Learning Assessment and Grades

Grade Composition

  • 10% Attendance
  • 36% Project tasks and cook-offs (3% each)
  • 10% Contribution to group projects and group members’ learning (assessed via peer review)
  • 44% Final project submissions
    • Project 1: 14%
    • Project 2: 15%
    • Project 3: 15%

Attendance

Attendance is crucial for this course, as much of our class time is devoted to group projects and their preparation. Missing class not only hinders your own learning, but also impacts your group’s progress. Please make every effort to attend, both for your benefit and out of consideration for your classmates.

To support both individual and group success, attendance will be recorded at every lecture by the TAs or myself. Each student is allowed two unpenalized absences; after that, each additional absence will result in a deduction from their attendance grade.

Assignment Slip Days

For Project 1, each group has 2 late days to use on any project task or the final submission. For Projects 2 and 3, each group has 4 late days for each project.

Each group may apply up to 2 late days to any single task or submission. The teaching team will not grade assignments submitted more than 48 hours after the due date, or once all permitted late days have been used. This policy is in place because weekly project tasks are designed to help you apply and reinforce concepts from the previous lecture before the next one; if work is submitted more than 48 hours late, the class has already moved forward.

Groups must submit the slip day request before the assignment deadline for it to be applied.

If extenuating circumstances prevent you from attending the class or contributing to projects, please contact me asap so we can find a solution.

Assignment Regrading

Each group assignment is assessed by two TAs. If their evaluations differ significantly, a third TA will review the work. For groups whose assignments fall within either the highest or lowest third of the class, the entire teaching team discusses the grades collectively to ensure fairness and accuracy. This thorough process has resulted in very few grading errors historically.

If you believe your assignment was graded incorrectly, please schedule an office hour appointment with me or speak to me during or after class. Let’s go through the assignment and feedback together.

Grade Scale

  • A+: [98, 100]
  • A: [93, 98)
  • A-: [90, 93)
  • B+: [87, 90)
  • B: [84, 87)
  • B-: [80, 84)
  • C+: [77, 80)
  • C: [74, 77)
  • C-: [70, 74)
  • D+: [67, 70)
  • D: [64, 67)
  • D-: [60, 64)
  • F: [0, 60)