Grading Curve for Bio, Sci and Math classes

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Santa Barbara
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<p>What is the grading curve for most lower division science and math classes (i.e Chem 1A, Math 3A, Math 34A,
Physics 6A) ? I know this can vary from professor. Just wondering since UCSB doesn't give full credit for AP Bio or AP Chem (you still have to take intro course regardless of score).</p>

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<p>I found this last but it is by far the most interesting so I am putting it first - Physics 6A, he has quiz distributions, percentages of grade for each element of the class, and a really interesting course description imho. I wish I could take it: <a href=“Physics 6a, Winter 2012”>http://hep.ucsb.edu/people/claudio/ph6a-12/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Well, this suggests that for this guy in 34A your grade will only be raised by the curve, not lowered by the curve <a href=“http://math.ucsb.edu/~myoshi/syllabus.html”>http://math.ucsb.edu/~myoshi/syllabus.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>"RateYourProfessor’ on this other guy suggests he is somewhat lacking, doesn’t curve, but many find his tests until the final quite easy. <a href=“http://math.ucsb.edu/~myoshi/syllabus.html”>http://math.ucsb.edu/~myoshi/syllabus.html&lt;/a&gt; Most students say check Ratemyprofessor and if someone has many, similar reports, kinda trust it. You can AP out of 3A, however. CLAS is the tutoring program you can sign up for (it is mentioned a lot on this guy’s ratings.)</p>

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<p>Thanks…will pass this info on. This is good news as I’m hoping my D is not to stressed out her first year (like I ws at UCI when I was doing Engineering and Math several years ago). Definately planning on making use of AP credit when possible</p>

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<p>Curves definitely vary from teacher to teacher, however it is pretty common for professors to grade based on the class at hand. Specifically thinking about the chemistry courses I have taken though, most curves are based on the class(es) that the professor is teaching themselves. It can usually be expected that an 100-85% is likely an A/A-, 85-70% is a B/B- and 70-65% is a C/C-. These will fluctuate depending on the difficulty of the course as well as the testing performance of the students.</p>

<p>The one time the curve did not fluctuate was when I took Physics and the teacher made it very clear that his curve was to be set, meaning you had to make the grades with no help from class averages. </p>

<p>The curves have done nothing but help me so far this year, I wouldn’t worry about them too much.</p>