GRADING POLICY FOR CH302The grades for the course will be determined by the following rules:1. Grading will be on a 1000 point scale. Letter grades will then be given on the basis of total points, using thefollowing scale:900 or more = A; 800-899 = B; 700-799 = C; 600-699 = D; less than 600 = F2. You may earn your points in the following ways:• You will take three 180 point in-class exams on new material worth a combined total of 540 points;• You will take a final exam worth 300 points;• You will take six 40-point quizzes (with the top four scores counting toward a 160 point quiz total.)NOTE WELL: I give fair quizzes and exams and people who learn the material do very well on them—averagegrades are in the high 70s. Therefore, do not expect this scale to be lowered--in common terminology, therewill be no curve (okay, maybe a little one at the end of the semester)!!!Look on the next page to find a couple of options in the grading procedure just to spice things up a bit.Tabulated summary of examinations times and maximum point scores:AssignmentDatemaximum pointsExam 1 ( Chapters 15, 12-14)Tuesday, February 24180Exam 2 ( Chapters 17-20 )Thursday, April 8180Exam 3 (Chapters 16, 21)Thursday, May 61804 best scores out of 6 quizzesfortnightly160Cumulative Final Exam (Chapters 12-21)Tuesday, May 18, 9 am to noon300Total course points1000DETAILS OF THE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS OF THE GRADING PROCEDURE:EXAMS. Three examinations will be given during the semester on CH302 material. These will be given aboutonce a month during the scheduled class time. Each examination will consist of 30 six-point multiple choicequestions that will be machine graded. These exams will look remarkably like your quizzes in format andcontent.QUIZZES. Quizzes emphasizing problem solving will be given six times during the semester. The quizzes willoccur fortnightly during the last 20 minutes of class. Quizzes will consist of 8 questions worth five points each.The questions will be drawn from the same data bank as the exams and will give you a flavor for what theexams will look like. The quizzes will also offer you the opportunity to keep up with the material so you won’thave to cram before exams or the cumulative final. Only your four best of six quizzes will count.WORKSHEETS AND OLD EXAMS. You will find in the course packet a variety of materials to assist in preparingfor the quizzes and exams. These materials include the quizzes and exams from the last two years I taughtCH302. You are on your own with respect to working through this material. It will not count toward yourgrade. However, the questions cover the same content and are in the same format as the quizzes and exams youwill take this year. You would do well to use old material as practice exams.GRADING OPTIONS IF YOU DIDN’T CARE FOR THE APPROACH DESCRIBED ABOVE:And now, grading options, because life would be boring if we didn’t have the opportunity for a few extrachallenges.OPTION 1 FOR THE HOPELESS OPTIMIST. A grading scheme based on the question, “if I ace the cumulativefinal can I get an A for the course?” In determining your course grade I will automatically determine whetheryour score on the final exam is higher than your cumulative average and if it is, I will substitute the exam score.If you score 90% or above on the final, you get an A for the course even if your cumulative course average isbelow 90%. If you score 80% or above on the final, you get a B for the course even if your cumulative courseaverage is below 80%, etc. This is an excellent option for the student who bombs more than one test, or,believes that he or she has really started to learn the material over the course of the semester but has scores thatmake an A unattainable. To be eligible for this option, you have to participate in the course by taking at leasttwo of the three exams and at least three of the six quizzes. So don’t just wander into the final after a semesterin Europe and expect this option.OPTION 2 FOR THE STUDENT WHO KNOWS TOO MUCH TO BE IN HERE ANYWAY. So you ace the tests andquizzes and really wish you could be home a little earlier for the holidays. Is it possible? Yes. Very simply, ifyou score 90% (630 out of 700 possible points) on the three exams and four of six quizzes, you will not have totake the final. Each year about 20 to 25% of the class achieves this
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