[steve23063]

What are the craziest curves you've had on an exam?

I had a diff eq exam 2 years ago where I got a 24% but it was still a passing grade. I don't remember what the average was unfortunately.

By far the most ridiculous curve was for a linear algebra class last year. The professor was an idiot but I won't get into that. The curve was as follows:

0-48% F
49% D <---- WHAT?!
50-54%ish C
54ish-68%ish B
68%ish-100 A

I say 54ish because I can't remember if that was the exact number. Anyways I didn't study for that exam thinking it'd be easy and got a 48% Luckily I aced the final but wow that professor should have been fired...if only because he was an hour late for the final exam!

[kiddy_vangsta]

I keep this stuff in my diary so I remember. For one of my anthropology classes [Human Evolution], oh my goodness, the mid-terms were so awful. This teacher only had multiple choice, but they were hard as heck. There were a few easy ones, but the rest were maybe answers, but it may not be. There were about 130 students in that class, and the TA even said that the tests were hard. We took 3 midterms and the averages were 28%, 32%, and 38%. Everyone was really failing that class [including me] because the tests were worth a lot. The labs were easy and I did good on them. I don't know how the final turned up, but I ended up getting a B for the class. My TA told me in reality the whole class failed except for one student if they didn't curve. We never found out what the curve was, but my TA was awesome.

For my math course [Pre-Cal] it was so awful. The first mid-term we had the average was 18%, of course our professor was really putting the class to sleep. He sounded like that guy from the commerical of "Visine" however you spell it, that "Got Red" guy. He wanted to see how the class did on the second mid-term so he could curve and it was 26%. So for the first mid-term he curved it by saying anything higher than 18% is A, 15-17% is B, 11%-14% is C, and 8%-10 is D, under 7% is F. For the second mid-term I had no idea because I just withdrew from that class and took it next semester.

My sister took Psych, which is supposed to be the easiest class [from what I heard], and for their midterm that average was 22% out of 180 students. The teacher was going to curve but a student got 99% so she didn't want to make it UNFAIR for that student, so she didn't curve the test.

[sunshine4ever]

OMG, what you said about the curve is horrible..was the test too hard? Anyway, I never had a curve where we go that far..in fact..I don't remember the curve in most of my classes. Almost none of my teacher had to do it, but I think there was one for Geography class and suppposedly we were to get a C, but we got a B instead because the test was so hard that everyone screwed it up so my teacher changed his total scores.

[Battle Cat]

12% is an A

actually in engineering its common for an A to be at around 50% cause the material is difficult

[steve23063]

ummm wow... I can't believe you guys had curves where A's fell under 40%!

Kiddy Vangsta, I feel sorry for you that you had to put up with a professor like that. Theres no reason anyone should gives exams where getting 18% of the questions right means you're at the top of the class. Tests like that definitely aren't testing your knowledge. All it does it piss the students off.

Sunshine4ever, usually it's because the test is difficult but sometimes I think it's because the students underestimate how hard the test is going to be so they all underprepare for it.

Battle Cat, I'm an engineer too but I don't think I've ever heard any of my friends at other schools tell me it's common for A's to be around 50%. Where do you go to school and what's your major? I'm a senior in computer engineering at the University of Illinois (champaign campus).

[xSwtnBitterx]

haha for my chemistry II class..i had this veyr COCKY COCKY PROFESSOR...his tests are hella hard...to the point where it sso "SURPRISING", the stuffs on there....its like "WHERE the heck u get htis FROM?"

well the class average was always under a 60 or even 50. I always make like 85 around there or btw 80-90. but more htan half the class were making around the 40s and some even 30s...


so he CURVE that STUFFS un like 20 POINTs????????????????

he always DO THAT for all his exams...

he just want to PROVE that he IS THE BEST SMARTEST MAN ALIVE?

[birthdaycakes]

HAHAHA Oh man....
for calc I last fall, my professor's exams were a real trip. I remember on the first one, I got the third highest grade in the class - it was a 39. Nobody passed except one person, and he got a 70. I don't think anybody finished the exam either.

Next exam, I got a 55. One person got an A - it was a 92.

Third exam, I got a 45. Again, I think only one person passed.

Got a 72 on my group project. Nobody else did very well, but obviously as you can see, people passed that one....

For our final exam, we had to write down everything about calculus that we knew.
You might find yourself asking, "What?"
Well, we asked that same thing of ourselves. Basically, we had to write down all of the proofs and theorems (in explicit detail!) and formulas that we could in three hours. He wrote down our times when we turned them in. I had no idea about that until I talked to a friend later on, who had finished about 40 minutes before time was over but waited so that his time could be longer....haha. Luckily, I had only 15 minutes left when I turned mine in and I had written everything I knew.
Our TA's had a time grading that exam, I'll tell you that.

And somehow or another, I ended up with a B in that class.
I don't know how much he curved, but I never passed a single exam in there. I never got above a 60. One person scored a grade of an A on an exam all semester. And I got a B. Without the curve, I probably would have had a low D.
Worst class ever though, aside from biology. He was a bad professor too.

[David]

HAHAHA Oh man....
for calc I last fall, my professor's exams were a real trip. I remember on the first one, I got the third highest grade in the class - it was a 39. Nobody passed except one person, and he got a 70. I don't think anybody finished the exam either.

