@eric I think there was a wide range of performances on the exam. I'm not so bothered by the uniformity as by the number of low scores: if all scores were uniformly distributed between, say, 60% and 90%, I would be okay with that.
This is an odd class: it is "hybrid", with no lecture portion, only instructional videos that I've made, and "quiz sections" twice a week with a TA, so I think it is possible that many students are not finding any rhythm to their studies. As well, many are experiencing their first college quarter, which never makes things easier. Despite the fact that I have lots of office hours, only a handful of students ever talk to me, so many are not addressing their difficulties as well as they could be. And I imagine that many are rather unprepared (e.g., were given passing grades in earlier courses despite not having the needed skills for this course). Many instructors are hesitant to fail people.
As well, I imagine my exams are more strenuous than a lot of students are used to. I give lots of partial credit, and have many archived exams for them to practice, however.
I've seen this kind of performance in precalculus courses, but not in calculus courses, that I can remember. This is the first time I've taught calculus for a number of years, and I imagine the pandemic has not been helpful.
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