Discrepancy of skills - Hermione's DADA OWL

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 147878

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "exodusts" <exodusts at ...> wrote:
>
> Allie:
> > Two topics in the area of magical skill do not add up for me.
> > 
> > 1. Hermione Granger, most talented witch of her age, able to 
> > perform well on both written and practical exams, able to 
> > master complicated spells in a single lesson, able to produce
> > a Patronus in one D.A. session... achieves only an E on her 
> > DADA Owl???? 

> exodusts:
> 
> ...
> 
> The second point is well made. It is an unfortunate and unrealistic 
> contrivance that Hermione doesn't have a clean sweep of top grades. 
> ...edited...
> 
> exodusts
>

bboyminn:

Let's not lose our perspective here, Hermione received a muggle 'B' or
wizard's 'E' in DADA, that is a very respectable grade in anyone's
book. Further, letter grades are very limited when it comes to making
a distinction between the best grade-B student and the worst grade-B
student (wizard's grade-E). For all we know Hermione got an 'E++++++'
in DADA; she may have missed a full grade-O by a mere point or even a
fraction of a point.

Hermione is good, but she is not perfect. We know she would logically
do well on written tests as they typically deal with textbook
knowledge, but the DADA test could have had Applied Defensive Strategy
questions that were along the line of 'If you were in 'this'
situation, how would you best defend yourself?'. Now Hermione can't
get the answer straight from a textbook, she has to analyse the
situation, choose a strategy, and then defend that as the correct
strategy. 

In the applied test, we must remember two things; first Umbridge wants
the student to pass the OWL test, but at the same time, she is bend on
making sure they don't gain any practical applied knowledge. She is
actively suppressing their education. Harry on the other hand is
teaching a very narrow range of what he thinks are practical and
useful defensive spells. I'm sure the general course of study covered
a much wider range of topics than Harry covered.

Harry is in a sense taking the opposite approach to Umbridge, he is
teach the skilled practical use of a narrow range of useful spells,
wereas Umbridge it teaching a wide range of theoretical defensive
spells. Neither is to Hermione's benefit relative to taking the test.
Harry leaves her with a narrow but practical range of spells. Umbridge
leaves her with no practical skills but a wide range of superficial
theoretical knowledge.

Given this, it's possible that Hermione was confronted with a spell
she hadn't had a chance to practice in Harry's class. Certainly she
would have been able to work it out from theoretical knowledge, but
she would not have been able to apply it as well as a spell she had
actually practiced.

Between strategic questions on the written test, and new unpracticed
spells in the practical exam, it's easy to understand why Hermione
wasn't perfect. But none the less, a muggle 'B', wizard's 'E' is
nothing to sneeze at. That is a very respectible grade, and if we
assume, as we logically would, that Hermione receive a very high 'B'
(wizard's 'E') that would explain a lot. 

I think in applies skill and applied strategy, Hermione would have
certainly been at her weakest. And I don't find it that hard to
speculate a circumstance in which Hermione would have been at a
disadvantage that left her with a very respectable 'E'.

Just passing it along.

Steve/bboyminn