This was exactly my experience in college. I repeatedly had professors who apologized for making the test "too hard" -- i.e. all but 0-1 students failed because

This was exactly my experience in college. I repeatedly had professors who apologized for making the test "too hard" -- i.e. all but 0-1 students failed because passing the test required a novel approach that no one (or only 1-2 brilliant students) was able to find during the time allotted.