Is curving grades fair?

Flat curves treat everyone equally. However, some argue they mask genuine performance differences or enable poor assessment design.

What about percentage-based curves?

Instead of flat points, you could multiply scores by (target/current). This gives higher-scorers a larger absolute boost.

A few low scores may not justify curving the whole class. Consider offering individual support or extra credit instead.

Apply a linear curve to shift class scores so that the average reaches a desired target mean.

Current Class Average

Target Average

Individual Student Score

Enter a specific score to see its curved value

Maximum Possible Score

Curved Student Score

82.0

Points Added10.0

Percentage Increase14.7 %

Curved Student Score vs Current Class Average

The simplest curve adds a flat number of points to every score, shifting the entire distribution upward.

Points Added = Target Mean - Current Mean

Curved Score = min(Original Score + Points Added, Maximum)

This preserves the spread and relative rankings while raising the average to the target. Scores are capped at the maximum to prevent exceeding 100%.

Class average is 68, target is 78. A student scored 72 on a 100-point scale.