FAQ's

Q: Why is each component scored on 3.0 scale when the final grade is on 4.0 scale?

A: A 3.0 scale was chosen to score each component because it's relatively simple to use. Most people can distinguish between excellent and poor. Excellent scores a 3 and poor scores a 1. When in doubt or if neither extreme is appropriate, choose 2. The grade calculator will then convert all these numbers into your final grade on 4.0 scale.

Q: The grade eval does not seem to be related to the course material, so it's hard for me to take it seriously. What's the penalty for not submitting a grade eval?

A: The grade eval is your opportunity to take responsibility for your successes and possible failures in the class. In that sense, it is very much related to the class. Not submitting the grade eval should be considered equivalent to not taking an exam.

Q: I'm very hard on myself and I know some people will definitely inflate their grades. Wouldn't that leave me at a relative disadvantage?

A: Deliberate grade inflation is a form of academic dishonesty and will not earn brownie points with the instructor. On the other hand, those who demonstrate an ability to be self-reflective will benefit by getting a high mark on this particular assignment.

Q: How often do we need to submit the grade eval?

A: Everyone will need to submit a grade eval at the end of the course. Think of it as a portfolio of all your work. In addition, students may wish to submit some early versions to get an idea of how they are doing in the class. This way, students will better understand the grading process and will be more likely to take responsibility for their own education. Those who ask me how they are doing will always get the same response: Please submit a grade eval and I can let you know if it's reasonable.

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Philosophy

As you probably know, assigning grades is a difficult process that no teacher looks forward to. And although grading is certainly not an exact science, we can still strive to be as fair and as consistent as possible. To help with the process and to make sure that you receive every possible consideration, you will need to submit (in WebAssign) an analysis of the grade you think you deserve based on the criteria discussed in the syllabus. Please use this calculator to estimate your grade or range of possible grades. You may play around with the weights (i.e., percentage of total grade) to nudge your grade a bit, but your estimate should always be based on rational arguments rather than on wishful thinking. Keep in mind that to have some standard and help you with objectivity, you will need to compare yourself to the strongest students in the class. As stated in WebAssign, your estimate can only help you, never hurt you, especially if it demonstrates an ability to be self-reflective and objective. A sample analysis is shown at the bottom.

Grade scale

The grade calculator above should give you a grade which corresponds roughly to the following scale:

• 4.0: Exceptional student, strong in every aspect of the class.
• 3.0: Pretty good student, strong in most aspects of the class, with some weaknesses.
• 2.0: Average student, weak in many areas but has a reasonable grasp of the important ideas.
• 1.0: Serious issues with effort and motivation (or evidence thereof).
• 0.0: Little or no effort, virtually no motivation (or evidence thereof).

Excellent-good-poor

A reasonable estimate of your grade can be obtained using the excellent-good-poor scale for each component, with appropriate weighting factors. Excellent earns 3, good 2, poor 1. Since there is a subjective component in this approach, you'll need to use your judgment. The guidelines below should help you come up with reasonable numbers. In general, the subjective components that score higher are those that demonstrate a strong effort, positive attitude, and self-reflection.

Different scenarios with calculator

The lazy ace

Meg O'Hurts is a student who gets 100% on the exams and homework but usually doesn't participate in discussions, is not very active in lab, writes shallow journals, and contributes little to the learning community. This student will end up with a grade in the neighborhood of 2.6 or less. So exams are not the whole story.

The hardworking plodder

Nysa Neezie is a student who gets about average on the exams, struggles on the homework, but writes in-depth and self-reflective journals, consistently asks questions in class and engages in discussions, exhibits an enthusiasm for learning. This student will earn a grade in the neighborhood of 3.0 or better, which is not too shabby for an average test taker.

How to score the components (rubric)

Note: Failure to submit a self-evaluation at the end of the course can drop both the journal and motivation scores by 1 unit each. An excellent end-of-course self-evaluation, with solid introspection and a clear plan for improvement, can boost the overall grade.

