Mathematics 165 - Grades
Will there be letter grades for Exam 1 or Exam 2 or the Midterm?
No, we just record the score you got - it is less work and more fair!
How do you calculate final letter grades?
I will add up all the scores you get. The maximum total is 600, consisting of 2 x 100 for Exam 1 and 2, 125 for Midterm and Homework and 150 for the Final. Since Exam 1 is out of 75, I will multiply your score in Exam 1 by 100/75 before adding it up. Similarly, Exam 2 is multiplied by 100/80 and the Midterm by 125/100. The homework total is multiplied by 125/385 where 385 is the maximum possible homework score, not including extra credit. Then the quiz score is added.
The complete formula reads
p = h*125/385 + e1*100/75 + e2*100/80 + m *125/100 + q + f*150/F
where p is the final score, e1 and e2 the hour exam scores, h/m/q/f your homework/midterm/quiz/final score, and F the maximum possible score in the Final, respectively.
The total weighted scores out of 600 are translated into letter grades.
I promise that the cutoff percentages for calculating letter grades will not be tougher than
the following.
| Letter grade
|
A
|
A-
|
B+
|
B
|
B-
|
C+
|
C
|
C-
|
D
|
| Cutoff value for score p
|
540+
|
510+
|
480+
|
450+
|
420+
|
390+
|
360+
|
280+
|
250+
|
So if you have eg a p score of 331, you got a C-. Only grades of C-, D or F are reported at this time.
Expect cutoff values of at most 510 for an A-, at most 450 for B-.
Last semester, the cutoff for D was 45% or 270 out of 600.
If you perform way better in the Final than your average on previous exams, I may again award you a higher grade than you would get by just looking at the score, same as at the Midterm.
Will the final grades be curved?
If that means that a fixed percentage of the class will automatically get an A and y percent will get Fs then the answer is no.
However I will look at the performance of the whole class when setting the cutoff percentages, ie if everybody does terribly badly then the cutoffs will be lowered somewhat. I will also take input from other sections of Math 165, it can be expected that grade proportions should be roughly equal.
Scores on WebCT
The predicted scores have been updated in WebCT. They tell you what you would get if you perform in the Final like you performed in exams so far.
I have added a column called Score which contains all the marks you have accumulated so far. This would be your final score out of 600 if you did not take the Final. You can see how much you need in the Final to reach a given grade.
By the end of Finals week, this will contain your true final score. By then you will also see your letter grade.
Some comforting words
Remember that a bad exam score does in no way imply that you are not capable of understanding the subject.
It DOES give an indication that you are struggling with the class and need to do something in order to succeed in it.
Anybody who did much worse in the midterm than in the p score could take heart in hoping that this was just a bad day, and that you get better scores as you get used to this style of exams etc etc.
Anybody who actually did better on the midterm than the p score could justly claim that she/he is on a rising trend! just don't make too much out of these arguments, look into what mistakes you made and don't repeat them. See the 'additional resources' section of the course homepage for the many opportunities you have to get help.