Curving tool gave same grade to students with different scores??

[slavrenz]

I guess this is mostly a rant/vent, but I'm frustrated at the "dumbness" of Canvas' built-in curving tool.

I tried to use it for the first time today. University undergrad course. I was annoyed that I couldn't undo the curve - which seems like a really crazy limitation in 2023 - but as long as I could see the gradebook history, I decided that was an acceptable tradeoff.

So I curved the grades and posted the scores...the overall distribution looked good, so I thought all was well. Well, I handed back the exams this morning, and I get two students coming up to me after class...even though they got different numbers of questions correct on the exam, Canvas gave them the same grade.

I know, I know...I should've checked all of this beforehand...but seriously, come on Canvas. It's not even smart enough to assign something like a half point in order to avoid this scenario? So now I'm in an awkward spot, where I can't really justify two students with different levels of work getting the same score...but the lower-performing student is going to be pi**ed if I lower his grade, and the higher-performing student is going to be pi**ed if I don't raise his grade. Then I'm going to have to go back and make this adjustment for everyone else who got the same score.

First and last time using this ridiculous tool...it's way more headache than it's worth...

[chriscas · Accepted solution]

Hi @slavrenz,

I will not proclaim to be an expert in grade curving at all, but from what I know about true grade curves, they are more about distribution of scores (based on the original points) and may not necessarily assign a unqiue post-curve grade to submissions that had originally distinct point values.  The  Curving Grades in Canvas - Instructure Community  guide explains in depth how Canvas does grade curving and may shed some more light on the subject.

I hope this information may help, even if the outcome still isn't exactly what you would prefer.

-Chris

[slavrenz]

That's fine, and makes sense on a theoretical level...but absolutely does not work on a practical one. Try having two students standing in front of you, and explain to Student A why he should get the same score as Student B, even though he got three more questions correct than Student B. I cannot in good conscience justify that.

It's definitely a 'win the battle, lose the war' situation...

[ProfessorBeyrer]

You have discovered one of the challenges of working with curved grades, @slavrenz. I always wondered how students benefit from being encouraged to compete with each other for grades. Comparing their scores, sure, but without curved grades it seems more likely that their energy will result in learning. And everyone's happier when we professors have fewer headaches!

[slavrenz]

That's a fair point. In my case, I attempted to use the tool for a one-off course that I've never taught before, and will never have to teach again. As I'm a bit shaky on the subject matter, and I don't have nearly as much confidence in the exam I wrote (relative to some of my more established classes), I think curving is appropriate to reduce any bias that my inexperience is bringing into the learning environment.

And that would be fine and well, and maybe even still debatable. But my frustration is less about "is curving appropriate?" and more about "why does Canvas do such a bad job at curving?" If the curving tool is set up to assign scores along a continuous/normal distribution (which it is), then it seems like a perfunctory task to allow it to assign fractional values to those scores, so that students with un-curved scores don't get lumped in the same bin.

Then again, it also appears to be too difficult for Canvas to add an "undo" button after how many years...