Scores on homework and examinations will
be weighted as shown below in determining your grade.
- 15% Homework
- 20% Each Hour Examination
- 45% Final Examination
To avoid fractions, the Final Exam is worth a maximum of 225 points,
the Hour Exams are worth a maximum of 100 points each, and your
average homework score is normalized to a maximum of 75 points.
Your Grand Total score thus has a maximum of 500 points.
In computing your average homework score, your lowest
homework score (which could be a 0 for homework turned
in late or not turned in at all) will not be included in the average.
Letter Grades:
After computing each student's Grand Total score
as the sum of the average homework score,
hour exam scores, and final exam score, we find the mean m and the
standard deviation s of the Grand Total scores.
Letter grades are assigned using cut-offs that
are based roughly
on a mixture of
- objective criteria (85% = A, 70% = B, 55% = C, etc.),
- statistical criteria (above-average scores = B or better, etc.),
and
Thus, provided
that m-s is at least 250 and that the ranges stated below make
sense when the scores are all recorded, we intend to award
- A's to scores greater than min(m+s,425)
- B's to scores in the range min(m,350) to min(m+s,425),
- C's to scores in the range min(m-s,275) to min(m,350)
- D's to scores in the range max(m-2s,225) to min(m-s,275)
- F's to scores below max(m-2s,225)
+ and - grades are typically awarded at the edges of the above cut-offs.
The percentages of A's and B's awarded in ECE 313 are comparable to those
awarded in 300-level required courses in the ECE Department.
Trivia regarding grading practices
- The reason for saying roughly
is that we reserve the right to make minor adjustments
(upwards or
downwards) to each cut-off
to avoid discriminating between students on the basis of very
small differences in scores. If we must determine a given cut-off where
there is no obvious gap in
scores, we will be favorably influenced by strong performance on the final
exam.
- Regardless of your exam performance and the settings of the
cut-offs, however, you will receive the same grade as everyone who has
the same Grand Total score as you, and nobody who has a lower
Grand Total score will receive a higher grade than you.
- The above grading scheme applies only if m-s is at least 250
points. We have a great deal of difficulty in giving passing
grades to those who score less than 50% of the total points on
the course. If the number of such students is large, well ...
that's when the soul-searching begins.
