BioS 101 -Spring 2008

Instructions/information about last week of instruction and the optional final examination (OFE)

 

During the 15th week your teaching assistant will be available for a grade conference in the laboratory during the regularly scheduled discussion/laboratory time. Your teaching assistant (TA) will have a record of all the points you have earned in BioS 101 thru the 14th week (hopefully including PS#3 and your final lab report). You should check your grades in BLACKBOARD. Any claim that the teaching assistant grade record is inaccurate, must be raised during (or before) the conference and relevant documents must be presented prior to the end of the 15th week. No changes to your points will be made after the 15th week even in the case of staff error (except for raised, but not yet resolved issues).

 

At the 3rd exam you will be instructed to mark your answers on the exam booklet as well as the scantron form. When you have finished Exam 3, you will bring the exam booklet and the answer sheet to your TA. The TA will collect the answer sheet. You will keep the exam booklet. Because of this procedure NO ONE will be allowed to leave 250 SES before (9:30) and no one will be allowed to enter the room and take the test after 9:30A. After 10AM on 2 May, the key to Exam 3 will be available on the web. Grade your exam using the key (each question is worth 2 points) and add your Exam 3 points to the grade conference total to get your total points in 101. Your total points can be converted to a letter grade using the conversion shown below.

 

In a large class with grading based on mastery there are students who miss the next higher grade by only a single point (as well as student who would get a lower grade if they had earned one less point). Sometimes such students seek me out after the grades are in. Spend the time that you would use to seek me out now to EARN the points. Other than correcting mistakes translating the points you earned to a letter grade (they do happen almost every semester), no grade will be changed after grades have been submitted.

 

The table below repeats the original point to letter grade scheme except it allows you a 3 point allowance to cover possible contentions/mistakes in grading.

 

            TOTAL POINTS EARNED                LETTER GRADE

                                    375-322                                   A        

                                    321-277                                   B

                                    276-229                                   C

                                    228-184                                   D

                                    183-   0                                    F

 

After you have determined your total points in BioS 101 and your projected letter grade, you should figure out if it makes sense for you to take the optional final examination (OFE). The optional final replaces your lowest hour exam score, unless the optional final score is lowest of the four exams. If you are at the top of the range of a letter grade, you may have a good chance of improving your grade by taking the final. If you are at the bottom of the range of that letter, it may be impossible to change your letter grade even with an excellent OFE. Illustrative examples are given below:

 

At the conference student T found out his total was 178 points. On exam 4 he earned 38 points bring his total to 216 points, a D. His low exam score is 26 points. If he earns 40 (13 more than 26) points on the optional final he would have 230 points corresponding to the C letter grade. As he got 38 points on the last exam, with serious preparation he is likely to earn more than 38 points on the OFE. He should take the optional final, if he is not satisfied with a D.

 

Student S had 184 points at the conference. She earned 50 points on exam 3 bringing her course total to 234 points, a C. Her low exam score was a 30. To raise her total to 277 points (the lowest B), she would have to earn 43 more points than 30 on the optional final, ie 74 or more out of 80 possible. Her high exam score was 50 points. What this student should do depends on her situation in other courses. Since it is unlikely she will change her letter grade in BioS 101, the only situation that makes sense for her to take the optional final is if she has no other Final Examinations.

 

If you missed an exam, you got a zero for that exam. Obviously, such students should take the optional final.

 

The optional final (OFE) will be given ONLY during the UIC scheduled final examination time.

The OFE in BioS 101 spring 2008 has been scheduled by UIC for 9-10 AM on Tuesday 6 May in 250 SES.

 

If you have an exam conflict, bring Prof. Nyberg (3452 SES) information about the other course, the name of the instructor and when the course was scheduled to meet in the fall timetable. If the other instructor is not following the UIC final schedule, then that instructor must give you the exam at another time. If there is a true UIC conflict, the BioS 101 staff will talk to the other instructor and the student and come to a mutually agreeable solution.