Re: Grade cutoffs from Fall 2003 (with *no* implicit guarantees about your future..)

[The bitmap with last year's cumulatives didn't show up--trying again]

Several of you wanted some guidance about how the scores translate into
letter grades at the end of the semester. As I said in the class, there is no automatic translation program. It requires all the deliberative powers of a bleary-eyed full professor to convert them into letter grades.

If it helps, the following are the cumulative scores and lower-bound grade cutoffs that were used last time around.

This is strictly to give you a non-binding example. Every class is different and
the actual grades this time will again be determined adaptively. (In particular, the last times lowerbounds may or may not be admissible heuristics on this times grades...)

Feel free to ask me question either anonymously or in person. Like I said, at this point, after these many classes, tests, projects and exams, if you are still enjoying the class,  it will be a shame to lose you purely because of grade anxiety...

regards
Rao


From: Subbarao Kambhampati <rao@asu.edu>
To:  cse471-f03@parichaalak.eas.asu.edu
Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 08:52:33 -0700
Subject: Admissible heuristic for letter grades...

People started asking me for letter grades.
Your final letter grades will be available sometime next week online.

However, I think it is reasonable to give you a lowerbound on your grade.
Here then is an admissible--and reasonably informed (since I am making it
;-) heuristic on estimating your grade:

For Graduate students:

If your cumulative is >80% your lower bound grade will be an A

Above 70, lowerbound grade is B.


For UG students:

If your cumulative is >75% your  lower bound grade will be an A

if your cumulative is > 65, your lowerbound grade will be B

if your cumulative is >50, your lowerbound grade will be C

if your cumulative is >35, your lowerbound grade will be D

else E.


***In both cases, if your cumulative+extra credit pushes you over a threshold, then
you get that higher grade.

Rao

ps: I am willing to take comments  from people about grade thresholds that
are _below_ the category they
are in (i.e., A folks can tell me whether the A,B,C thresholds should be
changed. B folks can tell me if B and C thresholds can be changed
and so on). You can comment on whether the current thresholds are too
generous or too tight etc.


(The top part is graduate and the bottom part is UG in the bitmap below)