Turn
in your completed homework on time. It is a little known fact that
this causes a student to do well on tests and get good grades
overall. You are all capable of doing the work I will assign you.
It’s up to you to make the time to do it, even if that includes
getting extra help.
Grading
Policy
Homework:
I’m a little lenient on the homework front. If you truly don’t
understand what you’re doing and need a little extra help/time, I
will accommodate. On the other hand, if you were just lazy or
didn’t follow simple directions or weren’t paying attention in class
when we went over what’s on the homework, then I will show no
mercy. You’ll either get a zero on the assignment or very little
credit.
Homework should be completed in
pencil, preferably mechanical. Dull wood pencils make fat lines that
can make your work messy. I will not accept papers written in ink!
Homework assignments must be done on loose-leaf paper, or paper that
can be placed in a 3-ring binder (see below). Points will be lost
for paper that still has the “fringes” on it.
HW Grading:
I usually grade homework out of 5 points. If you get a check mark
on your paper, that means you received all 5 points(100%), which is a good
thing. If you receive a check-minus, that means 4 out of 5
(80%).
Check-minus 2 is 3 out of 5 (60%), etc. If I grade any assignment other
than out of 5 points, it will be indicated on your paper.
Tests &
Quizzes:
I will give you partial credit for work done, as long as that work
is correct. If you’ve got no clue as to what you’re doing on a
problem and put down a bunch of gibberish, you will get zero
credit. I need to see that you have at least a little
understanding of the problem. Of course, there is no partial
credit on multiple choice or other types of problems that require
specific answers and little or no work.
Test & Quiz
Grading:
Tests are worth 50 points and quizzes worth 25 points. There will
usually be one test per chapter and up to two quizzes. This makes a
quiz equivalent to five HW assignments, and a test equivalent to ten
HW assignments.
Bonus:
In general, I don’t give bonus assignments. There are a few ways,
however, for you to still receive bonus points:
1) Complete a
perfect homework assignment, meaning all work is correct (note that
I didn’t say all answers must be correct, although they must
be correct as well) and the work is neat and legible (no torn up
papers, smeared pencil/ink, spaghetti sauce stains, etc.). You will
receive a check+ (6 out of 5), equivalent to 120% on the
assignment.
2) On a test,
quiz, or homework assignment, I may assign a problem that may
require a little more work and thinking “outside of the box.”
Amount of bonus will vary from problem to problem. You will not
lose points if you do not attempt an answer.
3) Occasionally,
you will have class engineering projects, which is just my way of
having science and math related contests in class. I’ll explain
these in a little more detail when the time is right.
Class Binder
Each student must have a one-inch
binder (or equivalent) for his/her class work. All homework (and
notes if you don’t use a notebook) must be put into the binder in
the order in which they have been given. You will need to have
dividers for your different sections. You should at least have
sections for notes, homework, tests, quizzes, and possibly a
miscellaneous section for worksheets and other handouts. This
organization will be extremely helpful when it comes time to study.
I may also take a grade on how well you’ve kept your binder
organized and up to date.
Explanation of Symbols:
From time to time you will see the following symbols on an
assignment or test/quiz after I have graded and returned it to you.
This is your key as to what those symbols represent:
HW—homework
cw—copied problem wrong from
book co—check odds
sm—steps
missing in your work See Red—look
for red pen in your HW; check and correct