Motivation/Leadership/Attitude

• 3 -- excellent; top 10% of the class
  • clearly one of the leaders in the class
  • consistently does more than required
  • consistently positive attitude and lots of enthusiasm
  • completely self-motivated and consistently fuels controversial topics and discussions
  • strong drive to learn and to motivate and educate others
  • consistently helpful to peers (answering questions, making suggestions, etc.); excellent contribution to the learning community
  • consistently on time to class and proactive with assignments
  • highly introspective and honest grade eval submitted at the end of the course
  • generally applies to only a handful of students in any given class
• 2 -- good
  • does all that is required, but not much more
  • often participates in but usually does not initiate discussions
  • usually does not tackle challenging discussion questions
  • usually stays away from controversial or provocative topics
  • stays "invisible" for a big portion of the class; typically, the reserved observer
  • many hard-working but quiet people will fall into this category
• 1 -- poor
  • rarely goes beyond the bare minimum
  • typically indifferent, though might occasionally complain vaguely about difficulty of material
  • stays "invisible" for most of the class
  • no real passion to get involved or to contribute to the learning community
• 0 -- grade eval NOT submitted (or extremely shallow and/or inflated) at the end of the course

HW

• Note that although WebAssign gives you a score, that's not exactly the score I use in calculating your final hw grade.
• 3 -- motivated and helpful
  • got most of it done correctly
  • did not procrastinate (about 50% done within a few days after the topic is started)
  • completed most of the hw quizzes (accessible only when a score of 50% on the hw is achieved)
  • often contributed hw-related insight in class discussions
  • consistently helpful to others
  • Note: students who get 100% but consistently  procrastinate will earn only 2
• 2 -- average motivation
  • got most of it done correctly
  • significant procrastination (less than half done half-way into the topic)
  • missed more than one hw quiz
  • decent effort on the homework, but typically not very helpful to others
  • typically did not contribute hw-related insight in class
• 1 -- poor effort
  • got less than half done correctly
  • very serious procrastination (most of it done within a couple of days before deadline)
  • rarely helped others or contributed hw-related insights to class discussions

Exams

• 3 -- upper third of the class; scores significantly above average (typically >70%), clear mastery of most of the material
• 2 -- middle third of the class; scores around average (typically 45-65%), decent though incomplete mastery of the material
• 1 -- bottom third of the class; scores significantly below average (typically <40%), serious gaps in understanding
• Note that students who are rarely able to answer (or attempt to answer) questions in person (class, office, etc.), or ask meaningful questions might lose 0.25-0.5 on their final exam grade, depending on the severity of the deficit. The reason for this is that students need to be able to communicate orally, as well in writing. So think of in-class participation as a low-stakes oral exam, in addition to the contribution to the learning community.

Lab:

• 3 -- excellent effort
  • impressive creativity in lab and on write-ups
  • consistently eager to do more than required
  • excellent interaction with group members
  • always shows up on time
  • in-depth lab evaluations, with meaningful detail
• 2 -- decent effort
  • does what is required but nothing more
  • average interaction with group members
  • lab writeup ok but with some issues
  • lab evaluation sometimes vague
• 1 -- poor effort
  • at least one unexcused absence or missing lab write-up
  • consistently late to lab
  • poor attention to detail on lab writeup
  • consistently shallow evaluations ("Everybody was cool.")
• Note for Phy 139: There is no formal lab or writeup in Physics 139, so the 'lab' component can represent any group activities or just general participation and leadership components.

Journals:

• 3 -- excellent effort
  • submits entries at least twice per week
  • consistently good substance
    • in-depth analysis of progress in the class
    • observations about school-related issues
    • at least several meaningful sentences per entry
• 2 -- decent effort
  • relatively consistent, but often submits entries no more than once per week
  • average depth of progress in the class
  • typically no more than 1-2 sentences
• 1 -- poor effort
  • inconsistent, with multiple gaps of a week or more
  • consistently shallow entries
  • rarely discusses class content
  • often one-liners, with little analysis
  • Examples of shallow entries include:
    • "Everything is cool. Nothing new to report."
    • "The book sucks. I don't understand anything."
    • "Had some pizza. It was great."

General participation:

• 3 -- excellent participation
  • consistently contributes intelligence to the learning community
  • consistently eager to respond to questions in class or discussion board
  • frequently helps with problem solving in class
  • frequently poses questions to clarify or extend material
  • frequently takes stands and expresses opinions about subject matter
• 2 -- decent participation
  • sometimes contributes intelligence to the learning community
  • sometimes responds to questions brought in class or discussion board
  • sometimes poses questions to clarify or extend material
  • sometimes takes stands and expresses opinions
  • some gaps in participation
• 1 -- poor participation
  • rarely contributes intelligence to the learning community
  • consistently poor effort answering questions in class ("Hmmm, I dunno...")
  • rarely works on sample problems in class
  • rarely responds to discussion questions
  • rarely poses questions to clarify or extend material
  • seems indifferent much of the time
  • often late or absent from class
• *Note: Physically showing up to class without actually speaking up does not constitute participation.