Next exam, I got a 55. One person got an A - it was a 92.

Third exam, I got a 45. Again, I think only one person passed.

Got a 72 on my group project. Nobody else did very well, but obviously as you can see, people passed that one....

For our final exam, we had to write down everything about calculus that we knew.
You might find yourself asking, "What?"
Well, we asked that same thing of ourselves. Basically, we had to write down all of the proofs and theorems (in explicit detail!) and formulas that we could in three hours. He wrote down our times when we turned them in. I had no idea about that until I talked to a friend later on, who had finished about 40 minutes before time was over but waited so that his time could be longer....haha. Luckily, I had only 15 minutes left when I turned mine in and I had written everything I knew.
Our TA's had a time grading that exam, I'll tell you that.

And somehow or another, I ended up with a B in that class.
I don't know how much he curved, but I never passed a single exam in there. I never got above a 60. One person scored a grade of an A on an exam all semester. And I got a B. Without the curve, I probably would have had a low D.
Worst class ever though, aside from biology. He was a bad professor too.

Ugh that reminds me when I took Calculus. Three of my friends dropped the class because the tests were ridiculously difficult. I think I was getting between 50%-75% on all my tests. Got a C- at the end. Now I must retake the course =\

[megaSTEPxo]

I remember taking a Math course in my first sem of uni too.. and for our final grade.. anything below 48% was an F too..
but I can't really remember how the rest of the marks were curved. I just remembered the F one

[Jay Chou]

i heard some professors at uc davis use the bell curve....sucks

[mintfresh]

I had a horrible physical chemistry professor who never curved.
We had a total of 2 exams (out of all three quarters) where everyone failed but he never curved...that screw everybody up.

I don't know if this story belong here but having a curve is a better than none!

[hun_wun_gal]

40% is a pass in my module, during our first mid term 27/100 passed not with a good grade but just got more than 40%. So now he's dropped the pass mark to 30%.

[tinyvietpeach]

I keep this stuff in my diary so I remember. For one of my anthropology classes [Human Evolution], oh my goodness, the mid-terms were so awful. This teacher only had multiple choice, but they were hard as heck. There were a few easy ones, but the rest were maybe answers, but it may not be. There were about 130 students in that class, and the TA even said that the tests were hard. We took 3 midterms and the averages were 28%, 32%, and 38%. Everyone was really failing that class [including me] because the tests were worth a lot. The labs were easy and I did good on them. I don't know how the final turned up, but I ended up getting a B for the class. My TA told me in reality the whole class failed except for one student if they didn't curve. We never found out what the curve was, but my TA was awesome.

For my math course [Pre-Cal] it was so awful. The first mid-term we had the average was 18%, of course our professor was really putting the class to sleep. He sounded like that guy from the commerical of "Visine" however you spell it, that "Got Red" guy. He wanted to see how the class did on the second mid-term so he could curve and it was 26%. So for the first mid-term he curved it by saying anything higher than 18% is A, 15-17% is B, 11%-14% is C, and 8%-10 is D, under 7% is F. For the second mid-term I had no idea because I just withdrew from that class and took it next semester.

My sister took Psych, which is supposed to be the easiest class [from what I heard], and for their midterm that average was 22% out of 180 students. The teacher was going to curve but a student got 99% so she didn't want to make it UNFAIR for that student, so she didn't curve the test.

the curve for a PRE-calc class was that low? damn. those students are screwed then. pre-calc is one of those easier subjects that you can just kind of teach yourself or easily get help from a friend if your professor sucks. even if the test was "really hard," it's pre-calc..........that's 'algebra 3' basically....

anyway, my chem class curve was pretty low.
The curve was: A, above 74%; B, 60% - 73%; C, 48% - 59%; D, 37% - 47%; F, below 37%.

i failed both midterms and all the quizzes and the final and i got a C. my friend came into the final with an F and he didn't bring a cheat sheet or his calculator because he had lost hope. he got a C too.

[little mixed girl]

most of my classes were not based on curve grades...
are these math, computer or science classes you're talking about?

[Boomx2Brian]

There was a curve for Cal3. A friend of mine didnt have to take the final and still got an A becuase of it

[steve23063]

most of my classes were not based on curve grades...
are these math, computer or science classes you're talking about?

well for me the biggest curves were in my math and engineering classes but i just meant for any class you've taken

[BestChinese]

the most dumbest curve in my life was in my stat class...... it was .15 of the overall grade!!! OMG not many ppl got a good grade and ppl who had an 89 STILL GOT B's!!!!!!! they had to get 89.35 to get an A since 89.5 is an A WTF?~?!?!?!!??!?

most of my classes were not based on curve grades...
are these math, computer or science classes you're talking about?

DATS NUCKING FUTZ!!!!!

[MaryMagdalin]

never had a curve...yet TTOTT
but my friend
she got a C on raw
and ended up with an A
wtf!?!?!?!

[who8myoreos]

hah no one's even come close to my organic chem class:

A = 45%

And I got a B in the class by studying my a$$ off.

[dunpingy]

my friends mvc class:
if you got under 4%, you failed. people failed.

i think thats pretty poor lol