The Bell Curve!

cre: The Bell Curve!

When I decided to study abroad at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, one of my biggest reliefs was the pass / fail grading system for credit. Which meant I just had to pass the course at my overseas university to get the Drexel equivalent course credits. Sounds exciting, right? Imagine spending a term in a foreign country and at a university without having to worry about your GPA. I had started my trading term with similar thoughts. Because I didn’t have to worry much about lessons, I got involved in a credit-based research experience with a teacher and also joined the squash team and other cultural clubs on campus. . Whenever I had quizzes or homework for class, I didn’t bother to work very hard because of the fleeting state of mind. However, things weren’t as easy as I expected, because of this really tricky scoring system – “The Bell Curve”.

In one of my previous blogs, I had mentioned that my local friends had taught me that most teachers tend to ‘bend the class’. When you hear the term “curve,” you normally expect grading to be easier on students. And that’s what I assumed at the start. When I discovered the “curve” system, I became more withdrawn about my lessons because I had assumed that the “curve” would definitely increase my grade to some extent towards the end. However, there was one important piece of information that I missed, namely that the “curve” was meant to be a “bell curve”. For those (including me), who don’t know the difference between a normal curve and a Bell curve, this may not seem really important. But, once I learned more from the local students, I realized that if I hadn’t learned it sooner, there was a high probability that I would at least have failed one of my courses. .

And that’s why I chose to talk about it in my blog post. Without a doubt, studying abroad is supposed to be a fun experience, but it is also important to at least be successful and earn credits for your courses. Therefore, I want to add a few clarifications that would help aspiring students to be on top of the lessons from the start and avoid any hassle or backfire towards the end. For starters, I would highly recommend all aspiring students to go to the study abroad website and check the minimum grading criteria (to receive credits) for the respective universities. You might often hear that “you just need to pass the lessons”, but that is not always the case. For example, at HKUST the marginal pass mark is D- and above, but according to Drexel policies, you need at least C and above to earn credits for the class. Which means you don’t just have to “pass the class.” This may seem like trivial information, but there is often a huge difference between the “passing grade” at the foreign university and the “minimum grade” for earning credits. It is therefore always advisable to be attentive to it.

Next, let’s see how the usual Drexel grading system is different from the “curve” systems followed by some foreign universities. Usually the grading system for a particular class is decided by the teacher. At Drexel, most teachers use the “absolute grading system”. Which means “you get what you see”. For example, if your overall percentage score based on quizzes, midterms, and finals is 85%, you will likely end up getting a B in the class based on the typical percentage to grade mapping scale. note. However, if the teacher finds the class to be really difficult, he or she may decide to ‘bend’ the class so that the student with the highest score gets 100 and everyone else gets a grade increase accordingly. of the difference. For example, suppose the top of the class got a total of 93% on the class, after applying the curve it will be 100% and everyone else will get a 7% bonus for their final grade. And this is followed by determining a rating using the typical charting scale. Therefore, this type of “curve” will always be beneficial for students, as there is always a chance that your grades will be improved.

So this is the kind of “curve” I initially assumed when local students told me that HKUST teachers usually curve the class. But this was not the case because professors generally follow the “Bell curve”. So let’s see how they are different. To calculate grades based on the Bell curve, the mean (mean) and standard deviation based on the individual performance of the students in the class are first calculated. Once the GPA is decided, based on the difficulty of the class (which is usually determined by the teacher by looking at overall performance), students who fall within “one standard deviation” around the GPA are assigned a grade. specific (of the order of B or C). And the remaining students are given higher or lower marks based on their standing above or below the average. It may not seem so difficult yet. But this remains tricky because you can never estimate your grade and quantify your effort before exams because your performance largely depends on the overall performance of the class. Since the majority of students taking the course are full-time students who are very careful about their GPA, it is very likely that they will put in a lot of effort and be successful in the classroom. This implies that the exchange students (us) cannot get away with hurting in the classroom. We still have to put in enough effort to be really close to the average to at least get the minimum grade to get credits. The main reason for using such a grading system is to make sure that everyone is doing their best to perform well in the class in order to get a good grade.

After learning about this system, I was initially frustrated as it forced me to study relatively harder for my remaining quizzes, intermediate exams, and final exams. But I was also happy to learn about it very early on, which motivated me to start studying for my remaining quizzes and midterm exams. Otherwise, as I said, it was quite possible that I continued to take my exams lightly due to the pass mindset and ended up failing the course because of of the Bell curve. But that doesn’t mean that studying abroad is a stressful experience. Believe me, if you pay attention to these things from the start, you can plan well and be successful in your classes with all the enticing benefits of being abroad. Remember that a little daily effort would add up and help you do well.

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