Potions O.W.L - Pass vs High-Pass

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 104498

Steve wrote:
> I'm convinced of what Snape said, but at the same time, I can see a
> degree of uncertainty in the general interpretation of his
statements. So, before we go any further let's quote what Snape
actually said as a reference point.
<Snape quote snipped>
> First paragraph, Snape says that he expect EVERYONE to pass. That is,
> 'I expect you to scrape an 'Acceptable' in your OWL'. Implying that
> for any student not to pass is extremely rare.
> 
> The third paragraph, 'concentrate ...upon maintaining the high-pass
> level'. Since a HUGE majority of students ARE going to pass, then he
> is implying the he expects the bulk of the student to do better than
> pass, he expects a 'high-pass'. 
> 
> (Does the punctuation tell us anything? 'High pass' vs 'high-pass'?)
> 
> In otherwords, the minimum grade he expects is 'Acceptable'(pass), and
> the more common or typical grade he expects is 'Exceeds Expectation'
> (high pass), but only those who excel with 'Outstanding' will be
> allowed into NEWTs.
> 
> The overal impression is that Snape's students are above average,
> which means 'B'-level or 'Exceed Expectations' is typcial, whereas,
> relative to the standard statistical cross-section or bell curve, the
> bulk of the student fall at 'C'-level or 'Acceptable'.
> 
> And, as I said before, Harry seems to be a typical student when you
> factor in Snape's persecution of him. That would put Harry on a par
> with Ron, Dean, and Seamus. Perhaps, although not clear, he may be
> ever so slightly better than they are. But, even factoring in Snape,
> Harry's performance has never been at TOP level.
> 
> In my humble opinion, to give Harry an 'Outstanding' is the same as
> assuming Ron, Dean, and Seamus will all get 'Outstanding' grades.
> Which in turn somewhat negates those student who truly do outstanding
> work like Hermione and perhaps Draco. Hermione must surely get a
> better grade than Harry.

Carol:
Hermione will get a better grade (mark) for the *course,*
certainly--but not necessarily for the OWLS, on which Harry
undoubtedly did better than he thinks he did. For one thing, as
Umbridge of all people indicates, Snape's student are somewhat more
advanced than she (and probably the test administrators) expects them
to be.

As for "high-pass level," I wonder whether that hyphen is in the
British edition or only the American one and whether the Brits on the
list interpret it as you're doing ("E" level) or as a high number of
students passing the exam, which is essentially the same thing as
expecting almost everyone to get at least an "A."

Carol, hoping that last long sentence is clear

Carol