My older son is a Electrical Engineering major at a state school. This has been the typical experience in all of his engineering classes:
Midterm tests are the first graded assignment. Class average is 30-45%. Professor curves the grades, so the best of the "failing" students get A's. My son is usually in the middle of the curve, with a C, occasionally a B. After midterms, the bottom 1/3 of the students drop the class. By the time finals roll around, with 1/3 of the class gone, my son finds himself now near the bottom of the curve, even though he thinks he is doing better and has a better grasp of the subject. Class average on the final is not much better, so the curve is the only determining factor for a grade, and 1/3 of the class gets a D or F. The only option has been to immediately drop any class where you fall in the middle or lower of the curve on the first test. And they wonder why it takes so long to graduate from that college as an engineering student.
Is this common? If it was one or two classes, I would blame it on the professor. But at his school, this seems to be the norm. It makes it very hard to judge how well / poorly you are doing in a class. I have an issue with any class in which literally no one passes a test (judging by actual test %). It also creates a horribly cut-throat mentality. Those who do understand the material better do not want to join a study group with others since their grade depends on the grades of those around them. One of his classmates even handed out a "study guide" that was intentionally wrong, just to better his position on the curve.
My younger son is now awaiting admission decisions for Fall 2016, and also plans to major in engineering. He did not apply to the school in question, but I'm worried that this scenario might be wide-spread in the engineering field.
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