Fall 13 Final Grades -- All classes except GEOG 1 are listed here. Find tab for your class at the bottom of the sheet.
Your grade in my class is based on how many points you receive out of a total of 600 possible points. The breakdown for letter grades is as follows:
To figure out what you have to do to get a certain grade: In the spreadsheet you have the number of points that you have earned and at the top of the points column is a running tally of the max number of points available in the class to date. Subtract the max number of points from 600 to determine how many points are still available for the semester. Add that number to the total number of points you have earned already to see if it is possible to get the grade you want.
For example: You have 380 points and the max number of points to date is 450. That means there are 150 points left in the class. Add those two together -- 380 + 150 = 530. That means that the maximum number of points that you can earn in the course are 530 so you cannot get higher than a B at this point*. If you have 400 points out of 450, then the max number of points that you can earn is 550, which is enough to get an A, but that means you can only lose 10 points out of the remaining 150. (You need to study really hard for the last exam!)
To calculate whether you need to take the Final based on your Exam 4 grade -- Look at the table below to see how many points you need to earn a particular grade. Subtract your lowest test grade from your total points. Subtract your total number of points from the minimum number you need to earn a particular grade and that will be the number you need to get on the final to get the grade you want. (Hint: If the number is higher than 100, you will not be able to earn a higher grade and it is not worth your time to take the exam.)
PLEASE DON'T EMAIL ME ABOUT YOUR GRADE UNLESS YOU HAVE DONE EVERYTHING DESCRIBED HERE.
*