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bell curve
(redirected from bell curves)

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.03 sec.
bell curve or bell-shaped curve (blshpt)
n.
The symmetrical curve of a normal distribution. Also called normal curve.

bell curve
A symmetrical bell-shaped curve that represents the distribution of values, frequencies, or probabilities of a set of data. It slopes downward from a point in the middle corresponding to the mean value, or the maximum probability. Data that reflect the aggregate outcome of large numbers of unrelated events tend to result in bell curve distributions. The Gaussian or normal distribution is a mathematically well-defined bell curve used in statistics and in science generally.
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bell curve
graph showing the distribution of a set of test scores where the average grade is a C


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That, as opposed to trying to shift the production attributes and bell curves of an entire population by shooting at mill-run averages as has been done traditionally.
Indeed, it is now not unusual to find "new" books in classrooms that were originally used in the '70s, language policies for immigrant students that would make Henry Ford rejoice, a revival of norm-referenced tests and bell curves born of social Darwinism and eugenics from the turn of the century, not to mention a resurrection of retention as a cure for social promotion and other academic maladies.
But competition for grades, placement on bell curves, and emphasis on being the best do tend to "cut off" marginal students, and even the best ones may feel too pressured to feel anything but anxiety.
 
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