What does it mean to shift grades down/up?

[Fakesmile]

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Sorry for asking this here, I couldn't google it.
One of my profs said we'll be graded according to each of our rank in the class, but if the whole class does well, he can shift grades up. He also said, "Under normal circumstances, I won't shift the grades down".

 

[Mattabet]

Sounds like he's talking about a curve. If you all do well, he'll shift the curve so that there are more A's, even if you all do poorly, he won't shift the curve so as to fail all of you.

 

[Fakesmile]

Thanks for the reply. But what does he exactly mean when he says, "Under normal circumstances, I won't shift the grades down"?

 

[dmblue]

Thanks for the reply. But what does he exactly mean when he says, "Under normal circumstances, I won't shift the grades down"?

this isn't that hard

If the grade distribution is abnormal compared to past semesters, then he reserves the right to lower the class's grades so that the average grade is lower than whatever is typical.

Basically ignore this statement. It won't happen.

 

[nick_carraway]

Thanks for the reply. But what does he exactly mean when he says, "Under normal circumstances, I won't shift the grades down"?

You could also simply e-mail your professor and ask.

 

[OttawaPremed88]

It seems to me like the curve predeterminetly defines how many people get A's and B's, and according to your class rank, you will get the mark that is proportional to that rank as accorded by the curve. For example, the top 5 students, regardless of what their actual marks were, would all get A+'s, then the next 15 would get A's and then the next 20 would get A-'s, etc. Realizing this might be unfair to a class with high marks, where the chances are this rank-mark scale will bring people's marks down, he might change the marks and inflate them.

Atleast, that's what it seems to me that the system is like.

 

[OttawaPremed88]

Thanks for the reply. But what does he exactly mean when he says, "Under normal circumstances, I won't shift the grades down"?

Where there is an average mark distribution in the class, therefore, a regular class average/median, I assume?