OWL EXAM CACULATIONS

[Meredith]

No: HPFGUIDX 97754

"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.
> 
> IIRC, JKR ...  Would she be familiar with the bell curve?  Or does 
> that theory even hold water any more?


bboy_mn wrote:

> 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
> 

Luckie: 
I'd like to add a comparison to the American Advanced Placement 
exams, which some people may or may not be familiar with. For AP 
exams the grading system is 1-5, with 5 being the highest. When I 
tool AP American history, many students in my class got a 4 or 5 on 
the exam, although only the top 15% I believe got 4 or 5. On the 
other hand, a friend at another school told me most of her class 
mates got 1 or 2. Therefore, my teacher had a high pass rate, like 
Snape. 

bboy_mn mentioned junior college in a part I snipped. Most colleges 
will transfer credit from the AP exams if you get a 4 or 5, and 
sometimes a 3. For some subjects, they will only take a 4 or 5, or 
even just a 5. Just like McGonagall and Snape having different 
standards for entries into NEWT classes. 

The only problem I see with a bell curve is that if Snape has a high 
pass rate, that would mean most of the students do well on his 
Potions exam. In my AP classes, the bell cruve was distributed across 
the country, so it was possible for there to be a high pass rate in 
my class. But with a curve, in theory only about 5% would get an O, 
10% would get an E, and so on. If the Hogwarts Students are the only 
students taking this exam, then only 5% of Harry's class will be able 
to get an O.

~Luckie, who does not think JKR researched the American Advanced 
Placement system, but feels it merits comparison anyway.