The Grade Curve at UW

<p>I've heard a couple stories from friends with kids at the UW (wannabe math/science majors) about the grading system and thought I would verify this with some of you current students out there.</p>

<p>When I think of grade curving, I think of a system where a student's grade is determined based on their performance relative to other students in a class. So, if the class average is maybe 64% then a C is set at 64%, instead of the traditional 73%.</p>

<p>So, in reality, what happens when a class average is closer to maybe 80 or 85%? Does 80% then become the C? A friend told me that their kid dropped a class (maybe it was a math class but I can't quite remember) where their kid's grade was below the class average since it looked like a C might end up around 80%. That just seems kind of harsh to me but, hey, I haven't been in school for awhile and I guess that's the point of some of those weed out classes. </p>

<p>This has been bugging me since I heard about it towards the end of the spring quarter so if anyone has any knowledge or experiences to share, I'd like to hear them.</p>

<p>I’m sure individual professors curve differently, but in the circumstance that you’re talking about with the average being about 80 or 86 or something the professor may not even bother to curve-- in that case it would seem as though they didn’t have to. </p>

<p>Otherwise, my assumption is that they curve based off of the natural break in scores and adjust accordingly.</p>

<p>You would think, wouldn’t you, that if you got say, 75% in a class, that that would be a solid C no matter what, but my friend said not. At least not in her kid’s experience. </p>

<p>Anybody out there have something like this happen to them?</p>

<p>why is that harsh? it makes common sense, if the class average is an 80 and you have a 70 you should get bumped down</p>

<p>"So, in reality, what happens when a class average is closer to maybe 80 or 85%? Does 80% then become the C? "</p>

<p>Yes…sometimes. Like someone else said, it varies by professor. It can be a real pain to figure out how a professor grades – generally, in my experience, they do not tell you, and you have to email and ask. </p>

<p>I would be sure to do this very early in the quarter. Sometimes I get the response that “It’s against UW’s policy to discuss grading over email” and so they will make you come to office hours to discuss their grading policy. It is a real pain, but it is worth it to figure things out early. I was really surprised one quarter that my ~86% ended up being a 2.7. (Not a curved grade, though – the professor had some sort of linear scale where a 95 = 3.5, 90 = 3.0 – something like that) </p>

<p>It really pays to know early on what your professor is going to do. You can also read “Rate My Professor” and k-o-o-f-e-r-s (that’s a blocked CC word) to try to get a sense of how your professor grades.</p>

<p>Thanks all! I guess it pays to know your teachers and their policy. I’ll pass this info on.</p>