But your data do seem to shatter a smug assumption on my part. Some years ago, after attending a play about a couple of college profs who had little or nothing good to say about their students, I found myself wondering why I hold mine in such high regard. It came to me that perhaps I don’t expect enough of them, which would mean that they habitually exceed my expectations. How could I test this, I wondered. The next day I made up a very simple survey:

____Is this class too easy?
____Is this class just about right?
____Is this class too hard?

Between two sections, about 75 students, there were two students who said they found the class too easy; none who said it was too hard; the rest said it was just about right. Aha, I said, I manage to keep everybody interested and learning. What a splendid teacher I am!, I thought to myself.

But after looking at Elisabeth’s data from questions 1 and 2, I can see that Baruch students in general seem to be of the Goldilocks persuasion, that is, most find their courses “just right.” It’s not me, it’s our students. Well, at least I can console myself by noting that I’m above average—the academic’s perpetual Lake Wobegon refuge.