The Right Shift of Merit: The Lost Bell Curve
This is the season of results. From as early as 5th standard, both students and parents are preoccupied—not about passing or failing, nor about third, second, or even first class—but about the race for 90%+ and 9.0+ CGPAs.
I still remember my own 10th-grade results. In those days, the results came in a special newspaper edition. Pages filled with roll numbers, neatly categorized: third class, second class, and first class. I’m not sure if it was a confidence issue or a competence issue, but we would start by nervously checking the third-class list, then second, and finally, with bated breath, the first-class section. But the most suspenseful category of all was the "WITHHELD" section—a kind of academic Trishanku Swarga. Neither passed nor failed. Caught between suspicion of malpractice or a technical error. Pure suspense!
But oh, the joy of simply passing back then! After my intermediate (Plus 2), my father sent a telegram with just two words: First Class. I was on vacation in Chhattisgarh with no phone, no easy communication, and no reserved travel. My cousin helped me catch a ride on a steam engine (literally sitting next to the driver) to Raipur, then I took a passenger train to reach Vizianagaram. For that entire journey, I was basking in those two words: First Class. I also owe a small thanks to my classmate, Ravi Sankar (now Professor in IIT), whose roll number was next to mine. Both names are alike. His math help made a real difference.
Where is that kind of joy now?
A few days ago, I came across a post by Dr. Madhuri Parti. She writes:
“Students scoring 95%, even 96%, are anxious, dissatisfied, and in some cases — battling depression. What changed? In 2024 alone, over 2.4 lakh Class 10 students scored above 90%. Over 2.2 lakh Class 12 students crossed that same mark. On paper, it looks like a nation of academic brilliance. But the reality is far more complex — and troubling. When 90% becomes average, we erode the value of genuine understanding. The dignity of skilled work. The joy of learning for life, not just exams.”
How true.
As teachers, we’re encouraged to follow the bell curve model while grading. It’s designed to standardize results across large classes and to prevent grade inflation or deflation. It assumes that a normal distribution exists—and tries to fit everyone into it.
But reality rarely conforms to theory. When most of the class scores above 90%, trying to fit grades into a bell curve can feel unfair. High-performing students may still get pushed down the grade ladder—not because of their competence, but because of the statistical mold we’re forced to apply. No one feels good in the end.
Initially, I believed this was an India-specific problem. But it’s not. China, the U.S., and even European systems face the same challenge. In machine learning terms, it’s like an overfitted model—excellent results on the training data, but poor generalization to real-world scenarios.
We’re creating excellent academic pathways for higher education, but failing to build flexible, skill-based routes that cater to the socio-physical-psychological uniqueness of individuals.
And then there's the meme making rounds:
“This generation’s marks are like: 99.4, 99.5, 99.8, 99.9. In our times, we only used to get fever like this.”
Maybe it's time we asked ourselves: Are we chasing the right kind of merit?
Ravi Saripalle
Dr. Ravi Saripalle
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