Grading Curves: The Radical Curve
The Radical Curve: a way to curve grades, graphed as new grade vs. old grade.
Use this cartoon
Free for classrooms, worksheets, slides and other non-commercial use under CC BY-NC 4.0, with credit to Ben Orlin.
Cartoon by Ben Orlin, Math with Bad Drawings. https://cartoons.mathwithbaddrawings.com/2025-10-22-curves-to-curve-by--grading-curves-the-radical-curve/ (CC BY-NC 4.0)Transcript
THE RADICAL CURVE: new score = old score^0.7. Pros: has all the mathematical properties you want. Cons: inscrutable to all students except those who definitely don't need it.