In the education system, the grading curve is a widely used method that helps to adjust students scores. We will explain the Square Root Curve grading method which is commonly used in the grading system. This method allows us to adjust the scores of the poorly performing students while ensuring that the higher scores increase at a slow rate. In this post, we will explore its formula, definition, and real-world example.
The Square Root Curve is a grading method that helps students balance difficulty and fairness. This concept is mainly used when an assignment or exam is tough; it ensures that students who performed poorly still receive a reasonable grade improvement. Dive deep to discover the formula and a real-world example.
We will need following formula in order to precisely calculate the Square Root Curve:
Formula:
If you want to reverse the process to get the original percentage grade, you just need to use this formula
Below is the visual representation in the chart shape:
Let's look at an example to understand the square root curve concept deeply.
Example:
Suppose a student's score is 49%
in an exam; let's compute using the formula:
Thus, after using the Square Root Curve the student now gets a new grade which is 70%
.
This concept is widely used in various grading systems; the following are some real-world applications.
The main purpose of the Square Root Curve is to fairly adjust students' grades in cases where an exam or assignment is particularly tough; It benefits students with lower scores by increasing their grades proportionally, making grading more balanced.
No, it benefits lower-scoring students more than higher-scoring students. The reason for this is that the square root transformation is non-linear, meaning that the students with lower scores experience a greater proportional increase.
You can use the following formula in Excel or spreadsheet to get the Square Root Curve:
=SQRT(A1)*10
Paste this formula in cell B1, where A1 contains the raw percentage grade. The adjusted curved score will appear in B1.