Grading Comparisons
Political Science CSI Mentor:
GRADING POLICY: Each prelim will account for 20+% of your grade; the final will be worth 30%
(20+% for the fourth prelim, 10% for the cumulative essay).
Your final grade in this course will be basically determined by your performance on these exams and
class assignments which are applied as extra credit if turned in on time. Late assignments will be
accepted with a penalty; however, assignments will not be accepted after two weeks. Students who are no
longer attending class are responsible for withdrawing by the end of the 12th week or an "F" will be
given. Some allowance will be made for improvement on exams and demonstration of knowledge
through participation in class discussion. (There will be numerous extra credit opportunities throughout
the semester. Extra credit is due within a week of corresponding exam.)
OUTLINE OF LECTURES
Readings refer to Volkomer if not otherwise noted. All readings listed by authors are available through
instructor.
I. Introduction: Politics, Democracy, and the
American People
Chapter 1
II. The Rules of the Game:
A. From Colonialism to Constitutionalism
"Founding Rivalries"
“Judicial Review is not Majority Rule”
B. The Federal System
Chapter 2
(Handout)
(Handout)
Chapter 3
PRELIM I
III. The Rights of the Individual
A. The Judiciary
B. Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
C. "Protecting the Thought that We Hate”
Chapter 10 (optional)
Chapters 11, (12 limited class coverage)
(Handout)
PRELIM II
IV. Politics and the American People
A. Nominations, Elections, Participation & Voting
B. Political Parties
"Boss"
"Labels and Alignments in American Politics"
C. Public Opinion and The Mass Media
Chapter 6
Chapter 5 pp.94-107
Royko (Handout)
McKenna & Feingold (Handout)
Chapter 4
PRELIM III
V. The Institutions of Government
A. Interest Groups
B. Congress
C. The President
Chapter 5 pp. 108-123
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
D. The Bureaucracy: The 4th Branch? (if time)
E. Public Policy (if time)
Chapter 9
Chapter 13
PRELIM IV
Political Science DE Faculty Member:
Grading Policy:
90% - 100% A
80% - 89% B
70% - 79% C
60% - 69% D
Below 59%
F
Tests will be worth 45% of the overall grade. Quizzes, essays, and other assignments will be
worth the other 45%. The final exam will account for the final 10%.
Topical Outline for the Course:
Chapter 1 – Politics democracy and the American people
Chapter 2 – From colonialism to Constitutionalism
Chapter 3 – The Federal System
Chapter 10 – The Judiciary
Chapter 11 & 12 – Civil liberties and civil rights
Chapter 6 – Nominations and elections
Chapter 5 – Political parties and interest groups
Chapter 4 – Public opinion and mass media
Chapter 7 – Congress
Chapter 8 – The President
The Bureaucracy
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
Psychology CSI Mentor:
Course Points and Grading Scale “Proficiency” is defined as averaging at least 70% on
graded coursework.
Understanding the Book – CQs
(Outstanding)
300 (30%)
900 & up pts = A
Understanding the Book – CFE
(Above-average)
Participating in the Classroom – Personal Profile
(Average)
Participating in the Classroom – Course Evaluation
(Below-average)
240 (24%)
800 - 899 pts = B
40 ( 4%)
700 - 799 pts = C
20 ( 2%)
600 - 699 pts = D
Going Beyond the Book – PIE Journal
(Unsatisfactory)
Going Beyond the Book – Lab Participation
Total points available
300 (30%)
0 - 599 pts = F
100 (10%)
1,000
Extra Credit
There will be no opportunities for extra credit. You must concentrate on
putting your best academic foot forward from the outset and keeping current on your
coursework through to the end of the semester.
Incomplete The grade of "I" (incomplete) will only be granted if 1) more than half of all your semester’s
coursework is received by me, 2) the reason for the “I” is a documented, extensive, and approved Excused
Absence, 3) it is my professional judgment that you can earn a passing grade as a result of receiving an
“I”, and 4) you request an “I” in writing before the Final Exam is due. You will then have 1 calendar year
from the end of the current semester to complete your unfinished coursework, otherwise your earned grade
will be posted to your transcript. You will not be allowed to submit coursework that is past due as of the
date of your written request unless it corresponds with your documented and approved Excused Absence.
Psychology DE Instructor
Evaluation:
At the end of the course your grade will be reported as a percentage; your local school will
determine, based on that percentage, what letter-grade goes on your transcript. The final grade is
made up of the following categories (the percentages listed are approximations to reflect the
relative number of points represented by each category):
Assignments, Discussion Boards, Papers 80%
Final Exam 20%
Grading Procedures
A. Grading will be calculated by a simple point system. Each item (test, discussion board,
and assignment) will have a total number of points possible. Students' total number of
points earned will be added up and divided by the total number of possible points to
figure student averages.
B. Students should have a portfolio for the course. All class materials should be saved for
preparation of the AP exam. Careful notes should be taken from class and from the
textbook. Much of understanding Psychology is understanding the vocabulary.
C. "Be on the look-out!" In order to earn extra credit points, students can keep an eye out
for anything around them that relates to what we've learned about Psychology. Whenever
a student notices a concept of Psychology ANYWHERE in their daily lives, they may
write up a one paragraph summary of what they saw and how it relates to the field of
Psychology and our class. You may do this up to two times during the course.
