Grading Scale for Math 307 - Dr. Loveless

See below for a very rough estimate of how I suspect percentages will align with grade points at the end of the term. The final grade scale will be NOT match this scale exactly. The official final gradescale will be adjusted so that the grade distribution for the class satisfies departmental and university grade guidelines. In practice, I will decide on the median grade, the grade necessary for a 4.0, and the grade necessary for a 2.0 (based on university and departmental guidelines) and I will make linear grade scales based on these marks to decide the rest of the grades.

Comments:

The university grade guidelines for undergraduate courses are here: Sample University Grading Guidelines

The math department has the following official policy concerning grades for Math 124/5/6: "Math 124/5/6 Grade Policy. Beginning Autumn 2012, the department of mathematics has adopted a grade policy for this course. The final median course grades for each lecture section of Math 124/5/6 taught during the regular academic year will fall within the range of 2.9 +/- 0.2."
For 300 level courses, there is no set policy like this, but the guideline is that the median should be approximately 3.1. This means that if you are at the median in the class, meaning your course percentage is exactly in the middle of the class compared to your classmates (i.e. you have the 25th best course percentage out of 50 students in the class), then you will get a grade of 3.1.

A grade of 2.0 is required to move on to other courses for which this course is a prerequisite. I typically tell students that you need to average above 75% on your exams to ensure that you will get a grade better than 2.0.

If you are concerned about the 0.0 grade mark, I typically tell students that you need to average above 50% on your exams to ensure that you will get a grade better than 0.0.

If you are concerned about the highest grade marks, I typically tell students that they need to be in the top 1/4th of the class to guarantee a grade above 3.6 (typically that means a course percentage above 90%). To get a 4.0 you have to be one of the top few students in the class (typically a course percentage above 96%).

Information on how your final course percentage is computed can be found on the syllabus.

Percentage	Grade
97 - 100	4.0
94 - 96	3.9
93	3.8
92	3.7
91	3.6
90	3.5
89	3.4
88	3.3
87	3.2
86	3.1
85	3.0
84	2.9
83	2.8
82	2.7
81	2.6
80	2.5
79	2.4
78	2.3
77	2.2
76	2.1
75	2.0
74	1.9
73	1.8
72	1.7
71	1.6
70	1.5
68-69	1.4
66-67	1.3
64-65	1.2
62-63	1.1
60-61	1.0
57-59	0.9
54-56	0.8
50-53	0.7
less than 50	0.0

back to Math 307