my hands.

[kaisilverfire]

I'm a TA for a fairly difficult sophomore level biology course. It's essentially half a semester of botany and half a semester of zoology, with plenty of content to know. I teach a fairly intensive lab with another TA. There are three lab sections overall

Comments

[beatification]

I agree.

But what I hate even more, is when the majority of the class is producing A/B+ level work and the administration is pressuring profs to maintain a C average so everybody gets belled down as a reward for working hard.

[kaisilverfire]

That's also wrong. I don't believe in adjusting grades in any way.

[lazerbug]

agreed. grade properly with a rubric or scoring guide that employs the standards and goals of the course as they appear in each assignment, and if people meet the standards, then they pass. if they do not meet the standards, then they do not pass. i don't get curving class grades so that they "look nice" to whomever may be auditing or whatever. this is education, not making graphs and charts. it just seems so stupid to me.

[elricmelnibone]

Actually, I got champagne with my PhD.

But as I don't drink, I would have liked fries. Curly ones, with cheese.

[elricmelnibone]

I did indeed. Don't know how I had forgotten.

Still would like some curly fries with cheese.

Damn Arby's and their enabling of my addiction.

[lostreality]

if everyone in a class fails it, i'd say that reflected on the professor's teaching ability rather then the student's learning ability.

[kaisilverfire]

I posted an amendment to my original post. This semester seems to be a special case compared to previous semesters. I know that comparing different classes is about as useful as comparing papayas and oranges, but it's all I have at the moment.

[kaisilverfire]

More than likely, I'd agree with the explanation as long as a pinch of "this course is supposed to be challenging" is thrown in.

[hotpanfrances]

I've seen lower curves than an 82 in some of my bloodier undergrad courses. And 120 people is a large enough sample that it's not unfair to question whether either the teaching staff or the expectations for the course are having an impact. I just can't believe that 96% of the class is dumb/lazy. I'm not saying that it's impossible, just improbable.

[kaisilverfire]

The course has a track record for being difficult. It is an incredibly work-intensive course. Both instructors are tenured (not that it has much to do with talent, but worth stating). I have problems believing that the majority of a 120-student class is dumb or lazy as well. I believe it's likely an interaction of under-motivation and course difficulty.

[hotpanfrances]

Well, tenured teaching staff probably suggests that they've taught it so many times they should be, even in the worst case, consistently bad if nothing else.

So what do the profs think? Is this the first time they've curved this notoriously difficult class ever? I mean, a curve isn't that bad of a thing in and of itself-- it just relates you to your peers instead of some (totally imaginary) absolute standard, which grows higher and more idealized wtih every year that passes since you took the class yourself.

I generally see a grading curve as a compensatory mechanism for professors who are seeking a particular grade distribution, but are doing so in the face of imperfect knowledge of exactly how hard the material is going to be for a layperson. You know, kind of a fudge for smart, highly-trained, disciplined, and motivated people who are trying to measure the average undergraduate, who is (sorry kids!) usually lacking one or more of the aforementioned qualities.

[kaisilverfire]

It's a team-taught course. One prof teaches the botany half, the other teaches the zoology half. On average, I'd say that the botany prof isn't the greatest, but the zoology prof makes up for the lacking of his botany counterpart.

I'd surmise that the professors felt that a curve was necessary in this case. In my time TAing this course, it's not the first time that this team has had to curve it. But previously it was more like 3-5 points of curve. And then when I think about that, it seems that 8 isn't that much of a jump from 5. I just think that curving almost a full letter grade is pretty intense and some thinking about instructional quality and course objectives needs to be visited, I suppose.

As a side note, I really like your icon. Steven Chow movies are great... and I think that the Landlady was one of my favorite characters from his films.

[ofthefield]

Maybe admissions let in a bad bunch because apps were low-quality or science-poor. Who knows. Either way, a grade is just that--it grades their knowledge and aptitude with the material, and if it's just not there, it's just not there.

Statistics predict, but they don't force reality to conform to that prediction.