CURVE HELP Forum

[MikeMikeMike111]

Hey guys, so I think my professor just screwed a quarter of my class. I know the curve balances out to roughly a 3.0 (which is correct), but I thought the curve had to somewhat resemble an actual bell curve. Am I crazy for thinking that this curve is incorrect?

4.0 - 10
3.75 - 7
3.5 - 10
3.25 - 12
3.0 - 13
2.75 - 10
2.5 - 0
2.25 - 9
2.0 - 11
1.75 - 2

[nixy]

Some (many?) schools don’t require a particular distribution as long as the median is a particular grade.

[mjb447]

I thought the curve had to somewhat resemble an actual bell curve.

Only true if you can find something to that effect in your school's grading policy.

[QContinuum]

I thought the curve had to somewhat resemble an actual bell curve.

Only true if you can find something to that effect in your school's grading policy.

This. My gut sense is also that law school curves typically aren't bell curves. Law schools seem to prefer to give out more of each grade as you move "down" the GPA ladder (e.g., one A+, very few As, a few more A-s, more B+s, even more Bs, etc.), all the way down to a floor beneath which lower grades are "off-curve"/discretionary and need not be given out unless the professor wishes. I've never heard of a law school that requires, say, an equal number of Ds for every A.

[cavalier1138]

How does that curve screw anyone over? It looks like the professor gave out more grades over a 3.0 (I'm deeply confused about the numbering system you used, by the way) than below.

[QContinuum]

How does that curve screw anyone over? It looks like the professor gave out more grades over a 3.0 (I'm deeply confused about the numbering system you used, by the way) than below.

It depends on what their law school's mandatory curve is. If the professor wasn't required by the school to give out any Cs or C-s, for example, but nevertheless decided to give out 11 Cs and 2 C-s anyway as off-curve "discretionary" low grades, then I can see a strong argument that the professor "screwed" many of OP's classmates.

[FND]

How does that curve screw anyone over? It looks like the professor gave out more grades over a 3.0 (I'm deeply confused about the numbering system you used, by the way) than below.

It depends on what their law school's mandatory curve is. If the professor wasn't required by the school to give out any Cs or C-s, for example, but nevertheless decided to give out 11 Cs and 2 C-s anyway as off-curve "discretionary" low grades, then I can see a strong argument that the professor "screwed" many of OP's classmates.

I remember in one of my 1L classes, out of 80 students, there were plenty of C+, no Cs, and one C-
The curve had minimum and maximum numbers for A/A+, for A-/B+, for B/B-, and a median which could be reached solely by giving more C+, or perhaps a few less Cs

She wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but still...

[TritonLaw]

some schools tend to dismiss about 25% of their students in the first year. This professor gave about 25% grades below a 2.25.

Unless the professor petition a different curve, he/she will likely follow that approach of giving 25% of the grades a grade of 2.25 or below.