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Grading
Update on Estimating Your Course Grade (posted Nov. 15)
The material below was posted around mid-semester. We have now had three hour exams and five
quizzes, and the deadlines for the first two article write-ups have passed. Your most likely grade on
hour exam 4 is the average of your grades on the first three exams. You can estimate your final course
grade by computing this average, and adding it to the sum of points on the first three exams (keeping
all exams on a scale of 20 points = best available grade). This makes up 80% of your course credit.
To that total, you should add the best four quiz scores (you can get up to 12 points from quizzes,
as it says in the full-length
syllabus),
and additional participation points from activities in and out of class, up to the point that this sum is 20 points. That is
the maximum credit available from quizzes and participation.
You are expected to take all four exams, with each exam providing up to 20 points of credit. If you missed an exam,
or would like another chance to improve your course grade, you may take the optional final comprehensive exam.
This will be given on Mon., Dec. 13, from 9:00 AM to noon, in RLM 4.102 (not in our usual classroom, Welch 3.502).
If you are going to take the final exam, you must take it at this time; I will not give some students the exam either
earlier or later. University policies ensure that you cannot have another exam that conflicts with this one, because
this is the designated time for final exams in courses that meet MWF from 11 AM - noon. If you take the final exam
and your score is lower than the exam score you hoped to replace, I will take the higher of the two scores. In other
words, you cannot lower your semester grade by taking the final exam: either you will improve your grade, or there
will be no change.
The letter grades corresponding to numerical score ranges are given in the table below.
eGradebook
How to Estimate Your Expected Course Grade
The following points explain how you can estimate what your course grade would be,
if you continued working and performing at the same level as in the first half
of the semester. You can bring up your grade by doing better on future exams and
quizzes and by earning more credits for participation. There are a number of possible
Activities for Credit that can be done outside of class.
On the other hand, if you start skipping class often, you will miss opportunities to do
better on the quizzes, as well as to earn participation credit, and your grade may be
lower than this estimate.
1. Exams: We have had two of the four hour exams. Take the sum of these two scores
(on the original scale of 20 = full credit), and multiply by 2. If you took only one of the exams,
multiply that score by 4. You will also have the opportunity to take the comprehensive final
examination on Dec. 13, to replace one of the hour exams. Note, however, that you will not
be able to take the final exam at a different time than the officially scheduled time
(for example, you will not be allowed to take it earlier).
2. Participation Credits: Add up the points earned from in-class activities, star parties, and
special lectures. Multiply by 2.
3. Quizzes: We have had four quizzes so far. Add the best three scores.
4. Add the three items above. If your quiz plus participation credits total is greater than 20, it will be rounded
down to 20; as explained in the syllabus, you cannot earn more than 20% of your course grade from these
items. Then look up your estimated grade on the table below. There will be no rounding up of total numerical grades.
Letter
Grade
|
Numerical
Score
|
A
|
90 or above
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B
|
75.0 - 89.9
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C
|
60 - 74.9
|
D
|
50 - 59.9
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F
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below 50
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Worked Example:
- Suppose you got a 15 on Exam 1 and 18 on Exam 2. Your projected credit for exams is 2 x (15 + 18) = 66.
- If you received 4 credits for in-class activities on index cards (a total of 5 was possible), attended one star
party (2 are allowed), and wrote one article or special lecture (there were 2 such lectures/events, and up to 3 articles),
your participation credit total is 6. Assuming you do as much of these in the second half of the semester as in the
first half, you will receive 12 credits.
- If your quiz scores were 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 2, the sum of your "best three" is 2 + 2.5 + 2 = 6.5, unless one or
more quiz scores gets replaced by a higher score later on. The sum of participation plus quiz points is 18.5.
- Your estimated numerical score is 84.5, which is a "B."
Exam 1
Exam 1 has been graded, including the optional essays and alternative multiple-choice
explanations. You can look up your score on eGradebook. The letter-grade
equivalents are as follows:
Letter Grade
|
Numerical Score
|
# of Students
|
% of Class
|
A
|
18-20
|
17
|
22
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B
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15-17
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26
|
34
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C
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12-14
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22
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29
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D
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10-11
|
9
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12
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F
|
9 or below
|
2
|
3
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