The "Bell Curve" Grading System....

The predominate grading technique in American schools involves some sort of grading system which forces the evaluation of the students into a frequency distribution or "spread" wherein the bulk of the students get a grade of C, and the rest get A's, B's, D's or Fails.

Order The Theory and Practice of Grading Writing Today!
(not written by jcm)

Let's discuss the faulty logic behind - and inherent cowardice in using - a system such as this. The fact that some kids excel in a class and some kids fail to do so is not an immutable law. To claim that no other outcome could have been obtained when the semester is over - and 6 kids have A's and 6 have F's - is nonsense. To perpetuate the problem by continuing to grade students in such a manner is negligence.

The teacher has one good reason for grading this way: The question of his ability to teach the subject is avoided by giving the highest scores in the class an automatic A. The justification given is a lie: that students inherently fall within a spread of skill levels when viewed as a population - AND THAT THIS VARIATION IS IMMUTABLE.

I suggest another model: That all students can learn all subjects completely. Whatever the class is supposed to teach can be learned. Imagine if the grading system of A,B,C,D,F was replaced with a CAN or CAN'T system? The simply obvious fact is that when the student is expected to know a subject, "grades" are not the issue. If brain surgeons took a class called "practical brain surgery" that was supposed to actually teach them how to perform the operation, the school would be remiss in turning out any students who could not actually perform the operation. I can see their literature given the current grading system. "Many of our graduates can actually do what we trained them to do!" I would think they would not want their students released unto the world labeled with several gradations of "maybe," but instead would want a big fat YES or NO next to their names on the roll sheets.

A teacher can avoid having to teach or require learning by saying "O.K., you kids go at it and learn what you can, and the winners will get an A."

Instead, I suggest the teacher says "When you get out of this class, you will be able to recognize what is or is not brain, cut out the parts that aren't brain, and have the patient listen to you recount the adventure at dinner afterward."

JCM