Education Thread

[Cricketman]

It's the grading curve. The tests are insanely hard, this is university level stuff. 60% on the AP Test, which we take in May to qualify for college credit, is a '5' which is the top score. The same applies on our tests throughout the year as it's simply impossible to get a 95/98 without the curve.

But, if you do score well, there is always that chance of getting over the curve and scoring more than a 100%, which is what happened last time around.

It isn't to make the school look better, it's for the students'. We would have no chance at getting in any school if we got D's in the classes (which is what a real 60% is), which would absolutely ruin or GPA but 5s on the AP test.

 

[Sureshot]

It's bollocks, to be frank.

 

[Highlander999]

Who is Frank and why do you want to be him?

 

[shravi]

It's bollocks, to be frank.

Yeah, to be frank, it is. The IB is harder (sorry Cricketman) and we don't get that sort of leeway. 100% should be the maximum.

 

[Cricketman]

a) IB isn't offered in most schools
b) AP is recognized as college credit. You take an AP class, score highly in the class and get a 5 on the test, you don't have to take the same course in college saving you thousands of dollars and time.
c) Doesn't matter if IB is harder. If you are asking a 10th/11th grader to take college material, there better be a grading curve. The curve is determined by the class averages, the second highest score is determined as 100%. The guy who scores above that gets more, and rightly so as you are bound to flunk at least two exams in a year in AP coursework. There are grading curves in college too, so obviously we should have them here in high school as well.

I reiterate - A 5 on the AP test, which makes it so you do NOT have to take the class in high school - is about 65%. That is very, very difficult to get, and only the top percentile of students achieve it. Throughout the semester we have mini-AP tests on the various sections. A 5 is an A, 4 is a B, 3 is a C - and the percents carry over. 65%=100% (A).

There are tests every two weeks, or every 5 class periods. For every period (1hr45mins) you are expected to study 4 hours out of class (Just like college). This is really grueling stuff.

Trust me, if you were taking these classes you'd be begging for a curve.

Cricketman added 7 Minutes and 25 Seconds later...

I'm not familiar with IB though. I know it's some sort of program, and you get some diploma, but that's it. Not familiar with testing and whatnot.

All I know is that my AP schedule is incredibly rigorous and i'm very happy about the curve. The average score on the exam we took a few days ago was a 45% :laugh.

 

[cnbd_novice]

c) Doesn't matter if IB is harder. If you are asking a 10th/11th grader to take college material, there better be a grading curve.

Makes perfect sense to me.

 

[Cricketman]

You guys don't have the GPA system, but think of it this way:

In our school:
A: 4.0
B: 3.0
C: 2.0
D: 1.0

Your grades will be averaged to give you your GPA, or Grade Point Average. This is an absolutely pivotal part of your resume as a student and will be a huge factor when applying to colleges.

Some schools 'weight' tougher classes, giving you the ability to get higher than a 4.0GPA. So, if a kid who took all APs scored Bs in the classes, he could possibly still have a very competitive 4.0+ GPA. In my school(s), they do not weight GPAs. A student who takes classes like pottery, art, gym, and life skills, scoring all As, will have the same GPA (or possibly higher!) as someone who took AP Calc, Ap chem, AP physics and AP literature. Seems a bit unfair.

So instead of weighting GPAs they curve the tests. I feel this is totally fair. Maybe i'm just not good at explaining, but there are absolutely no problems with curves here.

Grading on a curve - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Highlander999]

I regret leaving this 3000 word essay so late now 3 in the morning and I have so far managed to write 477 words and count 27 stars I can see out my window. The joys of 13th century English Peasantry

 

[ste_mc_efc]

You guys don't have the GPA system, but think of it this way:

In our school:
A: 4.0
B: 3.0
C: 2.0
D: 1.0

Your grades will be averaged to give you your GPA, or Grade Point Average. This is an absolutely pivotal part of your resume as a student and will be a huge factor when applying to colleges.

Some schools 'weight' tougher classes, giving you the ability to get higher than a 4.0GPA. So, if a kid who took all APs scored Bs in the classes, he could possibly still have a very competitive 4.0+ GPA. In my school(s), they do not weight GPAs. A student who takes classes like pottery, art, gym, and life skills, scoring all As, will have the same GPA (or possibly higher!) as someone who took AP Calc, Ap chem, AP physics and AP literature. Seems a bit unfair.

So instead of weighting GPAs they curve the tests. I feel this is totally fair. Maybe i'm just not good at explaining, but there are absolutely no problems with curves here.

Grading on a curve - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There isn't anything wrong with graqding curves, but they shouldn't use percentages, at least not going over 100.

It should be a quotient, like in IQ tests.

 

[shravi]

FINALS ARE OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :banana2 Sexy time.

 

[Leggie]

What are finals? Are they like the equivalent of GCSE's or something?

 

[Cricketman]

No. Final exams are worth 20% (usually) of your grade in the class, and tests all topics covered in the semester. I have my finals after the break but have regular exams this week .

 

[shravi]

No. Final exams are worth 20% (usually) of your grade in the class, and tests all topics covered in the semester. I have my finals after the break but have regular exams this week .

Well, my finals were all of 11th grade (both semesters) and the first semester of 12th grade.

 

[Cricketman]

Well, my finals were all of 11th grade (both semesters) and the first semester of 12th grade.

We have finals every semester. And if the course spills over into more than 1 semester the previous topics are covered too

 

[shravi]

We have finals every semester. And if the course spills over into more than 1 semester the previous topics are covered too

Yeah, so do I. What you have to study for them just accumulates (one more semester's worth of work each time).