• Not grammatical or comprehensible. Perhaps if you had tried to say it simply you'd have encountered an intellectual issue rather than a grammatical snare.

• I think the edit sacrifices clarity in order to avoid issues raised by the much more unambiguous first draft. You do feel free, on the other hand, to depart from the original draft by hortatory engagement with the reader. It's not clear why you think exhortation is reliable: my own experience, as you will have noticed, is that there is no point whatever in exhorting law students to consult their psychic and intellectual interests by demanding the end of grades.

The Curve doesn’t Kill People; People Confusing Grades with Personal Worth Kills People.

-- EldonWright - 19 Apr 2009

We’ve reached a stage in our academic lives where the vast majority of us are, for possibly the first time, working toward something other than yet another degree. Just like every stage before it, however, there remains a need to differentiate between the relative achievement of the student body. The necessity of achieving high grades in seeking employment does not seem much different than the route from high school to college, or that from undergrad to law school. The term achievement is intended to encompass not the internal level of understanding of a given subject, but rather the need for some manner in which to express this newfound competence. At this juncture it seems petty to suddenly quibble with a system that, judging from your current locale, you have apparently taken full advantage of.

Practical Imperfection

Misplaced Frustration

Given the unlikelihood of the form of testing being drastically altered, administrators and professors would be hard-pressed to enact a significant degree of change on the curve. I suppose a uniform benchmark professors must conform to isn’t necessary, but surely it’s better than rampant uncertainty and massive numbers of students attempting to switch between classes based on unsubstantiated rumors of what professor is “easy.” (The switching danger is averted during the 2 and 3L years since coursework may at least be individually tailored.) With the curve in place, the performance measured still speaks to a level of fluidity with the material, whether it is relative to another’s performance or not. After all, a letter grade is meaningless unless there are other grades, judged against the same scale, doled out to everyone participating in the process.

Grades, the Curve, and the Self

If your only relationship to the other students in your class is limited to that class alone, it would appear that you may well be setting yourself up for comparisons premised merely on classroom contribution, and ultimately grades. This could be down to your own failure to take advantage of the available forms of interaction, or it could be a more systemic flaw of law school not providing a varied enough array of mixers. Now, if you have taken the time to establish relationships with your peers at social engagements, on sports fields, and over beers, and you still see yourself as one letter grade sitting next to their letter grade, this speaks more to a deficiency in your personal worldview than anything related to Columbia, law school, or the education system more generally.

Conclusion

In terms of sheer academic development, it is certainly true that other forms of grading and other forms of testing may allow for better feedback, and ultimately academic growth. I find it hard to believe, however, that this prospect actually arouses much interest in the average law student, however grand it may at first appear. Separate from pure academic learning, as long as average law students remain career driven realists without need or want for extra bullshit, and employers remain concerned above all else with covering their bottom line: the curve retains its utility.