Grading System for Russian Fairy Tales (RUSS 0090)

Prepared by: David J. Birnbaum (djbpitt+tales@pitt.edu)
Last modified: 2001-05-27
Location: http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/~tales/02-1/grading.html

Contents

1. Synopsis
2. Assumptions
3. Starting Point (Uncurved)
4. Curving
5. Extra Credit
6. How to Maximize Your Grade

1. Synopsis

The grading system for Russian 0090 (Russian Fairy Tales) is based on a combination of absolute scale (task-referenced, criterion-referenced, or uncurved) and relative scale (norm-referenced, or curved) methods.

2. Assumptions

The grading system reflects the following assumptions:

1. Students who master a specific amount of material should receive at least the letter grade traditionally associated with that result (90-100% would be an "A"-type grade, 80-89% a "B"-type grade, etc.). This means that no student can receive a grade lower than the one that results from this uncurved system (except in cases of academic integrity violations), and it is even theoretically possible for every student in the course to receive an "A". This aspect of the grading system ensures that students who perform well get full credit for it, and do not suffer merely because other students may have performed even better.
2. An average student in a course like this should be able to earn at least a "B-". If the median grade is not at least a "B-" without curving, the course was harder than average, and the grades should be adjusted accordingly.
3. At least 10% of the students should be able to earn "A"-type grades, and "A+" should be extremely difficult to obtain, but not impossible. "A"-type grades should not be inflated by curving much beyond 10%, since doing so would fail to distinguish excellent performance from good performance.
4. All curving should be implemented before considering extra credit, since to consider extra-credit scores when determining a curve would undermine the point of extra credit, which is that a student can benefit from it, but nobody can be hurt by not doing it (and that hurt could involve the depressing effect of incorporating extra credit work into a curve).
5. For arithmetic convenience, raw scores are converted to percentages and all fractional percentages are rounded down. (Alternatively, we could round up or down at the half-point, but in that case any eventual curve would have to be set differently, which means that the outcome would be the same.)
6. The conversion of numbers of points into letter grades, as well as any curving, is performed at the end of the semester, after evaluating the total points all students have accumulated (exclusive of extra credit). Item #1, above, means that students will know at any time that their grade can be no lower than a particular letter value, but they cannot know the extent to which they may benefit from curving until the end of the semester.
7. You may register for this course either for a letter grade (LG) or on a Satisfactory/No-Credit (SN) basis. According to general University policy, students who enroll on an SN basis must earn at least a straight "C" to receive an S; performance at or below the level of "C-" receives an N.

3. Starting Point (Uncurved)

The course provides an opportunity to earn a specific number of points (exclusive of extra credit). The exact number of points available from different course components varies from semester to semester, and is described in the general course description for each semester. At the end of the semester, total point values are converted to percentages, which are rounded down and then mapped provisionally to letters according to the following table:

If the grades resulting from this table conform to the assumptions described in the preceding section, no further adjustments are made. If they don't, a curve is implemented, as described below.

4. Curving

If the letter grades without curving do not conform to the assumptions listed above, a curve is implemented as follows:

1. If the median grade is not already at least a "B-" (initially 80-82%), the median is set as the new floor of the "B-" range.For example, in the spring 2001 semester, the median score was 76%, which became the new floor for "B-" grades after curving.
2. If fewer than 10% of the grades are in the "A"-range, the floor of the "A-" range is set just below the tenth percentile. If there are no "A+" grades, the top one or two scores (depending on the number of students) are set to "A+". The floor and ceiling for straight "A" grades are adjusted to conform to a bell curve. For example, in the spring 2001 semester, the best performance in the course was 96%. The floor for "A+" grades was set at 95%, for straight "A" grades at 92%, and for "A-" grades at 89%.
3. The floors and ceilings of "B"-type, "C"-type, and "D"-type grades are adjusted to produce a fairly smooth and balanced bell curve, with most grades falling into the "B" and "C" ranges.

In the spring 2001 semester, the distribution of letter grades was as follows:

Note that:

1. The curve does not necessarily involve moving all floors and ceilings by the same amount. For example, as described above, in spring 2001 the floor for "A+" grades was moved down from 97% to 95% (two percentage points), for straight "A" grades from 93% to 92% (one percentage point), and for "B-" from 80% to 76% (four percentage points).
2. Curving does not always change one's letter grade. For example, it is possible for a curve to raise a grade from a low "B+" to a high "B+", a difference that is not reflected in the letter grade itself.

5. Extra Credit

Extra credit is calculated after all curving has been performed. This means that:

1. It is possible to get more than 100% of the available points. For example, if the course has a total of 140 points, a student earns 135, and the student also earns 10 extra-credit points, that student has 145/140, or 103.57% (rounded down to 103%) of the available points. That is, extra-credit points are not treated as part of the "available points" that constitute the denominator in these calculations.
2. Although we aim for approximately 10% "A"-type grades when curving, after extra credit that percentage may go up considerably. As can be seen above, for the spring 2001 semester, there were 11.16% "A"-type grades before extra credit and 16.27% after, an increase of almost 50%.
3. It is possible for extra credit not to raise one's letter grade. For example, extra credit may raise one's grade from a low "B+" to a high "B+", a difference that is not reflected in the letter grade itself.
4. Extra credit can lower your grade only in cases of academic integrity violations, such as plagiarism. Submitting extra-credit work that is too weak to earn any extra-credit points doesn't help you, but it doesn't hurt.

6. How to Maximize Your Grade

You can maximize your grade by:

1. The obvious: Obtain as many points as possible on all required activities. Come to class regularly to avoid losing points for absence. Participate in recitation conscientiously and intelligently in order to obtain as many points as possible. Prepare for and take all quizzes and examinations. Turn in all required homework and do as well as possible on it.
2. The less obvious: If you can find the time, submit any extra-credit assignments. Submitting extra-credit work cannot lower your grade (except in cases involving academic integrity violations), so if you have the time, there's nothing to lose by trying it. Whether you think you're in danger of failing the course, anxious that you might get an "A-" instead of an "A", or just want to do as well as possible, extra credit may not help, but it won't hurt.
3. The even less obvious: In addition to the direct role of attendance and participation in determining your grade, attending regularly and participating as actively as possible tends to help you do better on quizzes and tests. Regular attendance is important because tests may include information that comes up in class, but is not in the assigned readings or on the course web site, and reading someone else's notes is no substitute for being present and taking your own notes. Participation is valuable because active involvement in class helps maintain your attention better than passive listening.
4. This should be obvious, but often isn't: If you do poorly on a quiz or examination, figure out why and adjust your study habits accordingly. Do this as soon as you think there may be a problem, rather than waiting until the end of the semester. In many cases poor performance results not from insufficient studying, but from ineffective studying, and if that's the case, studying more won't help, but changing the way you study might. Your instructors will be happy to meet with you to review your results and to discuss specific learning strategies that may be useful.