Course Syllabus, Part 5

Grade Calculation Details

David W. Lyons
Fall 2019

updated 7 May 2019

Grading policies and procedures are subject to adjustment at any time at the discretion of the instructor.

Each item of graded work receives a raw point score. The numerical grade, or simply the score, for an item of graded work is the raw point score divided by the total number of possible points for that item. 

               raw point score
   score =  ---------------------
            total possible points
For example, if Joe Student has a raw point score of 18 on a quiz that has 20 total possible points, then Joe's grade for that quiz is 18/20 = .9 = 90%. Most of the remainder of this document is devoted to the procedure used to compute an overall cumulative average from the individual graded items.

Weighted Averages

The weighted average of a list of numbers 
   x1, x2, x3, ..., xn
with weights given by the list of nonnegative numbers 
   w1, w2, w3, ..., wn
not all of which are zero, is the quantity 
   x1w1 + x2w2 + x3w3 + ... + xnwn 
   ------------------------------ .
      w1 + w2 + w3 + ... + wn

Example

Joe Student has test scores of 79%, 86%, and 73%. The tests have weights 25/100, 40/100, and 35/100, respectively. The weighted average of the three test scores is 
   (.79)(25/100) + (.86)(40/100) + (.73)(35/100)
   ---------------------------------------------  = .797 = 79.7%.
            25/100 + 40/100 + 35/100
If the weights are changed to 1, 3, and 2, the new weighted average becomes 
   (.79)(1) + (.86)(3) + (.73)(2)
   ------------------------------  = .805 = 80.5%.
             1 + 3 + 2

Excused missed assignments or exams

Missed assignments or exams may be excused, at the discretion of the instructor. An excused graded item is dropped from your grade record by resetting its weight to zero.

If a missed assignment or exam is not excused, it receives a score of zero.

Forgiveness of one low score

At the end of the semester, the grading software will automatically drop one graded item (but not your final exam score) from your cumulative average by resetting its weight to zero; the grading software will determine which of your graded items to drop by choosing the one that most increases your overall cumulative average by dropping it. If there is no item that increases your cumulative average by dropping it, then no dropping will occur.

Note: grade dropping is only applied in courses that have a final exam.

Meaning of letter grades

According to the College Catalog, letter grades have the following meanings. 
   Letter Grade     Meaning
   ------------     ------
        A           excellent
        B           good
        C           satisfactory
        D           requirements and standards met at a minimum level
        F           course requirements not met
Standards for ``excellent'' and ``good'' (letter grades A and B) are high. In this course, your grade reflects your mastery of the material. A good grade is not guaranteed by class attendance and performing the motions of homework; to earn an A or a B, you must demonstrate understanding that transcends mere rote familiarity.

Determination of letter grade

At the end of the semester, your final cumulative average is used to assign a letter grade. The scale used to convert cumulative averages to letter grades is based on the ``standard 10 point scale'' (A-,A,A+ for 90 to 100 percent range, B-,B,B+ for percentages in the 80's, C-,C,C+ for the 70's, etc.), but the scale may be adjusted, at the discretion of the instructor, so that the meanings of the letter grades fit the descriptions given in the previous section. Pluses and minuses are used to distinguish between the low, middle and high achievers within each letter grade category.

Note on mid-term grades: Pluses and minuses are not used for midterm grades.