College Exam and Class Averages

[sanddrag]

I don't know why instructors know that their class average is really bad (F) and then just "curve" or "scale" it to make it "okay" like C grade. I'm not saying they should fail most of the class, but when averages are this low, it is not the grading scale that needs adjusting. By scaling the grades, they are bypassing the real heart of the problem: the students are not learning or they do not understand the material. No playing around with numbers or letters will ever fix the fact that the students are not understanding as much material as they need to.

Say there is a 100 point test. Let's say the score is representative of mental ability. The class average comes out to be 12 pts. One student scores 30. Relative to the other students, this student would have superior mental ability. But relative to an ideal student, this student is a moron!

Say out of fifty people they each have an average of $10 in their pockets. One guy has $60 in his pockets. Relative to the other people, he is filthy rich! But when you see what little $60 can buy in the world, he is extremely poor!

If al of a sudden the average IQ of people in America dripped to 25, that would not make someone with an IQ of 50 be smart.

Just because a students is more capable than another, doesn't mean he is capable enough.