Grades Assignment #1

GOAL Since we are beginning statistics, it is a good time for you to figure out your class average so far. You will use information from WebCT and the grading policy from the syllabus to do so. This will be due with test revisions
Participation Average 20%
  1. quiz 1________ quiz 2________ From the main WebCt page, click on the "grades and tracking info" link. Click on "grades". Write down both quiz grades.
    Cross out the lowest quiz grade, since the lowest quiz is dropped. This is your quiz average.

  2. From the main WebCt page, click on the "grades and tracking info" link. Then click on the "tracking participation" link Write down the following:
    Number of visits to the Homepage____________

    Number of visits to the ToolPages_______________

    Number of Discussions Articles Read____________

    Original Posts__________
    Have you been reading any messages from Dr. Sarah at least twice a week? If the answer is no, then your participation grade goes down.
  3. Homework: Have you been turning in and receiving checks or checkpluses on assignments that are not graded numerically? If not, then your participation grade goes down.

From the syllabus Participation in class and lab activities, on the bulletin board, in assignments that are not graded numerically, and WebCT quizzes 20% You are expected to contribute to discussions, read the WebCT bulletin board, take and retake WebCT quizzes and turn in homework on time. You are also expected to actively engage the material in class and lab. This means that when we are doing a calculation, you must also do this on your calculator, and you are expected to take notes since the book does not contain everything you need to know. These kinds of baseline activities will result in a participation grade of 16/20. Other activities can increase or decrease this grade. Asking and answering thought provoking questions, coming up with creative ways of thinking about the material, and explaining the material to others are some examples of positive participation that will increase your grade. On the other hand, doing work or holding conversations unrelated to the class, sleeping in class, letting your cell phone ring in class, talking to your neighbors instead of engaging the material, challenging authority instead of looking for answers within yourself, leaving the classroom, refusing to engage in the baseline activities and performing other activities that detract from the professional classroom environment will result in a lowered participation grade.

  • Based on the above, give yourself a participation average out of 100________ (recall that satisfactory baseline participation is 16/20 or 80%)
    4 Major writing assignments 20% The Ben F writing assignment is the first of these, but you don't have it back yet. You will have a chance to revise your Ben F assignment.
    Weekly lab projects average 20%
    Write down all of your lab project grades from WebCT. (From the main WebCt page, click on the "grades and tracking info" link. Click on "grades") If you see the assignment on the WebCT "grades", but don't see a number, that means that you have received a 0. If you don't see the assignment header, than I haven't posted that assignment yet

    Ben1/25 _____ condo/25_____ tax/25_____
    Now cross out the lowest lab (just one!), and then take an average of the labs that remain. (ie add up the lab grades that remain, and then divide by the number of those labs that remain).
  • lab average out of 25______________
  • lab average percentage out of 100 (multiply the average out of 25 by 4) _____________
    Major topic exams, presentations, and/or papers average 20%

  • Test 1 Percentage out of 100________ (take your grade, divide by the total number of points, and then multiply by 100 to get the percentage).
    Final 20% We don't have this at the moment.
    Your class average The listed parts of the course are all weighted equally (20% each) in the grading scheme. So, add up your participation average out of 100, your lab average out of 100, and your exam percentage out of 100 and divide by 3 to obtain your class average out of 100______.
    As other grades become available, such as the Ben F. writing assignment, you can see how they factor into your class average.
    Late Work Grading Scheme Work will not be accepted without explanation and must also be turned in on or before the due date. If there is some reason you must miss a class, then obtain the assignment from the web pages. One late allowed over the course of the semester - save this for computer or other emergencies and turn your lab or major writing assignment in within one week from the due date. (There are no lates allowed on other aspects of the course, but the lowest quiz and lab are dropped).
  • If all of your work is turned in on time and you have received at least 50% credit for all work, then add +1/100 on to your course average to form your new course average __________ Otherwise, leave your course average alone.
    Attendance Grading Scheme Department policy mandates that missing more than 8 official and/or unofficial credit hours of absences during the course (careful - each class is 1.5 credit hours and each lab is 2 credit hours!) will result in a grade of F. Save your absences for emergencies! If the university is open and you miss part or all of a class, then that counts as an absence. You will receive (-.5*credit hours of absences + 2)/100 added on to your final average.
  • From the main WebCt page, click on the "grades and tracking info" link. Click on "grades".
  • Write down the number of credit hours of absences that you have so far_____
  • Calculate the number -(1/2)*(credit hours of absences) +2 _________
    This will be positive if you have less than 4 credit hours of absences, and negative if you have more than 4 credit hours of absences.
  • Take your new course average and add (this might be a negative number) -(1/2)*(credit hours of absences) +2 to it.
    This is your class average at the moment out of 100_________
    Time outside of class
  • On average, how many hours per week are you spending outside of class on this course? ________
    As a general rule of thumb for mathematics classes, on average, you can expect to spend about 2-3 hours outside of class per week reviewing material and class notes, 3-6 hours outside of class per week for homework assignments, and about 1 hour outside of class per week on checking the main web page and bulletin board. If you find that you are spending fewer hours than these guidelines suggest, you can probably improve your grade by studying more. If you are spending more hours than these guidelines sugges, you may be studying inefficiently; in that case, you should come see me.