CS 3723
Programming Languages  
Spring 2014
  Grading Policy  

Factors Determining Grade Tentative %  
1. Recitations (12 or 13, none dropped):     >= 40%
2. In-class quizzes (>= 0 of them):     <=   5%
3. Mid-term exam (1, no make-ups):     >= 20%
4. Final exam (emphasis on second half):     >= 25%
4. Attendance (sign-in sheets):     <=   3%
Notes:
  1. Course Grade: I do not use a predetermined percentage 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.

    It is terrible strategy to fail to submit even a single recitation. This is the one part of your grade you can control. Some students submit nothing, or submit without any understanding of the requirements. You can always ask me questions by email at:

      < nealδοτwagnerατgmailδοτcom >

  3. Rules for Recitations:

    • You must attend a recitation each week. This is a serious requirement. If you are unable to attend a session, then (of course) you must still do the work and submit the recitation alone (without a partner).

    • You may attend either recitation, regardless of which one you enrolled in. From week to week you may change the session that you attend.

    • Sign in each week. You must sign the sign-in sheet. There will be very serious consequences for someone signing another person's name. If you are working with a partner, both must sign in. Equally unacceptable is to sign in and leave, or show up at the end and sign in. Forgetting to sign in is not serious, but please try to sign in always.

    • Work individually or in pairs. From week to week you may work individually or with another student, and you may switch the student you work with, however you like, consistent with other rules below.

    • At most two can work together. Never more than two. No exceptions!

    • Partners submit a single recitation with both names on it. Forgetting to put both names on the submission is also not serious, but please try to get both names on.

    • Partners must work together during a scheduled recitation session. The only way that two people can submit the same recitation with two names on it is if they both sign in to the same recitation session and work together during that session. I don't plan on any exceptions to this rule. If during some week you can't work together during a scheduled recitation session, then you can't submit the recitation together for that week. You can work individually or with another partner that week.

    • Get help and hints. There will probably be a teaching assistant available to help. The instructor will usually be available for help. You can also ask questions by email. Technical questions and answers will be posted.

    • Leave early if done. Usually you won't be able to finish in 50 minutes.

  4. 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.

  5. Make-up Mid-term Exam: 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. Active-duty military should contact me because I know that military demands can be inflexible.

  6. Final Exam: The final exam may have more emphasis on material after the mid-term exam.

  7. Attendance: Attendance at lectures and recitations is required. Recitations will have a record of all attendance, except for the first two weeks.

  8. Recitation Grade: It is possible to get different grades for the lab and for the course, though this is not common. In no case will a grade >= C- be assigned to one part, with a grade < C- to the other part. (It makes no sense to fail a student in one part, while passing them in another.)

  9. 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.

  10. 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. After the course you can look at the final exam grading.

  11. 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: 2013-12-20. (Please use ISO 8601, the International Standard Date and Time Notation.)