How are my course grades calculated?
GeorgiaVIEW will keep track of all work you submit for grading; I download this data to
an Excel spreadsheet, which is my official grade book. I enter the results of handgraded assignments to this page. Finally, I enter formulas into the spreadsheet that will
"do the math" to calculate your course points. This spreadsheet is NOT identical to the
"My Grades" feature in GeorgiaVIEW, which will show most, but not all of your grades.
Assignments and tests usually are graded on a 10-point basis: 100 points is a perfect
score; 90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, etc. In some cases “ok” is entered as a grade to record
participation.
Various assignments have different weights, expressed as percentage values. The
percentage point value of each course requirement is listed in your syllabus. Therefore,
a grade of 90 on an assignment that represents 40% of your course points is worth
more to you than the same grade on another assignment that represents 10% of your
course points. (Think about the difference between an ounce of celery and an ounce of
chocolate candy.)
Mathematically, it works this way: If you earn a perfect grade of 100 on an assignment
that is worth 2% of your course grade, this will add 2 points to the total course points. If
you earn a grade of 100 on an assignment that is worth 15% of your course grade, the
total will increase by 15 points. A passing course point total is 60 points; 100 is the
maximum possible.
To calculate the course points earned by a single assignment, multiply the grade
by the decimal form of the percentage value of the assignment. Example: You earn a
grade of 84 on an assignment that is worth 15% of your final grade. So,
84 x 0.15=12.6 points to be added to your course total.
Course point calculation gets pretty interesting in the Excel spreadsheet, where
subtotals and dropped grades must be figured into the calculation. It may involve a
formula that gets information from other formulas. If you want to see how your
particular class formula works, come in during office hours and I will be glad to show
you. Later in a semester, if there is time, I will go over this in class.
BTW: I don't "give" grades, students earn them.
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What do I need on the final to get a certain grade for the course?
If you have grades posted for everything else, then the maximum number of points that
the final exam can add is the same as its percentage value. For example, you earn 15
points if the final is 15% of your course grade and you make a perfect score.
Demonstration:
You want to make a C
The final is worth 15%. You have 57 course points. . Therefore you need 13
more points to reach 70 course points, the lowest C.
The formula is
Course points you want to add ÷ percentage value (as a decimal) of the test=
Test grade you need.
13 / 0.15 = 86.67 is the test grade you need
That is, you need to make a solid B on your final to score a C for the course.
About decimals--if you try to duplicate any grading computation on a handheld
calculator, there may be a slight difference in the outcome as compared to
GeorgiaVIEW when there are fractional points involved. This is because GeorgiaVIEW
does its math in a mainframe computer that solves to more decimal values than a
handheld can manage. The difference is not significant, but it may occasionally appear.
About "curved" grades:
The principle of curving grades is that the performance of members of a class is
evaluated on the basis of the highest-performing individual in the group. This means
that the difficulty of a test is adjusted to the ability level of the class.
The calculation is a simple percentage, that sets the highest value at 100%.
Example:
The best grade on a test is 87. You made 75.
Calculate:
(Your grade / Highest Grade) X 100 = Curved Grade
(75 / 87) X 100 = 86.2%
(Notice that the star student’s grade is 87/87 = 100%)
If all of this is more information than you really wanted to have, just remember that your
course points accumulate throughout the semester. You need earn 60 points for a D.
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