CS106B Handout #11J Zelenski Jan 16, 2008Program GradingYour CS106 programs will be graded on two major areas: functionality and design/style. Althoughyou will often concentrate your efforts on getting the program "to work" (whatever that takes!) you'lllearn that our expectations go beyond just working— we also want an elegant, well-engineeredsolution. A program can truly be a work of art and something you can be proud of when showingoff both the executable and the code.Functionality Functionality denotes whether or not the program performed as expected i.e. did itmeet all the requirements set out in the assignment handout. For this evaluation,we examine your program's behavior from an external perspective, without lookingat the code. We will test your program on many different inputs to determine itscorrectness in a variety of situations.Design/style Design and style capture whether the program has a clean and elegant organizationthat is easy to read and understand. Does it employ principles of gooddecomposition and re-use/unify rather than repeat code? Does it make well-reasoned choices for data structures? Would it be easy to maintain and/or extend?Are the variables and procedures meaningfully named? Does it have descriptiveand accurate comments? Are the layout choices readable and consistent (use ofwhite space, capitalization, punctuation, etc.)? For this evaluation, we carefully readthe code and offer constructive input on your choices.Each category is assigned a grade using a bucket scale (the two different scales used are describedbelow). Rather than resorting to nit-picking and summing up points, we want to provide a clearoverall sense of your program’s strengths and weaknesses in these areas, and we believe a fairlycoarse bucket scale is best for this. The total assignment score is the sum of the scores, the two partsare equally weighted. It is possible for a perfectly functional program to earn a low score in styleand vice versa. We encourage you to make your program shine in both areas!Interactive gradingPrograms will be graded in a one-on-one conference with your section leader. Past 106 studentsseem in strong agreement that this interactive grading is one of the course's best features. Yoursection leader will discuss with you the specifics of where your program excels and where you canimprove for next time. Their feedback and nourishment can help guide you in your passage fromprogramming novice to accomplished software engineer. The grading conference is a marvelous andrare opportunity for intense, personal feedback. I hope you'll find it a lot more useful and inspiringthat getting a returned paper marked with a numeric tally.Functionality scaleBelow is an explanation of the scale we will be using to express the level of functionality in a givenprogram. Pay special attention to the message— each bucket is designed to send a clear indicationof where you stand relative to our standards that should help you decide how to proceed from here.+An exceptional program—one that works correctly in all situations andexceeds our expectations, going above and beyond the assignmentrequirements. Super work! We cannot find fault and would love to showsuch a program to the entire class as an extraordinary example. Onlyabout 5% of the programs receive this grade and it is never given outunless a + was also received for style. The message: "Fantastic work,congratulations!"+An excellent program—one that meets all of the requirements gracefullyand has only minor flaws. Your section leader may be able to providesuggestions for some small adjustments or quibble with a few things, butthese programs are overall very well-done and distinguish themselves inall areas. Perhaps a third of the programs will receive this grade. Themessage: "Great job, keep it up!"A good, solid program—one that is complete and generally meets therequirements of the assignment, although perhaps some parts could havebeen handled better. Your section leader can provide feedback on whatcan be improved upon for next time. This is the median grade and weexpect around half of the programs will be given this grade. Themessage: "Good work."-A program with room for improvement. The program doesn’t quite meetall of the requirements of the assignment, perhaps because it is a bitincomplete or has errors with one or more required components. With abit more work it could be a good program. Your section leader can helpyou to understand where to go from here. The message: "Hang in there,try to learn what you need to move forward."-A troubled program. The program exhibits serious problems and/or isan incomplete attempt, but it does show some understanding and effort.This grade indicates that improvement needs to be made immediately.The message: "Time to get serious about getting back on track."--A very incomplete program. This score usually indicates the programhad very little effort put into it and/or has serious errors. A large amountof work needs to be done before this program would work correctly. Themessage: "Talk to instructor before it's too late!"0No program turned in at all.On some assignments there will be an opportunity for extensions beyond the standard assignmentrequirements. Doing this extra credit will potentially earn you between one and four Gold Stars ofValour. These will be figured into your final grade, but not your assignment grade. Also, note thatwhile they do count, extra credit will not make up for a problematic assignment. Thus make sure youhave thoroughly tested your assignment core before moving on to any extensions! Ultimately themain part of the assignment is the real meat and extensions are just gravy.Design/style scaleThere are fewer buckets in the design/style scale and we hope for the scores to be a bit higher thanfunctionality. Below are the buckets used for this evaluation:+A well-engineered, sensible, and readable program. Bravo! Theoverall approach is straight-forward, data structure is cleanlyorganized, tasks are nicely decomposed, algorithms are clear and easyto follow, comments are helpful, layout is consistent— an overallpolished production. All students are capable of achieving this