What is the Bell Curve System, How is the Grade Calculated?

If you ask a lot of people about universities, the general answer you will get is “Universities are beautiful and everyone should experience it”. Technically speaking, this is a correct interpretation. But that’s a bit of how university life as you live can vary. If you waste your time, college can go to hell when it comes to midterms or finals.

As life-saving as the bell curve system is, we don’t recommend spending your entire college life relying on the bell curve. After all, since personal development is also a part of university life, it won’t work for any of you to shout “what’s the use of last regret?” Bride now used in calculating challenging midterm and final grades what actually is the bell curve systemLet’s see how it is calculated.

What is the bell curve system, what are its advantages and disadvantages, how is it calculated?

What is the bell curve system?

The bell curve system is a grading system applied in many universities all over Turkey. According to the basis of this system, the grades of the student considers the overall class average rather than individual achievement and this average is determined as the passing grade of the said exam. both good and bad sides brings with it. Since taking the class average means taking the overall average of the grades taken in that exam, it can raise the average of someone who gets a low score in the exam by a considerable amount or enough to do the job, while it can cause not very positive results for someone who studies hard for that exam and gets high.

The bell curve system also determines letter grades. If the passing grade is determined as 75 in a system without a bell curve, the student can pass the said exam with a CB letter grade. But the bell curve it changes things a bit. The letter grade specified for each course may differ. In a system with a bell curve, you can pass by getting CC from a passing score of 80.

Things to know about the Bell Curve:

• The academician of a particular course can raise or lower the passing grade as he wishes. At the same time, the lower crossing point can be determined by the same academician.
• Since the letter grades in the bell curve system will be determined after midterms and finals, it is useful to give the same importance to both exams.
• Unlike normal exams, the bell curve can also be used in reinforcing. However, in cases where this happens, only the averages of the students who entered the make-up are taken.
• The bell curve can be a useful system for regular workers in general, with low test scores.

Advantages and disadvantages of the bell curve system:

Advantages of the bell curve system:

• Since the general class average will be low when an exam is very difficult, a low average from the bell curve will be useful for many students.
• When the class average is low, even when students get 40 points, it can be considered passed with a letter grade of CB.
• In general, it is not easy to get AA in the exams. You are entitled to get AA with an average of 90 points or more. However, in cases where the bell curve is active, you can get an AA letter grade even with 65 points.
• Academicians can use environmental factors or negative situations during the exam as a positive factor in the bell curve and lower the threshold. As this situation is left to the initiative of the academician, the low threshold will make it easier for students to pass the course in general.

Disadvantages of the bell curve:

• As a negative effect of the bell curve, in cases where the class average is high, even if you get 80 points, your letter grade may be low, and you may even fail the class.
• Intraclass competition may rise among students who score very high or very low off-average on the bell curve
• Along with the fact that it is not experienced too much, the bell curve makes it possible for the class students to be wary of each other and keep their notes, etc. can cause adverse events

How to calculate bell curve grade?

Since the bell curve system has a different calculation system from the normal exam grading system, it can confuse them a bit. The passing score you get in one course may be different in another course. In the bell curve, the teacher of the relevant course Initiative is also very important. Suppose the class mean from the bell curve is 50. But the academic can increase this grade to 70. Although it may sound frustrating, this is not seen as a frequent occurrence.

The commonly used calculation method for the bell curve is as follows:

• Raw grade – Average grade point average of the class / Standard deviation

To calculate clearly, as the standard deviation is a characteristic generally determined by the academician. unfortunately not possible. Let’s assume we get the standard deviation of 5, and let’s take the mean of the class as 50. In this way, the result will be as follows.

• 50 – 54.99 point range CC
• 55 – 55.99 points range CB
• 60 – 64.99 points range BB
• 65 – 69.99 points range BA
• 70 and above 70 points will be evaluated as AA.

AÖF (Open Education Faculty) bell curve calculation:

Although open education faculties differ in terms of education compared to normal faculties, they are not an exception regarding the bell curve. Even calculating the bell curve in the Faculty of Open Education compared to many universities. much easier. Because in many universities, the passing grade is not fixed as we mentioned, but it is determined by the initiative of the academicians, while it is determined by the open education faculties. this grade is standard.

The bell curve calculation grade in open education faculties is determined as 35, regardless of the university, the number of courses or the number of students. Students take their exams and with the grades they get in the 30-49 range. determines whether they passed the course. While it provides a letter grade sufficient for them to pass 35 points and above, 0-32 points cause them to fail the course as it is counted as FF.