On 1/14/2019 4:04 PM, nospam wrote:
In article , Wolf K
wrote:

You can't infer individual characteristics from a bell curve, or _any_
averages. Yet that is what proponents of "average scores" want to do.
Else why bother?

The fact is that a bell curve means there are multiple factors affecting
the thing you're measuring. You don't know what those factors are.

not always. sometimes it's just one variable.

What's more, it's devilishly difficult to figure out what those factors
might be, and to discover the extent of their influence. What's more,
you can be sure that any one factor's effect will depend on at least one
other factor's effect.

if it's more than one, that's true, but that's not always the case.

In my teaching days one head wanted exam scores to come under a bell
curve. When some of mine didn't a senior teacher told me to change
them. No disrespect, he was only obeying orders.