(Examples: you may see a movie where one or more characters exhibit a personality
disorder; you may see a television commercial for a pain medication that illustrates how
neurotransmitters work; you may notice yourself exhibiting a defense mechanism)
History CSI Mentor
Grades:
Papers, 100 pts. each
Mid Term Exam
Final Exam
Participation
Total
= 200
= 100
= 100
= 100
= 500
Participation points are determined primarily by attendance. More than three missed classes
result in the loss of 5 points and each additional absence costs 5 points.
Letter grades are calculated on a standard scale:
90% and above = A
80% - 89%
=B
70% - 79%
=C
60% - 69%
=D
Below 60%
=F
History DE Instructor
Grade breakdown
Attendance
Midterm (In class March 8 or 10)
150 points
200 points
Essay #1(Due March 1 or 3)
200 points
Essay #2(Due May 3 or 5)
200 points
Final Exam (In class May 10 or 12)
200 points
Book Critique (Due April 19 or 21)
TOTAL
200 points
1150 points
Grading Scale
For the purpose of grading, a points system will be used. All exams, essays, book critiques and
attendance will be assigned a point value. Points will be added and then placed on a percentage
scale
which is:
Percent
100-97 A
96-94 A
93-90 A
89-87 B
86-84 B
83-80 B
79-77 C
76-74 C
73-70 C
69-67 D
66-64 D
63-60 D
Sociology CSI Mentor
GRADING
Exams: There will be Two (2) exams during the semester. Each exam will include 50 multiple choice questions and
worth 50 points. The exams will be based upon lectures and text. They will occur in class on the day scheduled for
the exam. The instructor understands that life does happen and a student may not be able to make it to an exam.
Thus, because the instructor understands that life does happen he is willing to allow students to take an exam late –
with an automatic 10 point reduction. If a student knows of a personal activity preventing her/him from taking the
exam on the assigned day, then she/he must schedule arrangements to take the exam ahead of time.
Tentative Exam Dates:
#1 – Wednesday 3/9 (Ch. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9)
#2 –finals week (Ch. 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 21, 22, and 23)
Papers: There will be two (2) assigned papers this semester; each is worth 20 points. Paper topics will be issued
throughout the semester on Blackboard. Papers are to be typewritten or computer generated, double-spaced, 12-point
font, 1 inch margins and 2 to 2 1/2 pages long, stapled, do not put in folders or use cover sheets. If less than 2 pages
of content or more than 3, then an automatic 3 points will be deducted. I expect correct grammar and punctuation (3
points of your paper is allotted to grammar and punctuation). Papers must be submitted to Blackboard. Late papers
are accepted with a 10 point deduction (all late papers are due by May 4th).
Tentative Paper Due Dates:
#1 – Friday 2/18
#2 – Friday 04/29
Syllabus Quiz: Each student is required to complete the syllabus quiz; worth 5 points. You will find the quiz on
Blackboard in the “syllabus quiz” tab. The quiz contains 10 multiple choice questions covering the course syllabus.
You will have 30 minutes to answer the questions and may use the syllabus as a resource. The quiz must be
completed by Feb. 2nd.
Participation:
Attendance: Attendance is expected. Attendance will be taken at the end of each class period; each is
worth one point. Points are only granted to students who attend the full class period. However, the
instructor understands that sometimes “life” happens and the student is unable to attend class at times.
Thus, each student is granted Three days of acceptable absence where the missed day will not count against
your grade. There are 43 class periods this semester; total attendance is worth 40 points. Any points earned
over 40 will count as extra-credit. Students who are involved in a school activity and who will miss class
need to notify me with a written note, prior to that class period. A class missed to required participation in a
verified school activity will not be consider an absence.
Activities: During the semester we will have Nine (9) activity days. These days we will use a portion
(sometimes the whole period) of class to have a discussion on a designated sociological topic. Participation
during each of these periods will be worth 3 points each. Most times the student must prepare his/her
participation ahead of time (by completing an assigned task). Details are available on blackboard in
“Course Documents.”
Point Scale
Exams x 2 = 100 points
Syllabus Quiz = 5 points
Papers x 2 = 40 points
“activities” x 9 = 27
Attendance = 40 points
Total = 212 points
Grade Breakdown
A 90% = 191 – 212
B 80% = 169.5 – 190.5
C 70% = 148.5 – 169
D 60% = 127– 148
F 59% ↓ = 126.5 points and below
Sociology DE Instructor
Classroom conduct:
1. Follow all Kimberly High School Rules.
2. Be respectful to other students in the classroom and do your best.
3. Cell phones will not be allowed. Music maybe allowed with teacher permission and only
during working on an assignment and will not include cell phones.
4. Discipline: students will be given three warnings;
a. first warning -verbal warning only.
b. Second warning – verbal warning and white slip being turned into the office,
c. Third warning – referral slip sent to office -meeting with administration and
phone call to parents.
5. Turn all assignments in on time. Late assignments will have 40% deducted per week.
After two weeks, assignments will not be accepted.
6. If a test grade is not above 70%, there will be one option to retake with a final maximum
grade of a 70%.
7. Grades will be according to a point system (daily work or homework will be 10 points
each). Tests and quizzes will be higher points. Final grade will be out of total points.