Scoring

Your grade for this course is computed through an arcane process of fiddling around with weights and algorithms until I get results that I (not necessarily you) feel are fair, consistent, and reasonably generous.

Exams

In most cases, your exam grades are normalized to a z-score. The z-score is:

(your_grade - average_grade)/(standard_deviation)

This compensates for different mean scores and standard deviations on the exams. The mean is the class average and the standard deviation measures how wide the grade distribution spreads out. A z-score of 0 means you’re at the exact class average. A z-score of 1 means you are one standard deviation above the class average; that’s about the 84% percentile. A z-score of -1 means you are one standard deviation below the class average; that’s about the 16th percentile. See here to read more about standard scoring if you’re curious.

For example, suppose a student gets a grade of 65 on an exam where the mean grade is 70 and the standard deviation is 18.5. Her z-score is (65–70)/18.5 = -0.27. On a 4-point GPA scale with the mean set to 3.25, the score of 65 corresponds to a 3.25–0.27 = 2.98, which is a B. Using the definition of the z-score, you can approximate your exam GPA as:

gpa = 3.25 + (your_grade - average_grade) ÷ standard_deviation.

From the z-score, a continuous-scale GPA is computed. All exams carry the same weight, and the lowest exam grade (based on the z-score) is dropped.

Earlier, I mentioned “in most cases.” The reason I use a z-score is that it gives me the opportunity to add harder questions to the exam (as well as unintentionally have some bad questions) without worrying about overall performance; there’s no need to try to “tune” the exam with the expectation that A students will get a grade of at least a 90.

The exception to the z-score is if the class average is high – above 85. In this case, I will use a more conventional set of assignments. Any grade above a 90 is an A, above an 85 a B+, 80=B, 75=C+, and a grade between 65 and 74 will be a C. The approximate conversion is:

gpa = 0.1 × grade - 5.

These are the mean grades and standard deviations for the exams:

To get an idea of how your grade measures up, compute your z-score and add 3.2 to it to get a GPA for that exam grade (disclaimer: I may change this factor). Using the above example, the grade of 58 for exam 2 corresponds to a GPA of approximately 3.6.

Assignments

Homework assignments are not normalized to mean grades but stand on their own. They are normalized only to the maximum number of points allotted for that assignment. For example, a grade of 8 where the maximum score is 10 is identical to a grade of 80 where the maximum score is 100. Programming assignments count more than written assignments.

Exams constitute the dominant part of your course grade. However, missing projects, missing multiple assignments, or exceptionally poor performance on assignments will hurt your final grade. For example, if your grade is a low B (e.g., 2.8, 3.1), poor assignment performance may bring it down to a C+. Conversely, good performance on assignments may help boost your grade. For example, if your exam grade was around 2.35 (a low C+), good performance on assignments and quizzes may boost it to a 3.0 (B).

Quizzes

If quizzes are given in the class, quiz grades are also not normalized to mean grades. The lowest quiz grade (e.g., a missing quiz) will be dropped. Others will be averaged together. I expect good performance on homework assignments and quizzes. To a large extent, homework assignments and quizzes do not boost your grade as much as keep it from being lowered. Missing several quizzes or homework assignments can hurt your grade. Quizzes largely count as class attendance. I expect most students to have near-perfect grades on these.

Final grade calculation

I expect you to take the quizzes and do any assigned homework assignments and projects. Grading on assignments and projects will be generous. For projects, you will get a lot of credit for getting something working rather than nothing at all or not even making an effort. Assignments, projects, and quizzes will not count for a large percentage of your course grade; exams will dominate your grade.

However, not doing your assignments or attending class for quizzes will hurt. I may alter the values as I play with the grades toward the end of the semester to find values that I feel are fair, but expect a 0.15 GPA penalty for every missed assignment, a 0.35 GPA penalty for every missed programming assignment, and a 0.2 GPA penalty for each missed quiz (with an allowance of two missed quizzed without a penalty).

Unfortunately for some students, quizzes, assignments, and projects will not carry a large weight in your course grade; I expect honesty but do not have full assurance that students did the work without help. However, I do create two sets of weights and use them to compute two scores for your final course grade, selecting whichever produces the highest value.

This is a weighing I’ve used in the past, and I will likely change the exact percentages to achieve results that I feel are fair:

Exam-weighted:

Quizzes: 5%, homework: 9%, projects: 11%, exams: 75%

Assignment-weighted:

Quizzes: 20%, homework: 15%, projects: 15%, exams: 50%

Expect to lose about 0.1 GPA for each missing assignment.

Do not use the above weights to try to make choices on whether you should bother doing some coursework or not! In the end, my judgment will guide your grade.

A few factors may override your final grade:

Cheating:

If you are caught cheating in any way, I will report you to the Office of Student Conduct and await their verdict on your grade. This may lead to a delay in your grade and failure in the course. Your actions will also be reported to the department and to your dean.

Not doing programming assignments:

If you do not turn in any programming assignments or turn in truly pathetic submissions that show little to no effort and do not come close to working in any reasonable way you will not get a grade exceeding a D.

Missing assignments:

Missing assignments or exceptionally poor performance on assignments will have a negative effect on your grade.

Missing multiple quizzes

This is a sign of low attendance. Please see the Rutgers policy on Attendance and Cancellation of Classes (but note the class policy: do not send me notifications of your absences). If you have extenuating circumstances that will prevent you from completing the coursework, please discuss them with me and we can work out a schedule for you to complete your coursework. Do this before the last few weeks of class!