>It doesn't imply that the standards for passing the class were lowered That's literally what it implies. The curve was relaxed. It became easier to meet the s

>It doesn't imply that the standards for passing the class were lowered That's literally what it implies. The curve was relaxed. It became easier to meet the standard of a minimum pass grade for a given level of performance. > or the performance of underrepresented demographics was lower than non-underrepresented demographics once they enrolled in the course Nor do I. But lower standards (easier to pass/earn a high grade) implies poorer qualification/ability. Curves by definition bring up the grades of those who perform worse, without changing how they perform. In this example, if we peel away the euphemism, women were deterred from enrolling because the class was too hard to pass, so it was made easier to pass without changing the content. That does not necessarily mean that the women now taking the course are poor performers, but it does mean that on average the course will be graduating more students who would not have met previous standards.