I Hate The Bell Curve

I "came of age" in my teaching career in Ontario when the new curriculum came in. With it came a new way of marking, which still holds true for today. In Ontario we are on a 4 level system (numbered accordingly), with a Level 3 meaning that the student has met the expectation, Level 2 has some difficulty and Level 1 means they have significant difficultly. Originally, I interpreted a Level 4 to mean that the student has exceeded the expectation. They have gone above and beyond what was expected. These 4 levels have corresponding letter grades, ranging from an ‘A’ to a ‘D’.

I still don’t know who exactly told me about the bell curve, but it was made very clear that these levels can be place on the bell curve, with the majority of the students (who are average) falling in the Level 3 range, which is fine. They have met the expectation. Following the logic of the bell curve, there shouldn’t be too many students with a Level 4, and if there was, there was suspicion that you are marking too easily and inflating the student marks. If that was the case, administration would look critically at your practice and change it accordingly.

Being involved in the opening of a new school who has taken to heart the research on effective schools, we know (almost chant, like a Wal-mart greeting) that every child is capable of high levels of achievement, though not on the same day nor in the same way. This flies in the face of the bell curve. If every child is capable of demonstrating a Level 4 demonstration of knowledge and understanding, thinking, communication and application, then why do we cap the successes of our students?

I’ve beginning to see cracks in the thinking about these levels. No longer do we hear that a Level 4 is exceeding the expectation, but that they are demonstrating a THOROUGH understanding. Well, that changes things completely.

To our benefit, my kids have been working really hard (and myself, doubly so to ensure that no child is left behind) in demonstrating all that they know. We are readily sharing what good work looks like, and there are many opportunities for us to practice before given the opportunity to show our very best work.

I didn’t realize until this year how incredibly limiting it is to have only a few students achieving a level 4, and conversely believing that there are certain students who are a ‘C’ student and that was okay. Truly, it is not okay. If our teaching is to be effective, then we need to look carefully at how we are going to get ALL our students to achieve.

Isn’t this what teaching, and Learning For All is all about?