Presentation (might be optional, as announced in class)

• 3 -- excellent
  • clear evidence of effort and time invested
  • went beyond class material
  • focused on important ideas, with little drag factor
• 2 -- decent job, characterized by some or all of the following:
  • mostly review of class material
  • some drag factor
  • some mumbling, some reliance on notes
• 1 -- poor, characterized by some or all of the following:
  • poor organization with no obvious big picture
  • excessive mumbling and poor eye contact, excessive reliance on notes
• *When presentations are optional, they count as extra credit and can raise the articles or participation component by one unit. Students who wish to receive extra credit for presentations need to submit them at least 2 weeks before the last day of class.

Science articles

• 3 -- consistent submission of well-formatted articles (see syllabus); interesting topics, sometimes provocative and controversial; insightful questions and answers; consistently meaningful feedback to peers in Canvas; clear effort to educate and learn from others
• 2 -- pretty good articles; missed a week here and there; some feedback to peers; delivery steady but not exciting
• 1 -- inconsistent delivery; uninteresting articles; little or no feedback to peers; obvious absence of enthusiasm

Sample self-evaluation

The key to a good self-evaluation is to be more critical of oneself than of others. Making excuses, rather than taking responsibility, tends to slow down the learning process. Here are several sample evals... 

Poor eval

"I deserve an A because my attendance was good and I tried really hard." This evaluation does not specifically address grading criteria. It is simply an emotional response, with little depth or evidence of self-reflection, by a student who probably does very little in class and is not aware of the problem.
 

Good eval

My midterm and final scores I rated myself a 2 on both. I looked at the scores and broke them into thirds and see my scores in the middle third in both. The first exam seemed easy, it was at home and the material seemed like a review. The midterm, I thought my score was about what I had expected I would get. The final, I was hoping for a higher score, a few of the problems I should have gotten, I kept plugging the numbers in simple equations and it kept telling me I was wrong. I guess my understanding wasn't as good as it should have been. But in the end my scores were what they were, definitely not perfection but I was still in the middle section and therefore a score of 2.

Homework, I scored a 3 as I generally worked through the problems pretty much steadily and not waiting until the end. I did well on all except the last homework set which seemed like a lot of new material at the very end, but I just didn't have enough time to get through it all. But I still feel I earned a 3 on the homework.

Lab: I scored it a 3 as all the reports were turned it and were clear and easy to understand.

Journal: I scored it a 3, I tried to submit every couple of days and update my progress.

Presentation: I scored it a 3 as I thought it went well and after reading the reviews, I think it came across well. I found it interesting as how many movie physics presentations looked similar to ours.

Participation/Forum: I scored it a 3. I was more active and consistent in the forum this quarter than last.

When I entered these numbers in the grade calculator, it returns a 3.2.

I would love to be sitting here asking for a 4.0, but my exam scores do not reflect that. My exam scores show that I do not have a perfect understanding of the material. It seems like it takes me a little while to absorb the physics, some time to think about it and some time to actually see how to apply it. Meanwhile the course keeps moving along. The course actually doesn't seem to move too fast, however it seems like it is me who is a little behind. I think I need to try to read ahead in the book to get ahead a week or two so that when it is discussed in the class I am ready for it. Beyond my exam scores of a "2" I feel I have went beyond the average expectations in the other areas.

In general, I feel that I have contributed to the class and have made a positive impact on my classmates.

I have worked with others who have needed help. I have been active in the forum, articles, etc. I have talked with other students who may not be seeing the same things that I am seeing because of our age differences and have tried to let them see some things from a different perspective. I have tried to relate a lot of our concepts to real life applications and shown others how things that we are studying can be used in the real world.

Last quarter I received a 3.5. I thought that was fair. This quarter I feel I have actually contributed more to the class than last through participation but my exam scores are down to a 2 instead of a 3 last quarter. Even though the grade calculator indicates a 3.2, I feel I deserve a 3.5 +/-. The increase in participation and overall contribution to the class balances out the somewhat mediocre exam scores. I am not content with my exam scores and am looking for improvement next quarter. I feel I am a strong student but just not perfect in all of the physics yet. Thanks for your consideration.

