OWL EXAM CACULATIONS

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 97751

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "potioncat" <willsonkmom at m...>
wrote:
> Does anyone have a statistical view of how the OWL marks should fall? 
> There are O, E, A for the passing grade, correct?  P and D would both 
> be failures?  So how many students would reasonably be able to take 
> Transfigurations or Potions?  How many would be expected to pass?  I 
> know Snape said his  classes had a high pass rate.
> 
> ... I was wondering how large  the classes might be and who we might 
> see placed together.  ... one class of all 4 houses. Of course, a 
> student could pass an OWL, but not need the NEWT level for 
> their chosen career.
> 
> IIRC, JKR ...  Would she be familiar with the bell curve?  Or does 
> that theory even hold water any more?
> 
> Potioncat 


bboy_mn;

I discussed school grades briefly in -
Date:  Thu Apr 29, 2004
Subject:  Re: OWLS
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/97262

Although, it doesn't necessarily directly answer any of your questions.

First let's put the wizards grades into a format that most U.S.
citizens are familiar with

A = O = Outstanding
B = E = Exceeds Expectations
C = A = Acceptable
D = P = Poor
F = T = Troll or Terrible

In my day (he said croakily) we didn't use a curve, grades were
stickly by percentage and with little mercy. To the best of my
recollection-

A = 100% to 94% (pass)
B = 93% to 87% (pass)
C = 86% to 80% (pass)
D = 79% to 75% (just barely pass)
F = below 75% (fail)

Very few kids today could wtihstand a grading system like that. 

In the wizard world, I suspect each teacher sets their own grading
standard and assigns the wizard letter grades accordingly. 

Next, let's remember that there is a difference between passing an OWL
and getting into NEWT classes. Snape demands Outstanding to get into
NEWT Level; McGongall requires Exceeds Expectations.

So what happens if you get a passing 'Acceptable' in Tranfigurations? 

You passed the class but don't meet the qualifications for the NEWT
class; then what? 

So, is there a standard grade form 6 & 7 Transfiguration class as well
as a NEWT Level Advanced Transfiguration class? 

The Standard as well as the Advanced option is possible but it doesn't
seem very logical. I guess, on one hand, we could consider the
Standard grade class like techincal school, and the Advance NEWT class
more like Junior College. 

Personally, I consider the whole concept of NEWT classes like Junior
College. To model it after the muggle world, when you get your high
school diploma (OWLs), you either go off to join the working world, or
you go to college/university. That's how I see the wizard world. Of
course, that ignores the techincal/trade/vocational school aspect of
the real world, but I suspect in the wizard world, the equivalent of
techincal/trade schools are on-the-job apprenticeships. 

I don't think we really know enough to resolve this. All the senior
classmates that Harry knows (that we also know about), essentially
amounts to the Grif. Quidditch team and Lee Jordan, all fo which
continue to study at Hogwarts after OWLs, but we see very very very
few students above (or below) Harry's year, so we have no indication
whether a significant number of students left after OWLs.

I lean in that direction. I want to see, and reasonably expect, the
class sizes to be small and perhaps even structured differently.
Because of that, I could very easily see all the houses together in
one classroom; perhaps even, in some cases, merging 6th and 7th years
into one class. 

That certainly opens the door to more interaction between Harry, and
Slytherin and Rawenclaw houses, and even opens the door to Harry
getting to know some Slytherins who are outside Draco's influence.

Draco is the classic 'popular' or 'cool' kid and leader of the
'popular' crowd. He is rich, has nice clothes, an obvious leader,
confident, outgoing, teacher's pet, and an athlete; that spells
popular kid in nearly every school in the world. However, we all know
from our own experience that while the popular kids are admired by
many (usually including the staff), they are deeply despised by
others. Look at Giffindor's reaction to popular, cool, handsome,
athletic Hufflepuff Cedric.

I suspect that there are a few Slytherins who deeply loath Draco, and
would like nothing better that to see him take a serious fall.
However, as again we all know from our own school days, you will
always have a difficult time challenging a popular kid. Mainly because
the school including the staff will usually take the side of that
popular kids. 

Even more so, it is my opinion that some Slytherin, while they do
support the concept of wizard aristocracy, they think having a total
mental case like Voldemort in charge will be the literal, and
certainly the financial, ruin of the wizard world. From these ranks of
proud, noble but more stable and cash conscious Slytherin will come
the ranks of the 'Good Slytherins'. They will fight against Voldemort
mostly because it is the most economically advantages option. 

I guess you could say it is one thing to be driven by power, but
something else altogether, to be blinded by power.

Just passing it along.

bboy_mn