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The History of the Bell Curve: Sorting and the Idea of Normal
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Fendler, Lynn; Muzaffar, Irfan – Educational Theory, 2008
Bell-curve thinking, as a model of distribution of success and failure in society, enjoys a perennial (ahistorical, objective, and law-like) status in education. As such it provides a rationale for sorting (tracking or streaming) practices in education, which has led many educators to criticize both bell-curve thinking and associated sorting…
Descriptors: Probability, Role of Education, Educational Philosophy, Educational History