Vignette 7: The Mighty Bell Curve

The decision the teacher made to not give the student an 80% because she already had 6 other marks over 80% would have impacted the student's life immensely. The 79% the student got meant she was not eligible for the scholarship which could impact if she goes on to any post secondary school. So this grade had a huge impact on her life. I think what the teacher did was unfair to the student by basing her grades on a bell curve. The bell curve is not a fair way to assess student's work when the population size is so small. Plus comparing students to each other does not reflect what each student has learned rather it shows how they ranked in that test in comparison to their peers. In this case the student's future is obviously dependent on the grade. It is not fair to pit students against each other to obtain a high mark. We are taught that everyone learns differently so why would we try to compare them when it comes to grades?

In this case it would have been fair to base the students' grades on criterion referenced grading. I would have done this because a class is a small sample and not meant for the bell curve. Criterion referenced grading also reflects the student's understanding of the concepts better. This is what the POS helps with when designing assessments. The outcomes in the POS are what the students need to master to achieve a high grade. If you base your grades on the comparison between students rather then what they need to learn, it does not reflect if the students have achieved the outcomes. So criterion referenced assessment allows you to make a judgement on the student's work and understanding of the outcomes for their grade.

In this case I think the teacher had a few ways they could have helped the student so she would have been able to be eligible for the scholarship. One is to look at the work the student has been doing all year. Since this case says it was over 80% all the time I would have increased the student's grade the 1% she needed. Just because the student was a previous honors student would not make me increase the grade for her. I would look at the proof of her learning for the whole year to see that she really was mastering the concepts and look at the proof of her understanding. Other ways to help the student could have been by allowing the student to rewrite the exam or let her do a bonus project to increase her grade. I think we are there to help students achieve their dreams not be obstacles for them.