grade on a curve

English

Etymology

Referring to the bell curve of a normal distribution.

Verb

grade on a curve (third-person singular simple present grades on a curve, present participle grading on a curve, simple past and past participle graded on a curve)

1. To use a grading system based on the scale of performance of a group to normalize a right-skewed grade distribution (with more lower scores) into a bell curve, so that more can receive higher grades, regardless of their actual knowledge of the subject; to curve a grade.

   He asked the teacher to grade (the test) on a curve.

Translations

use a grading system

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 拉curve (laai¹ koe¹ fu⁴)

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: normittaa
• French: please add this translation if you can