[jude24]

Presumably, even at Princeton, there is a rank order of effort and ability, from low to high.

I dispute that this premise will necessarily occur, especially the higher and higher you get. I believe it is possible to get a group of hard-working students of roughly equal ability who want to learn.

[e p1uribus unum]

I agree 100%.

A lot of grad classes are like that.

I think there may be some confusion between A level mastery of the material and average of grades on exams. A curve has the potential of making a student with 95% mastery a C student in a high achieving class.