Average

Average: A quantity, rating, or the like that represents or approximates an arithmetic mean.

There are two ways of looking at average, it only depends on how you are and how you see life. That is, average is either a) better than half of the sample population, or b) less than half of the sample population.

In the realm of statistics average means you are in the 50th percentile. If you are above this, congratulations, you are better than at least 50% of the people who you are comparing yourself to. If you fall below this retched number, then you are a lesser person than at least 50% of the people you are being compared to. An important side note, if 75% of the population scores a 98/100, and you score a 97/100, you fall well below the 50th percentile.

Where does all this go? What is all this about?

A person life is defined as how they are in comparison to others. A student is said to be LD if they perform poorly in comparison to the average population. An athlete is said to be good if they perform better than the majority of the population.

Our entire life is based on the standard bell curve, we are compared to those around us....EXCEPT in education. Instead in this arena we are compared to a standard grade where average is said to be a "C." But in reality, the majority of students (who attempt work) score higher than this. They score in the "B" (above average) or "A" (Excellent) category. Why do we use this arbitrary scale because the majority of a population CANNOT be above average. There is a term for this, it is called the "Lake Wobegone effect."

Again, what's the point of this rant......

Why in education (for the point of grading) do we use this arbitrary scale to tell a student they are smarter than they really are? Are we scared to hurt someone's feelings? Why can't we grade on a bell curve for all of education from K-12 and in College as well. I mean shit, the SAT's, MCAT's, LSAT's, GRE's, and PRAXIS exams are all graded on this scale. Yes, they do have a raw score which depends on the test, but what really matters is the percentile a person scores. Lets get things consistent, make my life easy.....grade everything on a bell curve.

Yet again, what's the point..........

well i guess i don't have one.......

Parting thoughts.....Where do you stand in life? Who is rating you? Can you change that status?

huh, sorry i wasted the last 10 minutes of your life.

Enjoy your day.

Cheers