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2022 CGC Grading Contest Season 1 Spring Edition (#2) Round 4 Results
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Started by CGC Mike,

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zzutak

zzutak

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On 5/12/2022 at 8:25 AM, CGC Mike said:

graph 4.jpg

According to Mike's grade distribution table, only 101 players completed all four rounds (down from 154 at sign-up, 134 in Round 1, 113 in Round 2, and 107 in Round 3).  Here are the key measures of central tendency for Round 4 (Mean = the average grade; Median = the middle grade in a numerically rank-ordered list; Mode = the most common grade):

Book CGC Grade Distribution Statistics
# Grade Mean Median Mode
16 3.5 3.4 3.5 3.5
17 6.0 5.1 5.0 5.0
18 9.0 8.9 9.0 9.0
19 6.0 6.2 6.0 6.0/6.5
20 9.0 9.3 9.4 9.4

Board members were generally in line with CGC on the Round 4 books.  Here are a few notable observations based on the data reported above:

  • Book #16 (Sensation Comics #68):  The "easiest" book for the Board as a whole, with 34% of the contestants at the same grade as CGC, 73% within one grade increment of CGC, and a mean contestant grade essentially identical to that of CGC (3.4 vs 3.5).  (worship).
  • Book #17 (War Action #2):  The "second toughest" book for the Board as a whole, with only 10% of the contestants at the same grade as CGC, and only 33% within one grade increment of CGC.  Personally, I saw this as a textbook 6.0 FN, but others saw it much lower.  Collectively, the players were nearly two grade increments tougher than CGC (5.1 vs 6.0).
  • Book #18 (Strange Tales #152):  The "second easiest" book for the Board as a whole, with 30% of the contestants at the same grade as CGC, 66% within one grade increment of CGC, and a mean contestant grade essentially identical to that of CGC (8.9 vs 9.0).  (worship).
  • Book #19 (Silver Surfer #1): A moderately challenging selection for the Board as a whole, with only 23% of the contestants at the same grade as CGC, and only 55% within one grade increment of CGC.  However, collectively, the players were only slightly more lenient than CGC (6.2 vs 6.0).
  • Book #20 (X-Men #101): By far and away, the "toughest" book for the Board as a whole, with only 6% of the contestants at the same grade as CGC.  :whatthe:  :whatthe:  :whatthe:  Apparently, only a handful of players noticed the faint but rather long color-breaking crease along the bottom right edge of the front cover. :pullhair:

I'll close by noting that only three of the top ten finishers in this contest were also in the top ten at the conclusion of CGC Grading Contest #1.  So much for the unjustified claim that the same people will always walk away with the prizes.  (tsk)  Let's leave the Fake News TM to the legacy media!  :sumo:

Congratulations to all the top finishers, and many thanks to Mike for managing another instructive and thoroughly enjoyable show!  (worship)

Edited by zzutak
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Bird

Bird

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okay, not where I want to be but I can see it from here.

Can you imagine grading 50 books in a row? The sustained attention and prolonged vigilance exhausts me. If the rounds were 8 books a round and 3 rounds I would do much worse I think.

 

tie breakers should be done in real time...one book one grade...you have 5 minutes and go! if they tie again...one book one grade 4 minutes and go..et cetera et cetera

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Axe Elf

Axe Elf

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If I counted right, I made it into the top half at 72nd, so goal accomplished.

My second and third rounds were a 6 and a 5, respectively, but I hit double digits in rounds 1 and 4.

My biggest piece of feedback to improve the contest would be to only use books where the grading is COMPLETELY dependent upon what can be plainly seen in the scans.  When the final grade is dependent on things that CAN'T be seen in the original scans (such as the one where the "gunk" in the scan was cleaned off the cover before grading, or this X-Men in the last round that had no visible flaws unless you blow it up 40x and increase the contrast), it's not only a disadvantage to GOOD graders (and yes, we're all under the same disadvantage in that respect), but it's also an unfair advantage to POOR graders.

I mean, if you see a book with no visible flaws and grade it as a 9.0, that's an error--but in this case those errors were rewarded when the final grade was based on "very light bends" that couldn't be seen in the scans.  So if you really want it to be a grading contest, and not a guessing contest, then it should only include books that have all relevant flaws visible in the scans--and then don't clean/press the books after scanning and before grading.

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Superman2006

Superman2006

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On 5/12/2022 at 3:33 PM, WilliamLunt said:

Congrats to jbpnez, superman2006 and mr. zipper!

 

On 5/12/2022 at 3:37 PM, Point Five said:

Yep, congrats guys!:applause: 

 

 

On 5/12/2022 at 3:39 PM, CJ Design said:

Massive thanks to Mike and for  jbpnez, superman2006, and mr. zipper for winning, and setting the bar. Congrats and excellent job. This was a fun learning experience.

Thanks guys! And a big thanks to Mike for setting up and running this.

This was my first grading contest, and it was a lot of fun. It will be interesting to see if I just had beginner's luck, or if I end up with another strong finish next time around. For anyone concerned about all of the top finishers being professional graders, I can assure everyone that definitely isn't the case with me!

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EricLB

EricLB

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Thanks again Mike and a thank you to Zzutak for statistical analysis. I learned a bunch (not enough). I didn’t finish 1st but I finished so I am happy. Next time I will take it all ….

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zzutak

zzutak

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On 5/12/2022 at 4:04 PM, EricLB said:

Thanks again Mike and a thank you to Zzutak for statistical analysis. I learned a bunch (not enough). I didn’t finish 1st but I finished so I am happy. Next time I will take it all ….

Never underestimate the power of positive thinking!  (thumbsu  I'll be rootin' for ya!  :foryou:  :hi:

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