Syllabus – Algebra 2
2014 – 2015 (Fall)
Eric Bierbauer, Teacher
Prerequisites:
All students must have passed both semesters of Algebra 1 and both semesters of geometry.
Classroom rules:
1) No food or drink is permitted in the classroom
2) IDs must be worn around the neck at all times
3) No electronic devices (other than approved calculators when allowed) are permitted in the classroom
4) You may not interrupt the educational process with any behavior which distracts other students or me
5) You must sit in your assigned seats every day until after attendance has been taken
6) Any other school rule outlined in the student handbook will be enforced in this classroom
Classroom procedures:
1) Due dates – All assignments and reassessments are due by the end of the day (i.e. when I leave school
for the day) on Friday, December 19. In accordance with the attendance policy, any work or
assessment which is assigned on a day when a student has an unexcused absent will be recorded as
missing, will receive a score of 0, and CANNOT BE MADE UP OR REASSESSED.
2) All work must be done is pencil (not colored pencil). Work done in any other medium will not be
graded.
3) Work will not be accepted with the ragged edges which are generated when one tears paper from a
spiral notebook. Use scissors to remove the ragged edges, tear them neatly along the perforations if
such perforations exist, or use loose leaf notebook paper and avoid ragged edges entirely.
4) Your first and last name and period must be on every paper you turn in, and must be legible. Papers
turned in with no name (or illegible scribbles where a name should be) will be neither graded nor
returned (after all, I wouldn’t know to whom to return them…). Papers turned in with incomplete names
or no period designation will be returned ungraded (if I can figure out to whom to return them).
5) Every day you are expected to come to class prepared with math binder, pencil, graph paper, and
whatever other materials may be necessary for the day’s work.
Math Binder
You must have a three ring binder at least 2 inches in diameter (3 inches is preferred). Daily notes,
handouts, and all graded materials are to be filed chronologically in the binder. This is your textbook,
and will make up 5% of your overall grade in this class. It must be kept up to date at all times.
Calculators:
Additionally, you must provide us with a donation of 4 new AAA batteries. One donation will suffice
for the entire school year. You are, of course, welcome to bring your own calculator.
Absences:
You are responsible for all class work and assignments made during any absence. Notes and materials
should be obtained from the website.
Grading:
1) 70% Tests
2) 20% Benchmarks
3) 5% Math Binder
Anything on which a grade is taken may be reassessed as many times as necessary within the reasonable
time constraints of the semester, with the exceptions of work or assessments which were given a zero
because of cheating, and work or assessments which were assigned on a day when a student had an
unexcused absence.
Percentage grades at the end of the grading period are NOT rounded. An 89.9% is a B. A 59.9% is an
F.
Testing protocol:
In order to more thoroughly prepare students for the rigors of standardized testing, test protocol
(including quizzes) will mirror that of standardized testing. Any talking (this includes asking another student
for a pencil or paper or what time it is, etc.) or other disturbance (cell phones ringing, etc.), will result in the
removal of the test and a zero score given. I will not answer questions on any material on tests or quizzes.
Students are allowed to read, but not write, after they have completed a test. Since benchmarks are all open
note style, students may read, write or do other work after completing a benchmark, but they may NOT use their
cell phones or listen to music. In either case (tests or benchmarks) students must remain silent, and tests and
benchmarks are to remain on the students’ desks until collected or until the dismissal bell rings.
Cheating:
I will not split hairs on cheating and simply the appearance of cheating. The appearance of cheating will
receive the same consequences as red-handed cheating. Any communication between students during the
administration or reassessment of a test or quiz will receive a zero. Communication includes, but is not limited
to, talking, whispering, making faces, passing notes, signing or gesturing, sharing calculators, looking at cell
phones, etc.
Any student who submits correct answers, but who cannot satisfactorily explain or duplicate the process
which led to those answers, will be considered to have cheated. A zero will be scored on that assignment or
assessment.
I may choose to modify this syllabus at any time. In that case, an email will be sent through the Infinite
Campus messenger system and a notice will be posted on my website. Please check the website often for
updates to the syllabus and other important information.