CO285: Introduction to Networks

Calculate Your Grade

I’m publishing the following formulae, which will be used to calculate the final letter grade for the course. Using this formula, you can determine how well you need to do on any portion of the grade to receive the desired final letter grade.

The formula uses a weighted average, with the weights as described in the Syllabus.

Currently, the maximum score for homework is 90 points; the maximum for the Paper is 100 points. The Presentation will likely be worth 100 points too, but I don’t know how many points the final will be worth.

1. Start with the lowest percentage for the desired letter grade you want. Assuming you want an ‘A’ (who doesn’t?!?), your weighted average total needs to be at least 92%.
2. Calculate the known categories and subtract their weighted averages. If you have received 100% of the possible homework points and 90% on the paper, here’s the new total: 92% - 55% - 9% = 28%.
3. “Divvy up” the remaining percentage points among the remaining categories as you see fit, but don’t attribute more than the maximum. 10% max can go to the Presentation, or 25% max to the Final. In our example, I’ll ratio the remaining points by weight: 8% to the Presentation, and 20% to the Final
4. Divide the category by its weight to get the percentage you need in that category. In my example, an 80% on the Presentation and an 80% on the Final will still win you that A!