Micro 443 - Grading System

The grade you receive in the course will be based on a pre-set scale that relates the percentage of points you earn to a numerical grade. In other words, your grade is related to an absolute standard rather than a curve in which a certain percentage of students must receive a high grade and a certain percentage must fail. The 100% level in the scale is not the total possible points, but the average of the total points earned by the top 5% of undergraduates in the course. Thus, if the top three (or five) undergraduates average 108 out of a total of 120 points during the quarter, then 108 points will be set as the 100% level. This step serves to adjust the number of points relative to the difficulty of the exams.

Equivalence Between the Percentage Achieved and the Numerical Grade

%
grade
%
grade
%
grade

98 or greater
4.0
80
2.8
62
1.6
96.5
3.9
78.5
2.7
60.5
1.5
95
3.8
77
2.6
59
1.4
93.5
3.7
75.5
2.5
57.5
1.3
92
3.6
74
2.4
56
1.2
90.5
3.5
72.5
2.3
54.5
1.1
89
3.4
71
2.2
53
1.0
87.5
3.3
69.5
2.1
51.5
0.9
86
3.2
68
2.0
50.1
0.8
84.5
3.1
66.5
1.9
50
0.7
83
3.0
65
1.8
less than 50
0.0
81.5
2.9
63.5
1.7















In determining the numerical grade the table will be used as follows: Fifty percent will yield a numeric grade of 0.7. From 50.1 through 51.4 the grade will be 0.8; 51.5 through 53 a grade of 0.9, etc., and finally, 98 through 100 or more a grade of 4.0.