Contact meDetermining your current grade involves only computing weighted percentages.
Suppose we've had six homework assignments so far, and you've turned in five. We've had two quizzes and a midterm. Suppose your scores are as follows:
| Homework | 43/48, 51/52, 0, 33/33, 62/64, and 36/43 | |
| Quizzes | 27/30, 23/25 | |
| Midterm 1 | 78/100 |
Here's how I would compute your current grade:
First I convert each score to a percentage:
| Homework | 89.6, 98.0, 0.0, 100.0, 96.9, and 83.7 | |
| Quizzes | 90, 92 | |
| Midterm 1 | 78 |
Then I take the average in each category. In Math 152, the lowest homework score and the lowest quiz score are dropped from the final grade. I compute the current grade both with and without the drops, for illustration purposes:
| With lowest homework score and lowest quiz score dropped: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homework | (89.6 + 98.0 + |
= | 93.6% | |
| Quizzes | ( |
= | 92% | |
| Midterm 1 | = | 78% | ||
| With no dropped scores: | ||||
| Homework | (89.6 + 98.0 + 0.0 + 100.0 + 96.9 + 83.7) / 6 | = | 78.0% | |
| Quizzes | (90 + 92) / 2 | = | 91% | |
| Midterm 1 | = | 78% | ||
In Math 152, homework, quizzes and midterms each count for 24% of the final grade. In other words, they are weighted equally. Thus your grade so far would be the average of the three percentages:
| With lowest homework score and lowest quiz score dropped: | ||
|---|---|---|
| (93.6 + 92 + 78) / 3 | = | 87.9% |
| With no dropped scores: | ||
| (78.0 + 91 + 78) / 3 | = | 82.3% |
You can see how much difference the drops make, especially at the beginning of the term. But beware: the more assignments we accumulate, the less difference the drops will make. So use your drops wisely!
Here's an example of what happens at the end of the term. Recall that the lowest of the 5 overall grades for Homework, Quiz, Midterm 1, Midterm 2, and Final is dropped. Suppose your overall grades are as follows:
| Homework | 87% | x 24/10 = | 209 points | |
| Quizzes | 92% | x 24/10 = | 221 points | |
| (dropped) | ||||
| Midterm 2 | 86% | x 24/10 = | 206 points | |
| Final | 81% | x 24/10 = | 194 points | |
| Effort/Attendance/Participation | 91% | x 4/10 = | 36 points | |
| Total | 866 points out of 1000 = 86.6% | |||
You can see how the grade for Midterm 1, being the lowest of the first 5 grades, is dropped. The advantage of this system is that you are not overly penalized for one bad exam. And if you are satisfied with your grade going into the final, you can opt out of the final exam!
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| Last updated 1/20/2006 |