| Coughdrop-- all that means at Brown is that we only have one measure for below average. We don't delineate between below average and super below average. If your well below average you fail. That's that. If you're below average, you get a C. Typical grade distribution in a science class would be 1SD above mean is the A cutoff, 1SD below the mean is a C cutoff. Sometimes the A is a little lower and the C is a little lower, (A closer to the mean, C further from the mean). Anything that's far off the 1SD mark is just a fail.
We also don't have +/-'s. It just changes how much differentiation there is, it doesn't change the challenge of the course. Luckily I think that Brown realizes that further differentiation of grades leads to increased, meaningless competition and often dilutes the meaning since the difference between an A- or A or B+ is often trivial when there is so much differentiation used. |