Staying in touch
June 5, 2008
Many of you said you’d like to keep in touch and asked about letters of recommendation, SAT/ACT tutoring, college applications advice, etc. I’d love to hear from you.
The best way to reach me is via email at duncan.brook@gmail.com. If you like, you can also use Facebook to stay connected or visit my personal website. The site is due for an overhaul, but it will house any travel blog/photos I create.
Spring exam grades
June 5, 2008
Spring exam results are now posted on the grades page. All World Studies grades (Q4 & exam) are now online, so please spread the word.
This exam was hard, wasn’t it? Know that I enjoyed seeing that you’ve really learned a lot this semester. On the last question, almost all of you said you most enjoyed learning about one of the topics … I most enjoyed teaching. So, we’re in agreement.
Check back sometime soon. I’ll likely post a few of the more amusing snippets from people’s exams (anonymously, of course)…
Here’s the grading explanation:
The grade sheet tells you how many points you received on the multiple choice, your raw multiple choice percentage, and your curved multiple choice percentage. I considered that curved MC score and your score on the subjective pages of the exam (the last column) when I calculated your overall final exam grade.
Combining those two scores qualitatively allowed me some flexibility to accommodate those students who clearly performed better on one part of the exam than the other. If you’re way better at writing than at answering multiple choice questions – or the other way around – I worked to recognize that fact.
Updated fourth quarter grades
June 5, 2008
I’ve posted updated fourth quarter estimated grades to the site. Please read the note at the top of the sheet about the final late penalty calculations and/or read below for more detail:
In this final version of the grades spreadsheet, late penalties have been calculated as follows:
These calculations are generous.
- Zeroes remain zeroes
- Most late items lose a letter grade off their graded score
Late but fully completed work receives a B, but, for example, a late item with a raw score of a B+ receives a C+
- All 28.1-28.3 late penalties are forgiven
Some sections completed this work in class, but others didn’t receive that blanket “on-time” opportunity. In the interest of fairness, everybody gets an “on-time” opportunity on this assignment
- Late binders do not receive a late penalty on all four items
Instead of a late penalty applied to each of the four grades in the early-quarter notebook check, the late penalty only applies to the overall organization grade. For example, a complete but late binder receives a 5 out of 20 points on the organization grade but the full 110 homework points
- Work turned in “at the end of the day” is late
Students asking for full credit for work they turned in “at the end of the day” have been denied. Assigned work is due at the beginning of class
- Take-home test late penalties are 1/2 grade for same-day lateness & full grade for anything more
