May 13, 2011
The Phillipian
B3
News
State of the Academy: Academics GPA and Grade
School-Wide Winter 2011 Rounded GPA 80
300
260
68
70
250
68
74 73
60 145
150
40
35
19
GPA: GPA: GPA: GPA: GPA: GPA: GPA: GPA: <3 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6
20 Number of Responses 10 1 0 1 0 0 3
18
12
10
6
5 4 5 4 3.5
3 2
4
4.5
5
6
160 141
140 120
112
100 77
80
82 67
60 39
40 Number of Responses 13 20 5 2 0 0 3 3.5
23 13
4
4.5
5
With 46% of responses, the English department ranked the most difficult department in terms of grading, with other humanities second and third highest. Twenty-one percent of students deemed History the hardest, followed by 14% select-
How do you think attending Andover affects your chances of attending a "top college"?
Which is the most difficult department in terms of grading? 300
200
20
8
5
1 PE
22
Music
50 Number of Students 0
67
Art
91
100
English
Out of 696 Responses
Series
134
150
Increased 45% Decreased 40%
however they defined the term, with fairly close results. Fortyfive percent said they believe it increased while 40% said it decreased their chances. Fifteen percent reported it did not change their chances.
ing Religion and Philosophy. Writing based courses seem to be perceived as the most difficult in terms of grading. Students responded to whether they believe attending Andover affects their chances of attending a “top college,”
250
Did not Change 15%
Out of 696 Responses
6
Langauage
there are grading disparities between departments and teachers of the same subject at Andover. Of those who replied “yes” to this, most students reported that the disparities between departments are fair but the disparities between teachers are unfair.
300
Yes, to a permissible degree 57%
5.5
20
GPA
350
No 9%
Males Females
74
Math
Are there grading disparities between departments at Andover?
GPA and Gender
Science
received 5.5 averages compared to about 30 members of each other grade. The results of GPA by grade could indicate either that the Class of 2011 gets unusually high grades or that students receive better grades over time at Andover. For a more accurate interpretation of the results, one has to account for the large size of the senior class and the percentage of responses. Twentynine percent of survey responses came from seniors, compared with 28% from uppers, 25% from lowers and 19% from juniors. More female students responded scoring honors grades than male students. To factor in that 53% of survey results came from female students and 47% came from male students, one can multiply the response numbers by 0.53/0.47. This flips the results for the GPA 4.5 to show more male students receiving that average than females students. Most students respond that
Yes, to an unfair degree 34%
5.5
GPA
Academic Analysis: Class of 2011 Smartest? Or Just Older? Grade distribution shows that the most common rounded GPA for students is a 5.0, with 37% of responses for Winter 2011 GPA. The curve drops more steeply above 5.0 than below. Twentyone percent of students receive 5.5 and 5% receive 6.0 averages, compared to 24% who receive 4.5 and 9% who receive 4.0 averages. Observation of the gender and class distribution of GPAs provides some interesting results. Members of the Class of 2011 responded to have more 6.0 or 5.5 averages than members of other classes, nearly an equal number of 5.0 averages to the Class of 2012 and fewer of lower grades than other classes by a significant margin. Eighteen seniors reported to receive 6.0 averages this past winter, compared to the 10 uppers, the second highest. Fifty-three seniors
29 31 28
21 23
GPA
STAFF REPORT
2014 2013 2012 2011
38
33
30
30
63
Number 50 of Students 5 2 0
43
Relphil
100
53
50
167
History
200
Art Math Music Relphil English History Science Theater Language Department
Are there grading disparities between teachers of the same subject at Andover?
Is your workload spread evenly among your classes?
How do you feel about you overall academic experience? 450
Yes 14%
No 2%
Yes, to an unfair degree 62%
386
400 350 300
Yes, to a permissible degree 36%
Out of 696 Responses
250
Series1
183
200 150
102
100 Number of Students 50 17 8 0
No 86%
Out of 696 Responses
Too Easy
A little easy
Just right
A little hard
Want to know which class has the most sex? Next Week State of the Academy: Sex and Wellness
Too hard