<p>I took the CS 1371 this semester and the average of the first test was lower than 60. On the syllabus, it says that on curve. But if the average stays like this, more than half of students will fail the couse, won't they? Will there be curve finally? Or the final exam becomes much easier than the midterm tests?</p>
<p>The exams do not get easier. There will probably be a small curve, but honestly I wouldn’t count on it. Also consider that less than half the students would fail the course because of homeworks boosting your grade.</p>
<p>So the first real question is: can a professor fail half of a class? Sure, especially if the professor has tenure and has taught the class many times with good teaching scores. That sort of thing would cause students to protest their course grade to the dean of the College of Computing, but if the professor can show that the tests were fair and students simply did not perform well, then the grades would stand.</p>
<p>However, looking at the historical averages from CS1371, about 10% or so of students tend to fail.</p>
<p>they have GRADE REPLACEMENT. Do well on the final and you will not fail.</p>
<p>My test average was an 85%, homework avg 95%, lab average 100%, and the final… well I don’t know what I made on the final. Keep in mind homework and labs only count 20% of the grade combined.</p>
<p>I made an A in the class, so there is some form of a curve. It probably isn’t huge though, so don’t count on it. </p>
<p>I took the class my 2nd semester of freshman year, Spring 2010.</p>
<p>*On a side note, they did offer me a TA position for the class, so maybe I did better than I think.</p>
<p>Look at the grade distribution on sga.gatech.edu/critique. If they didn’t curve, about half the class would fail. As is, it’s closer to 20%. But I will speak for the fact that there are review sessions for every test that literally go over EVERYTHING that will appear on the test, and there are TAs available for homework help from 2-8 on tuesday - thursday, and from 5-8 Monday, 3-6 Friday. If you will put in the effort, you WILL pass.</p>
<p>I looked at course critique before posting … failure rate is around 10%.</p>
<p>The reason why I am asking is that I am struggling to make it to an A. I’ve achieved a 90 in the first midterm. However, the second test was not as good as I expected though I don’t know my socre yet. I spent lots of time working on CS homework everyweek and almost ingnore anyother courses before the test. If it goes like this without curve, I may not end up with an A. Hope they will have curve or grade replacement like what Banjo and illysa said.</p>
<p>A 90 is a very solid A is CS 1371. As you mentioned, the average for the first test (which is usually higher than that of the second test) was below a 60. The cutoff for an A is likely around an 80.</p>