Notes on Grading
Steven J. Zeil
1 Grade scale
All letter grades are based on ODU’s 4-pt scale:
| Grade | Value |
|---|---|
| A | 4.0 |
| A- | 3.7 |
| B+ | 3.3 |
| B | 3.0 |
| B- | 2.7 |
| C+ | 2.3 |
| C | 2.0 |
| C- | 1.7 |
| D+ | 1.3 |
| D | 1.0 |
| D- | 0.7 |
| F | 0.7 |
All grades for assignments & exams will be recorded as a number on this 4-pt scale. Intermediate values (e.g., 3.5) falling between letter grades are possible. Although 4.0 is the largest value on the official ODU scale, individual grades on assignments & exams may range as high as 4.5.
2 Converting raw grades to 4-pt
Scores on assignments and exams will first be converted to a percentage based on the number of points possible on that item.
Percentages are then mapped to the 4-pt scale as follows:
2.1 Programming assignments
The conversion here is a very conventional one:
| Percentage | 4-Pt |
|---|---|
| 98 | 4.5 |
| 93 | 4.0 |
| 83 | 3.0 |
| 73 | 2.0 |
| 63 | 1.0 |
| <= 53 | 0.0 |
2.2 Exams & non-programming assignments
These are graded on a more relaxed scale:
| Percentage | 4-Pt |
|---|---|
| 80 | 4.5 |
| 75 | 4.0 |
| 65 | 3.0 |
| 55 | 2.0 |
| 45 | 1.0 |
| <= 35 | 0.0 |
3 Overall Grades
The final grade will be determined as a weighted average of these 4-pt scale numbers, using the percentage weights described in the syllabus.
I will drop the lowest assignment grade and the lower of the first two exams before computing your overall score. The overall percentages stated in the syllabus will be retained after those scores are dropped.
A running estimate of your overall grade can be found on the website’s Grades page.