Another good eval

***This eval demonstrates excellent self-reflection and a very good attitude.***

Here is how I rated myself on the grade calculator:

Midterms 3
Final 3
Homework 2
Lab 3
Journal 3
Participation/Articles 2
Participation/Forum 3
Motivation/Leadership 2

Which totals up to a 3.2

Midterms
The first test was very easy because it was mostly review from Physics 100, and plus it was in the comfort of my home. On test 2 the only thing that I did not have down was Energy. I knew pretty much most of the material except I was struggling a little on energy.

Final
I spent the last few weeks of the quarter studying, and it reflected on the final. I got a very good grade. I was worried a little that I would not do as well on the final, but thankfully most of the problems on it were bread and butter problems.

Homework
My homework was not perfect. Not only did I not complete it 100%, but sadly I procrastinated. I did try very hard to learn what was on it, especially after I did so bad on energy on the midterm. I participated in many study groups and asked for help to learn the homework.

Lab
The labs were really fun. I was in a good group, which was very helpful in getting good data and making a good lab report. I participated a lot in the gathering the data, as well as doing the lab report. I also learned from Joe how to write an elegant lab report in Word 07. From now on my lab reports will look much better than they used to.

Journal
I tried to be consistent on writing good journals. The journals showed my progress and what I was doing in that period of time.

Participation/Articles
I did pretty bad on the article part this quarter. I did read the articles, but for some reason i can't find any good articles write for myself, or maybe i just wasn't looking hard enough. My goal for next quarter is to have a perfect score on articles.

Participation/Forum
I participated in the forum, worked on lab on the forum, and probably used it more than last quarter.

I worked a lot on physics in study groups, did homework together with other students from the class, and tried to help them out on some problems just like they were helping me on problems that i was struggling on. I've had some people come to me in the tutoring center, and we were trying to figure out some problems there. I've had a group from our class come and I helped them with their presentation a little, gave them some suggestions. It's true that you learn 95% of what you teach, and thanks to that I learned a lot from working in the tutoring center.

I admit that I did worse this quarter than in Physics 100, and I don't have a very good excuse for that, but I really hope to get a 3.0 or higher from this class. Even though I didn't participate as much as in Physics 100, I did learn most of the material. And if I get at least a 3.0, I will be able to tutor Physics 201 and learn what I tutor. That will help me reinforce what i learned in this class just like it helped me learn the basics from 100.

I will work harder next quarter, and continue to work on my procrastination/slacking, articles, and participation. So please have some more patience with me while i try to improve. Maybe you can help me be motivated somehow.

Another good one

Participation - I feel my participation was a little better than last quarter, which means I'm moving up a bit. I participated in labs and outside class with other members of the class pretty well though and found that my efforts were pretty good.

Homework - I did pretty decent on my homework, but i found toward the end of the quarter I got that "senioritis" since this was my last quarter at highline. I'm not gonna lie, I still plug in those zero's but I found that with those, it does help figure out those problems that I probably would have been stuck on for a longer amount of time. I still had the problem of procrastinating, but it was a busy quarter with writing and math...writing being my most dreadful class.

Exams - I put forth a good effort toward the exams, my goal again was to get above the 50% mark on both, but I couldn't do so on the final, which I was kinda bummed about. I succeeded on the mid term but couldn't seem to pull it through in the end. I probably would have gotten to my goal if I would have been paying attention to your hints before the test, rather than trying to get my computer to work, but that's a different story.

Labs -This quarter it seemed like the labs were a little bit easier than they were in the past. We had fun doing them and think it always helps with getting to be friends with others in the class. Everyone seemed to have fun with the labs and I feel my efforts were just as well as everyone else's.

Group Presentation - This as a whole I don't feel was that great of a presentation, missing some factors. But as an individual I was assigned the history and feel that I did pretty well on the presentation part of it.

Forum - I wasn't too active on the forum, I looked at it trying to find places to post, but seemed to struggle just like the other quarters, guess I'm just not physics minded, and don't have some of the same knowledge of the rest of the class.

OVERALL

This quarter I did put a good effort to learning the material that was taught, and did my best to help others out with things I was a little bit better off than before. I was in the tutoring center very often, getting physics done with classmates and even meeting outside of school to get some things cleared away. All and all the effort was there, although, I didn't do quite as well as I wanted to, I feel I was a good addition to the class and a good person to have around. I received a 3.0 last quarter and feel I just barely topped that this quarter, I would be happy with a grade like a 3.3 or something close to it, although my slacking showed toward the end of the quarter.