CS 3343/3341
Analysis of Algorithms
Spring 2012
  Grading Policy  

Factors Determining Grade Tentative %   Points (1000)
1. Recitations (== 14, none dropped):     >= 40% 14 @ 30   = 420
2. In-class quizes (<= 5, one dropped):     <=   6%   4 @ 15   =   60
3. In-class mid-term exam (no make-ups):     <= 20%   1 @ 200 = 200
4. Final exam (comprehensive):     <= 30%   1 @ 300 = 300
5. Attendance (<= 10 recorded):     <     2% 10 @ 2     =   20
Notes:
  1. Course Grade: I do not use a predetermined precentage of total points for each grade, but I determine the percentage at the end of the course based on my assessment of how hard the different parts of the course were. Generally, however, I draw the C/D line somewhere around 70% of total points.

  2. Recitations: Each recitation is described on a separate web page. All recitations will be counted for credit. As described in the page on submission of recitations (submission), recitations after the first due time are worth only 75% maximum, and recitations after the second due time are not counted. Recitations are not like homework in a math class, but they are an especially important part of this course, more like laboratories in an engineering class -- you must complete a majority of the recitations to get a reasonable grade in the course, and a student with perfect exams and no recitations will fail the course. The recitations cover material that is not adequately tested elsewhere.

  3. Exam Seating: I may use assigned seating for exams, either alphabetic or reverse alphabetic order, or some other assigned order. I may ask you to leave alternating columns of seats empty.

  4. Make-up Exams: In general I don't give makeup exams, but just count the other course elements for greater credit. If you know before the exam that you won't be able to make it, let me know and we can often work something out.

  5. Final Exam: The final exam will be comprehensive, with greater emphasis on material after the mid-term exam.

  6. Attendance: Attendance may be monitored in ways yet to be determined. This should involve at most 15 class periods that will count for attendance.

  7. Recitation Grade: It is possible to get different grades for the lab and for the course, but this is rare. In no case will a grade >= C be assigned to one part, with a grade < C to the other part.

  8. Grade Distributions: I do not provide information to students about the performance of other students. In particular, I do not give exam averages or distributions, since such information is irrelevant -- you are not competing with other students for a limited number of good grades, and a single course is too small a unit in which to expect a normal distribution of grades.

  9. Exam Grading: If you have questions about the grading of the mid-term exam, you should write your concerns on the exam itself, indicating each problem and the reasons for concern. Then I will regrade the entire exam. You are expected to list all concerns at one time, so that only one iteration is needed.

  10. What your grade will be: I do not answer questions of the form: "What grade do I need on the final to make X grade in the course?" There are too many variables for me to speculate in this way, and I can only recommend that you try hard, consistent with keeping good grades in other courses (and staying sane).

Revision date: 2011-09-30. (Please use ISO 8601, the International Standard Date and Time Notation.)