Should grades be curved?

Question

In basic middle school classes, its unusual to find a teacher who 'curves' the grades. The students need to know these basic standards and if they have not learned them, they cannot pass the class. But when you get into advanced college classes, more courses ARE graded on a curve. The material is so difficult that the professors just push a ton of information on students and see how much they can swallow. It wouldn't seem to fair to fail all the college students. So the question is, in general, should grades be curved or not??

Answer 1

If a teacher/professor feels the need to grade on a curve, then it's more of an admission of their lack of success in teaching students whatever they intended students to learn. Or stated somewhat differently, if an entire class does that poorly, normally a teacher/professor will acknowledge that the problem may have had more to do with their teaching method in that case than with the students inability to learn the material.
I don't grade on a curve, instead I accept my part of the blame and use the assessment as a means to understand what my students are having difficulty with, then I try to explain those parts better.

Answer 2

I'm considered a touch "hardcore" on grading. I believe that grades (at all levels) should be based on an educational objective. The objective has either been met, or it has not.

In some courses there can be levels of having met an objective, such as meeting only 80% of the standard, but the objective should be what we are measuring.

It's not important in the slightest whether the student worked hard or not. It's not important whether some students understood better than others. It's only important whether the objective was met and to what degree.

It's time we stop coddling students and started telling them the truth. "I'm sorry Sue, it appears that you don't understand this material" -- F

Just my approach though and one of the reasons I don't teach below post-secondary. ☺

Answer 3

I believe that being graded by a curve imports laziness in the educational system; Therefore, the students are not being challenged.
If any subject in college is too hard to comprehend, perhaps the student needs tutoring. If many students fail the test in one setting, apparently the teacher has failed in his teachings AND grading by the curve encourages students not to take education seriously.

Answer 4

Middle schoolers and below should learn how to earn their grade, whatever it may be. In high school and above, kids learn that by working hard to get an A, you might just get over 100%, which could really boost your grade. I think that curving grades are good, but kids need to know how to earn the grade that they want FIRST. I also think that not all test grades, or grades in general should be curved. It may give kids the chance to slack off, if they know that they will get a C, even if they only worked for a D...or in any case.
I hope this answers your question.

Answer 5

For k-12 no. There should be no air of competition at this level, even for juniors and seniors. The focus is on knowledge and learning. At the college level it is appropriate because you are literally competing with classmates for employment. Most people will tell you that although they used what they learned in college at their job, much of what they must know they learned came through on the job training or by relying on some type of reference material. So the focus at the college level is not so much raw knowledge, but rather showcasing performance under pressure.

Answer 6

girls should have curves, and most do. Grades should NOT be curved--you get what you earn. Do employers curve wages ? HECK NO. You get paid what you earn. Does the IRS curve taxes ? HECK NO. You pay on what you earn. See a pattern ? HECK YES !!!!!