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If you were studying to be a doctor and you couldn't answer 50% of the questions on each test, it doesn't really matter that you got the other half of the quest

If you were studying to be a doctor and you couldn't answer 50% of the questions on each test, it doesn't really matter that you got the other half of the questions right, you're still not qualified to be a doctor. Maybe that's an overly contrived example, but it gets to the basic idea. There is a certain minimum threshold needed to pass the class, and if you can't meet that, the degree to which you failed is irrelevant.

eesmith 2y ago
Why are you presenting an irrelevant example? Med students are adults, voluntarily studying for a profession. This teacher - who seemingly lied about the reason she was fired as the district does not have the policy she claimed it does - was teaching eighth graders who are required by law to attend school, and where the state as an interest in them getting a good basic education. Furthermore, 'on each test' is far different from 'one test', and the claim concerned a homework assignment. Furthermore, med schools tweak their grades, like "U Pitt: Fail is 2 standard deviations below the mean" - https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/which-med-schools-grade-students-based-on-a-curve.5755/ https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/which-med-schools-g... and the MCAT is graded on a curve ("The MCAT is graded on a curve where 500 is the average for all four sections of the exam with scores ranging from 472 to 528.") Grading on a curve means that if a student could only answer 45% of the questions on each test, while the other students could only answer 40%, then the 45% student definitely passes. It also means that someone who gets 95% right could fail. If someone gets a 0 because they couldn't be there for the test, but were otherwise a competent C student, then should that one missed test doom the student to a D grade? (75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 0) / 12 -> 68.75 which is a D+ and not a C. Is that pattern really the sign of a D student?

eesmith 2y ago

Why are you presenting an irrelevant example? Med students are adults, voluntarily studying for a profession. This teacher - who seemingly lied about the reason she was fired as the district does not have the policy she claimed it does - was teaching eighth graders who are required by law to attend school, and where the state as an interest in them getting a good basic education. Furthermore, 'on each test' is far different from 'one test', and the claim concerned a homework assignment. Furthermore, med schools tweak their grades, like "U Pitt: Fail is 2 standard deviations below the mean" - https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/which-med-schools-grade-students-based-on-a-curve.5755/ https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/which-med-schools-g... and the MCAT is graded on a curve ("The MCAT is graded on a curve where 500 is the average for all four sections of the exam with scores ranging from 472 to 528.") Grading on a curve means that if a student could only answer 45% of the questions on each test, while the other students could only answer 40%, then the 45% student definitely passes. It also means that someone who gets 95% right could fail. If someone gets a 0 because they couldn't be there for the test, but were otherwise a competent C student, then should that one missed test doom the student to a D grade? (75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 75 + 0) / 12 -> 68.75 which is a D+ and not a C. Is that pattern really the sign of a D student?