{"id":6794,"date":"2018-02-07T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T16:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/?p=6794"},"modified":"2018-10-22T00:15:29","modified_gmt":"2018-10-22T06:15:29","slug":"the-randomness-of-grades-what-is-an-a-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2018\/02\/07\/the-randomness-of-grades-what-is-an-a-student\/","title":{"rendered":"The Randomness of Grades: What is an ‘A’ Student?"},"content":{"rendered":"Approximate Reading Time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>

We all have a sense of what an ‘A’ Student is.<\/p>\n

They are the ones who have earned our top marks, of course. But comparing our own personal ‘A’s with that of other faculty quickly becomes problematic.<\/p>\n

All those complaints about ‘grade inflation’ are effectively us complaining that other people don’t have our high standards – as if OUR standards were, well\u00a0standard<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

But, are they?<\/p>\n

Let’s have another look at my super simplified content <=> exam graphic.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Let’s suppose a student gets 75% of the questions right. That’s often considered to be a ‘B’.<\/p>\n

This is what a ‘B’ looks like:<\/p>\n

\"\"

We’ll call this Student 1<\/p><\/div>\n

If we think of each of the squares as representing a single MC question, then the patterns could tell us something if our questions were not randomized. Even without that, consider these other ‘B’s:<\/p>\n

\"\"

Student 2<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Student 3<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Student 4<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Student 5<\/p><\/div>\n

ALL of these students got exactly 75% of the questions right. Is it fair to say they ALL have the same level of competence?<\/p>\n

I’d say no.<\/p>\n

NOW…..<\/h2>\n

What if the exam ISN’T perfectly balanced. What if, for example, we placed a heavier emphasis on the latter topics of the course?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Come back tomorrow to see how things might change.<\/a><\/p>\n