by Felicia Fonseca
Daily Lobo
The grade curve is a tool - some UNM professors choose to use it, others do not.
At UNM, there is no set policy on grade curving. The only requirement, according to the UNM Faculty Handbook, is that the end result of a student's performance in class be given a letter grade.
Generally, grades distribute themselves into a bell-shaped curve. This classic curve indicates that most students are average. Few students excel or fail.
"It forces people into a group, trying to make everyone normal," said UNM teaching assistant Benito Quintana. "Those who really excel should really excel."
Although many instructors find their students' grades fall into some common distribution year after year, many do not agree with the bell curve.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Richard Schaefer, an associate professor in the Communication and Journalism department, supervises many sections of the same course taught by different instructors each semester.
Because none of Schaefer's instructors grade in the same manner, he said, one instructor's grades should match up to another instructor's.
"In the end, it should not matter which lab instructor a student had - the grades should be equivalent across the various labs," Schaefer said.
While other professors choose not to curve grades, they do consider it on a case-by-case basis.
Communication and Journalism lecturer Dennis Herrick said he generally does not curve. However, Herrick said he would reconsider in cases where the test was a complete disaster. Such an outcome, he said, would leave him re-evaluating the difficulty of his test or the material presented.
Although many students are fond of grade curving because they are getting better grades, some feel cheated.
"It tells people who don't try that they are doing okay, and those that are doing good, that they can walk on water," said Antonio Mart°n, a UNM political science graduate.
According to The Academic Revolution: Student Power, by Arleen Watkins, "curving grades de-emphasizes the quality and quantity of the content of exams and places the focus on the theoretical distribution of scores."
Motivation and time commitment are better predictors of what grade a student will earn in a class, not prior experience, Schaefer said.
Roger Schluntz, professor and dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, said he has no problem with grade curving or adjustments, as long as they are done responsibly. In all instances, he would expect the faculty member to be reasonable. He also expects them to be fair to all students, with or without a curve, in determining the appropriate grade, he said.
"In an ideal setting, you get what you earn," UNM sophomore Will Charles said. "But sometimes you need it (the curve)."
