Stickey, your experience reminds me of one of my own.
The scene...a summer course in beginning computer programming at a state university.
The students...a mix of college students, some interested in majoring in computer science and some gifted/talented senior HS students, along with some in a special scholarship program for disadvantaged students.
You know where this is going....
So, I teach the course. I put stuff on the board, work problems, create examples, and explain. The department makes tutoring available, free of charge, six days per week.
I give various assignments, complete with opportunities to work on the material in class. I plead for questions. The good students (who are doing well) ask. The others do not.
I give the first test. One simple problem, open book, open note, two hours of time...all for a test that should require less than an hour. Some students finished in 15 minutes, turned in their tests, and got perfect scores. Some went an hour or so and got bad scores. A couple went the whole two hours and demonstrated profound cluelessness.
I gave the biggest curve I ever gave in my life. One cannot flunk two-thirds of the class, even though they earned it.
Matters proceed.
I provide a sample test prior to test two. It is a precise duplicate in every detail except I changed the name of the variables. The results are essentially the same.
And so on to the final, which produces the same outcome.
Sure, I curved the grades. Yes, most passed. But the great majority knew absolutely nothing.
Oh well.
The scary part is the trend. The test I gave was similar to one I have given in the past. It really should take much less than an hour, as judged by student performance. We are producing students with degress who are not educated. This is not good.