What does "Basis for Course Grade" really mean?
Determining your current grade involves only computing weighted percentages.
Example.
Suppose we've had six WeBWorK and six paper homework assignments, three quizzes, and a midterm so far. Suppose your scores are as follows:
| WeBWorK |
|
5/5, 7/7, 2/3, 0/8, 4/7, and 9/9 |
| Paper Homework |
|
43/48, 51/52, 0, 33/33, 62/64, and 36/43 |
| Quizzes |
|
27/30, 23/25, 20/20 |
| Midterm 1 |
|
88/100 |
|
Here's how I would compute your current grade.
First I convert each score to a percentage:
| WeBWorK |
|
100.0, 100.0, 66.7, 0, 57.1, and 100.0 |
| Paper Homework |
|
89.6, 98.0, 0.0, 100.0, 96.9, and 83.7 |
| Quizzes |
|
90, 92, 100 |
| Midterm 1 |
|
88 |
|
Then I take the average in each category. The two lowest WeBWorK scores, the lowest paper 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 and quiz scores dropped: |
| WeBWorK |
|
(100.0 + 100.0 + 66.7 + (dropped) + (dropped) + 100.0) / 4 |
= |
91.7% |
| Paper Homework |
|
(89.6 + 98.0 + (dropped) + 100.0 + 96.9 + 83.7) / 5 |
= |
93.6% |
| Quizzes |
|
((dropped) + 92 + 100) / 2 |
= |
96% |
| Midterm 1 |
|
|
= |
88% |
|
| With no dropped scores: |
| WeBWorK |
|
(100.0 + 100.0 + 66.7 + 0 + 57.1 + 100.0) / 6 |
= |
61.2% |
| Paper Homework |
|
(89.6 + 98.0 + 0.0 + 100.0 + 96.9 + 83.7) / 6 |
= |
78.0% |
| Quizzes |
|
(90 + 92 + 100) / 3 |
= |
94% |
| Midterm 1 |
|
|
= |
88% |
|
To get your overall homework grade, I take the average of your WeBWorK and paper homework grades. For this example, that would be 92.7% (with drops) or 69.6% (with no drops). Homework, quizzes and midterms each count for 19% 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 and quiz scores dropped: |
| (92.7 + 96 + 88) / 3 |
= |
92.6% |
|
| With no dropped scores: |
| (69.6 + 94 + 88) / 3 |
= |
83.9% |
|
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!
All right, but what's all this about dropping "the lowest of these six grades"?
Okay, so here's how it works at the end of the term. It is the last week of classes, and we've had all our homework, quizzes, and midterms. I've also computed your Effort/Attendance/Participation grade. Suppose you now have
| Homework |
|
89% |
| Quizzes |
|
93% |
| Midterm 1 |
|
88% |
| Midterm 2 |
|
48% |
| Midterm 3 |
|
97% |
| Effort/Attendance/Participation |
|
92% |
|
Poor you! You had a bad day on Midterm 2. But don't worry! As long as your final exam score is 48% or more, your Midterm 2 score will be dropped.
Suppose you go on to get a 79% on the final. Then your final percentage would be computed as follows:
| Homework |
|
89 x 1.9 = |
169 points |
| Quizzes |
|
93 x 1.9 = |
177 points |
| Midterm 1 |
|
88 x 1.9 = |
167 points |
| Midterm 2 |
|
(dropped) |
| Midterm 3 |
|
97 x 1.9 = |
184 points |
| Final Exam |
|
79 x 1.9 = |
150 points |
| Effort/Attendance/Participation |
|
92 x 0.5 = |
46 points |
|
| Total |
|
893 points (out of 1000), or 89.3% |
|
On the other hand, suppose you studied hard, turned in all the homework, got decent grades on all the tests, came to class every day -- you know, did everything you're supposed to do -- and your scores look like
| Homework |
|
89% |
| Quizzes |
|
93% |
| Midterm 1 |
|
88% |
| Midterm 2 |
|
91% |
| Midterm 3 |
|
97% |
| Effort/Attendance/Participation |
|
92% |
|
Then your percentage for everything except the final would be
| Homework |
|
89 x 1.9 = |
169 points |
| Quizzes |
|
93 x 1.9 = |
177 points |
| Midterm 1 |
|
88 x 1.9 = |
167 points |
| Midterm 2 |
|
91 x 1.9 = |
173 points |
| Midterm 3 |
|
97 x 1.9 = |
184 points |
| Effort/Attendance/Participation |
|
92 x 0.5 = |
46 points |
|
| Total |
|
916 points (out of 1000), or 91.6% |
|
This means that you already have an A, and can skip the final! (The lowest of the six grades [excluding Effort/Attendance/Participation] is dropped, so if your final exam score is a zero, it will be dropped and you will end up with the grade you had going into the final.)
This grading system is to motivate you to do well throughout the course, and also to give you an extra chance if you have a bad day. Please note. I strongly discourage you from deliberately using your homework grade as your dropped score. Homework is the most important component for making sure you are learning the material and learning to write correct mathematics. There is a very good chance that your other scores will suffer if you skimp on homework.
That 89.3% up there is so close to 90%. Any chance I could still get an A in that case?
It is not guaranteed, but there is a good chance. My philosophy on assigning final grades is based on the following two principles:
- If a student scores 90% or better, he or she automatically gets an A. 80% or better is at least a B, and so on.
- If two students have very similar percentages, they will get the same grade.
Here's what this means in practice: at the end of the term, I arrange everyone's percentages in order and look for natural cutoffs at or below the traditional 90-80-70-60 numerical cutoffs. This is best illustrated with a pair of examples:
| Class 1 Percentages |
Grades |
|
Class 2 Percentages |
Grades |
| 99.2% |
A |
|
99.8% |
A |
| 98.6% |
A |
|
97.5% |
A |
| 95.4% |
A |
|
96.9% |
A |
| 93.9% |
A |
|
96.6% |
A |
| 91.1% |
A |
|
95.7% |
A |
| 91.0% |
A |
|
93.2% |
A |
| 90.2% |
A |
|
93.1% |
A |
| 90.0% |
A |
|
|
| 89.3% |
A |
|
89.3% |
B |
|
|
89.1% |
B |
| 86.5% |
B |
|
88.1% |
B |
| 86.1% |
B |
|
85.4% |
B |
| 85.2% |
B |
|
82.1% |
B |
| 85.2% |
B |
|
82.0% |
B |
| 82.0% |
B |
|
80.3% |
B |
|
In Class 1, your 89.3% is above the natural cutoff (there is a larger gap between 86.5% and 89.3% than there is between 89.3% and 90.0%). Therefore, you would receive an A.
In Class 2, however, there is a larger gap between 93.1% and 89.3% than there is between 89.3% and 89.1%. So you end up, unfortunately, below the natural cutoff, and you will receive a B.
In my classes, the situation is more frequently closer to that of Class 1. That said, the best way to make sure you get the grade you want is to make those numerical cutoffs! (And come to class. 
)
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