[Mark was here]

If the whole class earned A then they earned A and the average Wood be A.

"C" is average. How could the whole class be above average. The teacher set the bar too low.

"A" = Way above average

"B" = Good, better than average

"C" = Average "

D" = Below average

"F" = Failure

So you are saying the average grade was above average ...

Calling the average grade an "A" is grade inflation defined.

[jude24]

C does not mean "average." It reflects an adequate, but not a superior, mastery of the subject.

If the entire class exhibits a superior mastery of the subject, that does not necessarily mean that the teacher set the bar too low. A bell-curve distribution only occurs with random samples. Given a class of qualified, hard-working, intelligent students who want to be there and a good professor teaching the class, there is no reason why the entire class cannot legitimatly earn an A.

[e p1uribus unum]

Here's the problem.

We use the word "average" in two ways. One is ordinary or unexceptional. The other is more mathematical.
You add the grades and divide by the number of exams. The result is call a "mean" if you're talking math, and an "average" in normal conversations.

Example of quota problem: on the department wide exams Prof A's 20 students got grades ranging from 89 to 98. Prof B's students ranged from 74-88. The 89 student gets a B, the 88 student gets an A.

Funy side note: I misspelled "would" as WOUD, you misspelled it as WOOD.

Top student

[DeweyCA]

In the early 70s, the U of MN psychology dept. was ranked 8th in the nation. it was a VERY competitive program to get into. At that point, grad students usually earned an A or a B. C was considered to be like flunking.

I tutor some kids from my church. Some of the high school material is incedibly dumb, and I can see why 30% of Fullerton State University (CA) students have to take remedial English.

On the other hand, a couple of my kids are in the International Baccleureate program at their high school. They are taking AP Art History classes in 10th grade, that are the equal of the Intro To Art History course that I took in college. They are also taking AP calculus in 11th grade. I think that today there is a much greater gap between the bright motivated students and the plodders in high school than when I went to high school in the late 60s. Two of my Sunday School students went to Berekeley last Fall. They are VERY bright kids who have godly, education-oriented Korean parents.