Grading Principles


1. As much as possible, your grade should reflect what you know at the end of the course.
2. Cheating should not be tolerated. See Academic Integrity Policy.
3. Essentially the only information I have on which to base a grade is exams, quizzes, and homework. (Your class may not include all of these.)
4. People have bad days.
5. Makeup exams/quizzes and late homework are normally not accepted.

Some Commonly Asked Questions

Q: I did poorly on an "hour" exam, but I did well on everything else. Does this mess up my grade?
A: I try to take into account the fact that someone may have had a bad day.

Q: I did well on my exams but had trouble with homework because it takes me time to learn the material.
A: If you did the homework, I'll make allowances.

Q: I did well on my exams.  The course required homework, but never bothered to do any homework. Does this mess up my grade?
A: I'll somewhat ignore the lack of homework, but there won't be any leeway for bad days on exams.

Q: Can I be excused from ___ because of ___?
A: Required work and tests are excused for reasons similar to those which allow you to get an incomplete in a course; e.g. health problems.

Q: What if I miss handing in a homework or taking a quiz and it's not excused?
A: The lowest homework and quiz grade is dropped.  (A missing grade is zero.)

Q: I didn't understand some material in Chapter ___ at first, so I did poorly on that homework or quiz.  What can I do?
A: Remember, the lowest grade is dropped.

Q: I can't attend the class or section when my next homework is due.  What should I do?
A: Make arrangements with me (class) or your TA (section) to hand it in EARLY, not late.

Q: Phrases like "take into account" and "make allowances" are vague.  What do they mean?
A: If there is a clear difference between the low item and everything else (for example, C-, B, B+, A-), I'll simply ignore it.  If the low item is just the low part of a sequence (for example, C-, C, B-, B-), I won't consider it to be particularly out of line and so will only make an upward adjustment to your average when your course grade is very near a borderline.