Power Law Distribution of Student ̓s Achievement in Stem: Indication of Ability or Failure

AbstractAnalyses of results on recent state matura examination in Croatia suggest power law distribution in physics similar to corresponding examination on Advancing physics in G. Britain. Same distribution has been observed in some other STEM subjects (e.g. informatics and mathematics) in Croatian matura examination. Interpreting results through the lens of Gauss distribution (traditionally prevailing in educational community) lead to wrong conclusions. Grounded on heuristic argument that nature of school knowledge differ, we justify choice of power law distribution as more appropriate for analyzing STEM subjects, not questioning suitability of Gauss distribution for analyzing achievement in humanities and arts