ICS 311 Assessment (Grading)

The assessment components include:

• In-class Quizzes (Individual)
• Class Problems (Group)
• Homework Problems (Individual)
• Midterm Exams (Individual)
• Final Exam (Individual)
• Extra credit: Peer Evaluation of Classwork (Individual)

The total points in each component of assessment will be divided by the maximum possible to yield a number between 0 and 1. These fractions will be combined in a weighted sum to determine the total score for the course. The score will be put through a grade function to determine the letter grade for the course.

To determine letter grades, we inherit the scale from previous semesters, which gives the grade formula as follows:

• ≥97=A+,
• 96-93=A,
• 92-89=A-,
• 88-85=B+,
• 84-81=B,
• 80-77=B-,
• 76-73=C+,
• 72-69=C,
• 68-65=C-,
• 64-61=D+,
• 60-57=D,
• 56-53=D-,
• 52-0=F.

Components

Quizzes In-class (Individual) (20%):

There will be a quiz at the start of each class. These quizzes will test basic understanding of the chapter on which the day's topic is based, such as whether you can simulate the operation of the data structure or algorithms or get the main point of the analyses of their relative merits. Most quizzes will not involve mathematical analysis or proofs: problems requiring deeper thought will be left for the classwork and homework problems. Solutions will be given in class immediately after the quizzes are due, so quizzes cannot be made up. We are expecting 23 quizzes worth 10 points each.

Class Problems (Group) (20%):

All regular classes will include significant time working in small groups on problems that help expose conceptual issues in the material and prepare you to work on the take-home portion on your own. Class problems will require much more thought than the problems given on the quizzes. You will work together as a group - typically 8 students per group on a a single shared document in Google Docs. At the end of the class, we will discuss the solutions.
Note: One of the student in each group will have to download this Google document and upload it to her Laulima before we start discussing the solutions. This student will have to let the TA know where it is uploaded.
The TA will grade classwork on a 5 point scale, giving the same grade to everyone in the group. Grading of classwork is based primarily on evidence (in the Docs) that you made an effort to understand the problems, and secondarily on correctness of solutions. See also "Peer Evaluation of Class Participation" for points earned for participating in the group sessions.

Homework Problems (Individual) (30%):

On 11 of the weeks you will have homework problems in which you do more extensive work following up on the class work. The homework problems will combine the topics of both days of the week (Monday and Wednesday). You should do the homework problems individually. Exam questions often are similar to homework problems, so this is your chance to make sure that you understand concepts and can work problems on your own, not just in a group context. The work will be typically graded based on 25 points per homework. If some homeworks deserve fewer points, the difference will be used/added to the final exam points. The TAs will grade homeworks. Solutions will be posted, but won't be discussed in class unless students ask questions.

Peer Evaluation of Class Participation (Individual) (Extra Credit)

Each week in which there is a problem set, each individual in the group will assign points distributed across the other individuals in the group to assess how effectively they collaborated in the group. You should allocate the points according to how well the others worked as team members, including their role in team functioning (e.g., keeping the group focused and organized, or playing another important role), and how much they helped others understand the material (e.g., by explaining what they understood), as well as their contributions to the actual problem solution. Even asking good questions can be a contribution.

Each week you will have 8 points to distribute across all members of your group. You can distribute the points equally, give them all to one person, or do something in between. For example, if everyone participated equally, you would give the same number of points to each person; while if there was one person who did more work and the other who did less you might move a point from the latter to the former.

Some additional rules:

• You need not allocate all the points available to you (for example, if you feel that other group members were not helpful).
• Any points not allocated to others are assumed to go to you (as your measure of your contribution to the group's effort). However, you won't get extra credit for points allocated to yourself!. Their only purpose is for possible data analysis to see how correlated different group members estimates of contributions are.
• You will allocate these points when you turn in your homework assignment. To encourage you to do this, you will be given one extra credit point for each assignment in which you assess your peers. That's where the extra 11 points come from.

Midterms (10%, 10%):

There will be two midterm exams taking one class period each. Problems will be harder than those on the quizzes, and some may be as hard as those on class and homework problems. Problems will cover both understanding of the algorithms and how to analyze them. They will cover the most recent set of lecture topics, but cumulative "review" questions may also be included. Students will be allowed to bring one page of notes to the exam (details to be described before each exam). No electronic devices will be allowed. Each midterm is 100 points; there are two for 200 points or 20%. The instructor will grade all midterm exams, with help from the TA if needed.

Final (10%):

The final exam will take place at the time scheduled by the university (for one of the three Sections) and will be longer than a midterm exam. It will cover the final set of lecture topics, but also include review of the entire semester. It will be different from the midterm exams, emphasizing the ability to apply concepts from the semester. While grading will be mainly shared between the TAs, the instructor will assist them and will be the final instance for any recurse - don't hesitate to inform the instructor if you are convinced that the corrections and points are incorrect - we all make mistakes...

Programming Assignments

In case you were wondering, there are no programming assignments. We used to have them. They were to 1. implement and do comparative tests of alternative Dictionary ADT implementations; 2. implement the entire Graph ADT; and 3. design and implement various graph analysis algorithms using your Graph ADT. While some students said it helped them understand the algorithms in practice, others said that they spent a huge amount of time on the programming assignments in exchange for little additional understanding of algorithms.

Extra Credit

We generally do not offer extra credit options other than the extra points discussed above for peer evaluation. These complicate the grading too much and the workload is already high. However, if you want to pursue work related to Algorithms for credit, talk to the instructor or to Dr. Nodari Sitchinava about doing a project for ICS 499 credits.

Flexibility

We each have our own strengths. If a student performs significantly better on one area than others, we may elect to put greater weight on the area that gives the student a better grade. We are more willing to do this with strong exam performance, as exams are not easy and are proctored so we know it's the student's work.