[Philo]

I don't deny that there are more challenging courses at places like MIT and CalTech than at a place like Iowa State. The Harvard math course that blah blah referred to, Math 55a, is described as "the most difficult undergraduate math class in the country." I have no doubt that similar classes are probably not available at Iowa State.

Do I think that students at Harvard get a better undergraduate education than at Iowa State? Yes. Do I think that the average math major at Harvard will come out knowing more than the average math major at Iowa State? Yes. Perhaps there are very few math courses offered at Harvard and Iowa State that are comparable in content. Do I think that the average undergraduate at Harvard is more intelligent than the average undergraduate at Iowa State? Yes.

My claim is about grading practices, and it is this: it is a misconception to think that an A- at Harvard in a course that is equivalent in content to a course at Iowa State means necessarily that the A- from Iowa State in the same course was easier.