Course Grades

Grading in this course is intended to be fair and objectively measure your performance as much as possible. We do not curve to a specific letter grade, but instead check that you have satisfied specific learning objectives. This means that is possible for all students to earn As. In fact, until the rise of generative AI, the number of student As had risen steadily over the years.

Table of Contents

Letter Grades

This course is not intended to be a competition between students, which is why we do not curve to a letter grade. Instead, our letter grades have a specific meaning:

  • A:  Student has mastered the material and can become a consultant or TA.
  • B:  Student is strong enough to continue on to CS 2110 (and beyond).
  • C:  Student should not take CS 2110 without additional remedial work.

Grades of D and F are rare and are typically given to students who stop turning in work.

While we do give some +/- grades when students are near the border, we prefer to give straight letter grades for the most part. For the past few years the grade distribution as been 40% As, 40% Bs, and 20% Cs. For several years, we had as high as 45% As, but the number of As has dropped a little bit since the students started using generative AI.

To determine these grades, we start first with a simple grade computation. This only gives us a starting point, however. For students near a boundary, we break out grades along multiple axes: assignments, exams, participation. We also look if the student improved over time, such as increased grades each exam.

Because of everything that is involved in grading, we do not set or announce hard grade boundaries. We will say that, historically, any course total over 88 is an A and any course total under 84 is a B (or lower), but the 88 – 84 range is looked at on a case-by-case basis. With that said, we promise to communicate how you are doing after ever single assignment and exam.

Taking the Course S/U

Starting with Fall 2025, we are once again allowing students to take the course S/U. Note that students who need this course for their major/minor cannot take the course S/U. This is only an option for students who are taking the course to satisfy a distribution requirement. A student who wishes to take the course S/U must declare this by the drop deadline.

S/U students are graded the same as any other student. A satisfactory grade is awarded for a C- or higher in the course.

Grade Computation

Grading starts with a raw numerical score based on core points for assignments and exams. However, this is only a starting point for grades, and many other factors are considered when a student is within 3 points of a grade boundary. Note that what is considered an A on an assignment is different from what is considered an A on exam. Proper grade boundaries for each assignment and/or exam will be communicated in class.

Below is a list of the percentage of the total score that is allocated to each component of the course. These percentages may change as the semester moves on, depending on how assignments are revised.

Exams 66%
Prelim 1 18%
Prelim 2 18%
Final 30%
Assignments 32%
A1: Currency 3%
A2: Call Frames 2%
A3: TBA 4%
A4: TBA 6%
A5: TBA 2%
A6: TBA 6%
A7: TBA 9%
Class Participation 2%

Labs

Everyone is expected to complete the lab activities, though labs do not count in the total score. You simply get credit for completing them. You may miss up to three labs over the course of the semester with no penalty. If you miss any more than that, we will reduce your course grade by half a letter grade (e.g. B goes to B-) for every three labs missing.

Lab section attendance is effectively mandatory. Lab activities are split into classroom activities and independent activities. Classroom activities must be completed during your section time, while independent activities can be completed on your own time. On days in which there are no classroom activities scheduled, then you can earn full credit outside of your discussion section.

Participation

You will note that 2% of the course is participation. That grade comes from in-class polls and from the online surveys (1% for each). Your polling grade will be determined by how often you answered an in-class poll. We only grade whether or not you answered the poll, not that the answer was correct (not all questions have a correct answer). You will be graded on a 4 point scale where 4 points is full credit. To get full credit, you must answer 75% of the questions in the class. You lose one point for each 25% below that.

The online surveys will be posted on the CS Course Management System (CMS) periodically throughout the semester. Survey 0 is active the first week of class. These are intended to capture information about the course and the assignments. They will be graded on a 4 point scale where 4 points is full credit. The number of points is determined by the number of surveys answered. To get full credit, you must complete all the surveys, though you are permitted to skip questions you feel are too sensitive.

Grading Policies

Academic Integrity

It is very import that you respect academic integrity. Cheating may seem an easy way out, but in the long run, it really hurts you more than anyone else. You end up not learning what you should learn, and it hurts your self-image. Please review the course academic integrity policy.

Exam Conflicts

The times for the prelims and final are given on the exams page. Make-up exams are only offered in the case of legitimate conflicts. Two weeks before each exam, we will allow students to submit possible conflicts to schedule a make-up.

Regrades

If you feel that the graders have incorrectly graded an exam or hand-written assignment, you may request a regrade. The regrade policy depends on what has been graded.

Keep in mind that we reserve the right to regrade the entire submission from scratch, and that a regrade request may cause your grade to go down. You will receive more details when you receive a grade on an assignment or an exam.