It also assumes that an expert can’t write a test on a subject where it’s actually hard to answer more than 70% correctly. Of course anybody that’s taken the SAT’s should realize that experts can adjust the test so even if you’re familiar with the subject matter you’ll have a hard time answering more than 1/2 the questions correctly.
It seems to me to matter mostly for GPA - a D is a 1 and an F is a zero. If you do poorly, you don’t pass - if you do amazingly poorly, you mess up your gpa real good…
I think that the issues here are different for U.S. system as opposed to non-U.S. systems. For one thing, it seems to me that the concept of an “exam” is completely different for us in the U.S. than it is for the rest of you.
Quoth BigT:
If you get an F, you’re not actually trying. Or you’re actively trying to get an F.
And a properly-calibrated test will have an average of around 50%, since that gives you the most information about how the students in the class are actually doing. Needless to say, in this case you also don’t use a grading scale where 50% is a failure.
How so? Apart from it being easier in the US?
In the U.S., the vast majority of exams at the undergraduate level are nothing more than a species of class assignment. What is important is your grade for the class – a final exam is merely a component of that grade. In many cases, a professor might forgo a final exam altogether in favor of a term paper or presentation or group project.
For example, in a 15-week college course, a professor may determine your grade using this model:
Class participation: 10 points
Weekly homework assignments: 40 points
mid-term exam: 20 points
final exam: 30 points
or this:
class participation: 25 points
weekly quizzes: 15 points
small group project and presentation: 30 points
term paper and presentation: 30 points
So your final grade is determined by what share of points out of the possible maximum 100 you have earned.
From what I’ve gathered in interactions with people who were educated outside the U.S. – in those systems, it’s the exam that is really the key to your academic qualifications. In the U.S.
No, it’s the same everywhere else too. Some courses will be far more heavy on examinations (like mathematics) but you are also graded in a similar fashion. For example, I passed my graphic art design GCSE before I did the exam. The exam just boosted me up to an A. At A level and university it’s much the same.
This is my experience of much of Europe and Australia too. Don’t think the US is unique in this.
Don’t forget that other issues can rest on a GPA. If you have to get a 2.0 or 2.5 GPA to maintain your scholarship or play on a sports team, the difference between a D and an F could be huge.