2006-02-03

The world turned upside down

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For some reason, the grade distribution in my classes tends to look like an upside-down bell graph. Here's an example:

Sad, isn't it?

I don't know why this is. Of course, most of the Fs are from students who won't do anything. And then, I suppose, since I make it hard not to get a good grade in my class, the chart becomes top heavy.

What I do know is that this distribution says something about my teaching and that something is not good. I just don't know what that something is.

7 comments:

  1. Ah, I see the problem.

    Just turn the graph upside down. That should skew the scale to fit the normal distribution.

    There ya go...

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  2. You are clever and funny. Thank you for existing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. .

    Do you mean me or Studpi?

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  4. It's like on "A Wonderful Life" when Jimmy Stewart sees everything backwards.

    Or maybe that was Naked Lunch. I get the two confused.

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  5. The only concern I would have is that 35.714285714285714285714285714286% is failing. Now, when I was an instructor in BYU's Composition program, I took great pride in my class average. But this can't be good. Even if there were concerns of departmental grade inflation.

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  6. 1) Get rid of homework.
    2) Make impossibly difficult multiple-choice tests.
    3) Curve the average to a C.

    Eh, eh? Doubt they're so lazy as to refuse to bubble every response C.

    Yeah, I like your way more.

    ReplyDelete