> If most of the students did bad in the exam, the problem lies with the one factor in common: the professor. Class distributions vary significantly. I TA'd e

> If most of the students did bad in the exam, the problem lies with the one factor in common: the professor. Class distributions vary significantly. I TA'd elementary computer programming for seven quarters.[1] Some classes were more engaged, some less. My worst was a TR 3pm: a quarter of the students failed. My best was a summer course in which I taught without a computer (except for the labs): the room wasn't equipped, so I printed the slides and wrote on transparencies. My N of 7 isn't significant (average grades ran from 72-82%, I think, and I don't know the standard deviation), but it's worth thinking about the problem more globally than your comment suggests. We often think of student grades statistically (work that curve!), but we rarely think about it with respect to a set of classes. It's likely that this professor has had classes that were very good and very bad and some that were in between. Reflecting honestly on my own career on the other side of the desk, I was not a very good student. I studied to pass tests, not to learn. I got a degree because failing me would have looked bad for the institution, not because I was particularly deserving. The humiliation of that experience turned me (I think and hope) into a life-long learner--and it informed my teaching in the classroom. Failure is one of the best teachers to those willing to learn her lessons. [1] We team-taught occasionally and always team-graded the exams (one question or section, depending, per TA) to help level the grading. We had a department policy that failing the final exam meant failing the course. We encouraged collaboration among the students on homework--less so on labs--reasoning that it would strike a balance between understanding the material and acquiring needed soft skills. Office hours policies were quite liberal: all students were welcome at all TA hours, so if you had an issue with your instructor you could visit the TA and supervisor. Complaints were taken seriously, and underperforming teachers were removed. My reviews were generally good, with the biggest complaints about my language. (I modified my class structure to spend a few minutes on vocabulary each day in response.) {{ Edit: typo. }}