With the offseason essentially over...

[Frobby]

A 2.0 is absolutely average.

A - 4

B - 3

C - 2

D - 1

F - 0

It's exactly one half of the possible points. Whether that grade is considered acceptable may be open to interpretation, but a straight curve grading system is a bell with the widest distribution at C. The reason people at decent schools average better than a C is that the bell curve is shifted up to facilitate a higher number of people passing/getting good grades. Law schools do it to help their students' transcripts look better during interviews (truth).

Doesn't it make intuitive sense that a fair amount above adequate (B-/B) is considered acceptable for most? I don't understand what you are trying to do with a traditional grade scale.

Have you ever attended a school where the median grade actually was a C? I know that's average in theory, but so far as I know I never attended any school, from elementary school through college, where they actually applied that in practice. Maybe in individual classes sometimes. "Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all of the children are above average."

[Lucky Jim]

A 2.0 is absolutely average.

A - 4

B - 3

C - 2

D - 1

F - 0

It's exactly one half of the possible points. Whether that grade is considered acceptable may be open to interpretation, but a straight curve grading system is a bell with the widest distribution at C. The reason people at decent schools average better than a C is that the bell curve is shifted up to facilitate a higher number of people passing/getting good grades. Law schools do it to help their students' transcripts look better during interviews (truth).

Doesn't it make intuitive sense that a fair amount above adequate (B-/B) is considered acceptable for most? I don't understand what you are trying to do with a traditional grade scale.

Doesn't the shift upward also internalize the (unscientific) correction for a school's self-esteem. I.e., 'average' grades are what occur elsewhere, where folks aren't as smart. I.e., "average" here isn't really "average" at all, and grades should account for that.

As for law schools, well, Chicago curved to a 177.

Yeah, try figuring that one out.

[Stotle]

Doesn't the shift upward also internalize the (unscientific) correction for a school's self-esteem. I.e., 'average' grades are what occur elsewhere, where folks aren't as smart. I.e., "average" here isn't really "average" at all, and grades should account for that.

As for law schools, well, Chicago curved to a 177.

Yeah, try figuring that one out.

Good point -- I didn't do a very good job with the shift-speak.

I didn't get grades in law school. The professors just looked at my final, shook their head disgustedly and shooed me out of their classroom.

[Stotle]

Have you ever attended a school where the median grade actually was a C? I know that's average in theory, but so far as I know I never attended any school, from elementary school through college, where they actually applied that in practice. Maybe in individual classes sometimes. "Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all of the children are above average."

You are right, as was Jim. Let me turn it this way, though.

If people want to give credit for NOT making bad moves, can we then assume that a GM scale has to take into account a portion of potentially stupid GMs (at least with regards to certain moves)? If so, than the "average" could be closer to a 2.0 than a B, right?

[Lucky Jim]

You are right, as was Jim. Let me turn it this way, though.

If people want to give credit for NOT making bad moves, can we then assume that a GM scale has to take into account a portion of potentially stupid GMs (at least with regards to certain moves)? If so, than the "average" could be closer to a 2.0 than a B, right?

Hey, I'm the one who said it should be graded pass-fail. Frankly, I'm surprised that more people haven't agreed with me.

It's simply not the kind of off-season that warrants the subtle distinctions grades require. He aspired to little, he avoided catastrophe.

Pass.

[Frobby]

You are right, as was Jim. Let me turn it this way, though.

If people want to give credit for NOT making bad moves, can we then assume that a GM scale has to take into account a portion of potentially stupid GMs (at least with regards to certain moves)? If so, than the "average" could be closer to a 2.0 than a B, right?

I'm thinking the scale has more to do with how happy you, as a fan, are with what was accomplished.

A - Extremely happy

B - Fairly Happy

C- Satisified, but not ecstatic

D - Disappointed

F - Extremely dissatisfied

I gave MacPhail a C+ when I voted, and that fits this scale pretty well.

[Stotle]

I'm thinking the scale has more to do with how happy you, as a fan, are with what was accomplished.

