Paper Cut

It is paper cut season again. My first paper (of two) was on Wednesday so I’m right now marking exam scripts, but I’ve got my fingers cut even before that from going through term papers for another course. Those damned bleached white sheets with razor-sharp edges are a nightmare! Thankfully, there’s no blood, yet, unless perhaps I squeeze really hard. I had a paper cut so deep once that it actually did blood, so I left a partial finger print everywhere I touched.

Wherever am I going with this?

[SAVED, CONTINUED]

All right, I’ve finished marking the paper, so how about some basic statistics:

Number of students: 31
Highest score: 76.11% (A−)
Lowest score: 24.37% (F)
Average score: 53.62% (C)
Median score: 56.88% (C+)
Standard deviation: 12.48%
Number of students failing the course: 10

The semester is now over, but how I wish I could give the students their grades personally. See, I told you to take the course seriously and study from the beginning of the semester instead of just a week before the final exam. See, I told you to ask if you don’t understand the material, the language, whatever, instead of just sitting there quietly like everything is all right. See, I told you to work on improving your English. See, I told you...

Oh, I forgot one more:

Number of students failing the final examination paper: 23

OUCH!