I read an article by authors from the some university in Massachusetts– I think, or Illinois maybe, one of those states that I have heard of but couldn't locate on a map– that there is a decided bias in test grades that correlates with the alphabetical order of the students names.

I might be missing the point of the article– perhaps because I didn't really read it, I only really read the title– but it suggests a much easier way to get through these Combinatorics tests that I have to grade this weekend.

I order the students by surname and fit them to a bell-curve.

I walk into the classroom with a scowl on my face and throwing the pile of them in spray across the room say, give my usual warning: "It you have a problem with your grade, know that if I have to look at it again, you might get the grade you deserve!"