A - Extremely happy

B - Fairly Happy

C- Satisified, but not ecstatic

D - Disappointed

F - Extremely dissatisfied

I gave MacPhail a C+ when I voted, and that fits this scale pretty well.

This is probably the best approach to a "grade". Particularly considering all the hurdles the "unknown" variable throws at the potential grader. Done - I am adopting the Frobby methodology of grading (there's a bonus that no one can ever disprove it since it's just my happiness...).

[Stotle]

Hey, I'm the one who said it should be graded pass-fail. Frankly, I'm surprised that more people haven't agreed with me.

It's simply not the kind of off-season that warrants the subtle distinctions grades require. He aspired to little, he avoided catastrophe.

Pass.

Probably best approach to objective grading. Your scale = pass, as well.

[mweb]

A 2.0 is absolutely average.

A - 4

B - 3

C - 2

D - 1

F - 0

It's exactly one half of the possible points. Whether that grade is considered acceptable may be open to interpretation, but a straight curve grading system is a bell with the widest distribution at C. The reason people at decent schools average better than a C is that the bell curve is shifted up to facilitate a higher number of people passing/getting good grades. Law schools do it to help their students' transcripts look better during interviews (truth).

Doesn't it make intuitive sense that a fair amount above adequate (B-/B) is considered acceptable for most? I don't understand what you are trying to do with a traditional grade scale.

As I showed, it is not absolutely average when we use the grading system SG is using with plusses and minuses on everything from A to C.

So I'm not using a traditional grading scale of just A, B, C, D, F as I said, so I'm not sure why you think I am. I am using the scale used in this thread.

So a C is not average in terms of the range.

In terms of schools, the average grade one can get with the traditinal scale is a C, but that is not the average of everyone's GPA. Thus it is below average by that measure.

[mweb]

I'm thinking the scale has more to do with how happy you, as a fan, are with what was accomplished.

A - Extremely happy

B - Fairly Happy

C- Satisified, but not ecstatic

D - Disappointed

F - Extremely dissatisfied

I gave MacPhail a C+ when I voted, and that fits this scale pretty well.

That's fine, better than using average imo. I also went with a C+ which would fit this scale well.

[Sports Guy]

Than you have no basis for saying what's above or below average in terms of what a team does each off-season.

I have all the basis I need..Its called my freakin opinion. If that's not good enough for you, so be it...But really, I could care less.

[mweb]

I have all the basis I need..Its called my freakin opinion. If that's not good enough for you, so be it...But really, I could care less.

I said it's your opinion based on what you wanted to be done, and that's fine. But it has nothing to do with being an average off-season, which you admitted. Why saying that warrants this response is a mystery.

[Sports Guy]

I said it's your opinion based on what you wanted to be done, and that's fine. But it has nothing to do with being an average off-season, which you admitted. Why saying that warrants this response is a mystery.

And I suppose you are the one people like Stotle and myself need to turn to decide what an average offseason is? Could you please enlighten me?

[Stotle]

As I showed, it is not absolutely average when we use the grading system SG is using with plusses and minuses on everything from A to C.

So I'm not using a traditional grading scale of just A, B, C, D, F as I said, so I'm not sure why you think I am. I am using the scale used in this thread.

So a C is not average in terms of the range.

In terms of schools, the average grade one can get with the traditinal scale is a C, but that is not the average of everyone's GPA. Thus it is below average by that measure.

Fair enough. I concede the point to you -- I don't think this is going to get any more interesting for either of us.

[mweb]

And I suppose you are the one people like Stotle and myself need to turn to decide what an average offseason is? Could you please enlighten me?

Average: a quantity, rating, or the like that represents or approximates an arithmetic mean

If you're saying AM had a well below average off-season, you should be able to produce 20 or more teams that had better off-seasons.

You can use a scale like Frobby mentioned, then like you said, it wouldn't matter what other teams did. Or say it wasn't a good off-season in terms of how you evaluate or whatever. But when you say whether it's average or not, then the other teams need to be considered. That is how average is measured, there must be more than one thing being rated for their to be an average.