11 Grading
Over the past five years, essentially all students taking the course have eventually earned either an “A”, a “B” or an “Incomplete” in 431. This will likely also be the case this year. The course cannot be taken “pass/fail.”
11.1 Grading Philosophy
Grading standards apply in the same way for all students, regardless of whether they are enrolled in PQHS 431, CRSP 431 or MPHP 431. Students in this class are not in competition with each other for grades. I have no set percentage of students who will receive any particular grade. We aim for substantial and timely feedback from the teaching assistants and myself on all elements of the course.
11.2 Building a Course Grade
A student’s grade in 431 is primarily determined by their performance on the following assignments.
| Available Points | Assignment | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 400 | Projects | Project A: 80 points Project B: 120 points Project C: 200 points |
| 250 | Labs 1-4, 6-7 | 50 points each; lowest 1 of 6 scores dropped |
| 35 | Lab 5 | Scored out of 35 points; see Lab 5 for details |
| 120 | Quiz | Scored out of 120 points; see Quiz for details |
| 100 | Check-ins | 25 points each; lowest 2 of 6 scores dropped |
| 70 | Minute Papers | 10 points each; lowest 1 of 8 scores dropped |
| 25 | Welcome to 431 | 25 points if the survey form is complete and on time |
| 1000 | Grand Total | Total available points through the semester |
11.3 Bonus Points
Opportunities to earn bonus points this semester include1:
- If you find typos in the materials (code, slides, the Notes, this syllabus) send them to us via email to
431-help@case.edu. - See a cool visualization online? A nice use of statistical methods or design in a paper? Hear about a resource, event or opportunity that you think other students might benefit from? Share them with us via email, too.
- Timely responses to several individual requests we have hidden in course materials will be rewarded with bonus points.
- We also will reward other contributions to help the course achieve its goals, as perceived by Professor Love and/or the teaching assistants, including asking good questions, helping your fellow students, and numerous other things.
We cannot emphasize enough how much we want to hear from you about things that are relevant to this course. A student can receive as many as 40 bonus points during the semester. We expect most students will receive between 1 and 15 bonus points2.
11.4 Requesting an Assignment Regrade
We use a 431 Regrade Request Form to handle almost all grading errors and regrade requests on Labs. The only exception to this policy is when you believe we’ve made an arithmetic error in summing up your points on a lab. If that happens, just email Dr. Love to get it straightened out.
- If you want Dr. Love to review your grade on one (or more) of Labs 1-7 (or on Projects A or B) you should fill out the form any time before the December deadline on the Course Calendar.
- Once you submit the form, you’ll have the ability to edit it, so you can add to it later in the semester if necessary.
- When all other course work has been graded, Dr. Love will open the form. If you have requested additional points that could change your course grade, he’ll review your request. If not, then he won’t.
11.5 Turning a Point Total to a Grade
As noted, 1000 points are available to each student.
- Students with a final point total (including any bonus) of 880-1000 points will receive an A in the course.
- Students with 850-879 points will receive either an A or B.
- Students with 725-849 points will receive a B in the course.
- Students with 700-724 points may receive either a B or C.
- Students with scores below 700 points have not successfully completed the course. We hope that doesn’t happen.
For students in the discretionary zones (850-879 points and 700-724 points), the most important factors in Professor Love’s decision on a final grade will be demonstrated (1) effort and (2) improvement over the course of the semester. Professor Love will solicit feedback from course teaching assistants about each student to help his assessments.
Students will be able to track their (non-bonus) point status at any time during the semester on the basis of feedback on assignments. If you need more clarification, email Professor Love.