Grades in this class are broken down in terms of percentage contribution to your overall grade. We do not use a point system so that we can vary the points for various exercises to match the granularity we need in grading that assignment. Below is the grade breakdown for this course.

+ Live lecture questions are given full credit regardless of correctness.

* Full credit is given for achieving over 85% in each of the pre, post, and lecture categories. Late work will lose 5% per day until it reaches a cap of 15% credit lost. Meaning if you answered all questions 3 days late, but correctly, you would receive 85%. This means you always have an incentive to do work late, even many many days after the due date. Because 85% = full credit, there is effectively no penalty for late pre/post/lecture homework, but there is a bonus if you get it done on time.

** Late challenge homework assignments are accepted on Canvas/Gradescope. There will be no penalty for a late challenge homework assignment or two. If you turn in many late assignments over the term, you may receive a late penalty on them.

*** You may miss up to one recitation without penalty. If you miss more than one recitation, please contact your recitation TA.

****You must also complete all labs to passing quality to receive a grade in this course.

*****If your final exam score is higher than one of your midterms, up to one of your midterm scores will be replaced by your final exam score.

The above calculation will be done in tandem with a separate one based only on exams - you will receive the higher of the two grades. This is to accommodate students who have already mastered, or feel they can master, the material without formal practice and assessment. I do not suggest anyone attempt this approach as I have statistics on how poorly it typically works out.

This class is designed so that passing is very achievable. Most students express that doing all the work is the best way to ensure success. This class has also been known for being difficult to receive an A. Statistically though, we are no different than other STEM courses, in fact we have a higher GPA than most. Historically around 15% of students receive A's, and around 10% fail the course. Below is the grading scale we base grades on. The curriculum is designed for a wide range of student preparation, ability, and interest. All are welcome and all can succeed and that means different things for different students. Do not judge yourself by others!

Please see Academic Regulations AR 17 and AR 18 for more details on assignment of course grades.

If you would like to calculate your course grade, here is a grade calculator we created in Excel.

==== >  Excel Grade Calculator  <====

How to use the Grade Calculator

https://media.oregonstate.edu/media/t/1_92mt119j

Canvas should have the most recent grades for Pre/post homework, and your reflective writing assignments.

Canvas will be updated within one week of being graded for labs, challenge homework, and exams.

Lecture grades from learning catalytics will be updated on Canvas after each exam. You can check your L.C. points anytime on learningcatalytics.com.

The onus is on you to review your work from Gradescope and check that our gradebook is correct.

Estimating your grade  |  If you know your midterm scores, and have an educated guess of on your other work, you can work backward to find out what you need on the final. The margin of error in this calculation will be small, especially compared to the uncertainty on the final exam.  It is because of the uncertainty on the final exam that we are hesitant to tell someone their grade before the class is over.  We do believe you know enough to gauge how much you have to study, relative to your other classes. 

Quick estimation: average your two midterm exams and you know if you are doing your other work, you probably have a higher grade than that exam average.

One of my professors once told KC when he was in a panic about the gradebook (not available online back then… cough, cough), “There are no emergencies in academia”. Remember we can fix any incorrect grades at anytime, even after the end of the term.