Honors Math 143 Grading

Grading for Honors Math 143, Fall 2009

There will not be a scale for converting numeric scores into a letter grade until after the final exam. This gives me (your instructor) a little more flexibility (and probably works in a student's favor: I probably would be more conservative with the grading scale if I had to specify it in advance.)

The information below, however, will tell you what will go into computing your "TOTAL PERCENT SCORE" at the end of the course. Your letter grade will be based on your TOTAL PERCENT SCORE.

Your TOTAL PERCENT SCORE for the course will be based on your test and query scores, along with your homework assignments:

The midterm and the final will each contain a total of 100 possible points. Your final exam score will replace your midterm score if that helps you. (The final exam score cannot be replaced.)

Your query total will be out of a possible 20 points (a sizeable percentage of your total).

Your homework total will be out of a possible 80 points (another sizeable percentage of your total).

To illustrate, here's a sample calculation of the TOTAL PERCENT SCORE for a hypothetical student:

Exam, Query and Homework Data for John Doe

Exam Scores Midterm Exam 76 (out of 100)

FINAL 83 (out of 100)

Query Total 15 (out of 20)

Homework Total 69 (out of 80)

Calculation of TOTAL PERCENT SCORE for John Doe

His Final Exam score (83) is better than his midterm score (76), so we replace the 76 with 83.
So John has earned 83 + 83 + 15 + 69 = 250 points out of a possible 300.
John Doe's TOTAL PERCENT SCORE = (250/300) X 100 = 83.3

So what is his letter grade for the course? I will not determine how 83.3 translates into a letter grade until after the final. But the information below gives some guidelines to help John think about letter grades.

A final formula for converting %'s into letter grades will not be determined until after the final. However, the following will give you some general guidelines about final letter grades:

You will need a TOTAL PERCENT SCORE score of 60% to pass (grade of D or better). We feel that about that percentage of the material on the tests and quizzes covers "basic competency" material so that this is a fair cutoff for getting credit for the course.

The following letter grades are guaranteed. The ultimate scale for converting FINAL PERCENT TOTAL into a letter grade might be more generous, but there is no assurance of that.

TOTAL PERCENT SCORE GUARANTEED LETTER GRADE
(possibly with a "+" or " -" attached)

90% - 100 % A

80% - 89.99% B

70% - 79.99% C

60% - 69.99% D

Below 60% NCR (F)

Students taking the course with the "Credit/No Credit" ("Pass/Fail") grading option must earn a grade of "C" or better to receive a "pass".
Any students taking the course on an "audit" basis must talk with their instructors
to determine what criteria will be used to award a grade of "successful audit."

TOTAL PERCENT SCORE	GUARANTEED LETTER GRADE (possibly with a "+" or " -" attached)
90% - 100 %	A
80% - 89.99%	B
70% - 79.99%	C
60% - 69.99%	D
Below 60%	NCR (F)