In household electric ovens, the heating element has only two settings -- on and off
A thermostat connected to the oven' s temperature knob is the only control on temperature, automatically switching the element off when the indicated temperature is reached, which happens quickly in modern ovens, and subsequently on or off as needed to maintain temperature
If the thermostat of a modern household electric oven is disabled so that the heating element remains switched on, the oven's temperature can eventually become higher than the maximum temperature setting on its temperature knob.