CHY 113 Grading Policy

Gale Rhodes
Contact Information and Office Hours

Exams: On each graded exam, you will find two scores. At the top left is the raw score , the number of points you earned out of the maximum possible (usually 100). At the top center (usually circled) is the scaled score . To obtain the scaled score, I decide what range of raw scores corresponds to each letter grade. These ranges may vary from one exam to the next, according to the difficulty of the exam, the opportunities for earning partial credit, and other factors. Then I rescale the raw scores, assigning a scaled score of 90 to the lowest raw score in the A range, 80 to the lowest raw score in the B range, 70 for the lowest C, and 60 for the lowest D. For instance, regardless of your raw score, if your scaled score is 85, your exam performance is in the middle of the B range.

Quizzes: You earn up to 10 points on each quiz. At the end of the semester, I add the scores of your highest ten quizzes, and treat the total as one exam score (worth up to 100 points). If you took fewer than 10 quizzes, the total still counts as one full exam.
Quizzes are designed to be easy—if you prepare. Be sure you prepare, and earn these easy points. Points on exams are harder to earn.

Course Average: To compute your numerical grade for the course, I first average the scaled scores of regular exams. Then I check for one of two possible grade adjustments:

1. If your final exam score is more than ten points below the regular-exam average, I raise it to ten points below this average; or if not,
2. If one midsemester exam score is lower than the average of all other exams (final exam weighted as shown in the syllabus), I raise the low score to ten points below the average of all other exams.

These adjustments reduce the damage from a single poor exam, and they insure that it is always worth your while to take every exam -- no single score can lower your average more than failing to take one exam.

To determine your course grade, I average these revised regular and final exam scores and your quiz total, weighing each item as promised in the syllabus (see formula below), and rounding the average to the nearest whole point (0.5 rounds up). Then I assign course grades according to this table:

Grade Assignments

At any time during the semester, you can estimate your current grade by simply averaging your scaled exam scores and finding the corresponding letter grade in the table.

Close Calls: If your average is on a grade borderline, you are more likely (but not guaranteed) to get the higher grade if

1. you showed improvement during the semester,
2. you attended all quizzes and exams.

You are almost guaranteed to get the lower grade if

1. your scaled scores went downward during the semester,
2. you had a very low final exam grade,
3. you had credit for fewer than 10 quizzes, and/or
4. you missed an exam.

Check for grading errors and inform me immediately.
Grades are final one week after you receive them.

* The formula for computing your final course grade is as follows:

Final Average = {[E1 + E2 + E3 + (2•EF) + (Q)] / [6]}

In which
E1, E2, and E3, are scaled scores of your three exams (after adjustments, if any);
EF is the scaled final-exam score (after adjustments, if any);
Q is the sum of your top ten quiz scores, or of all quiz scores if you have fewer than 10.

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