Standards based grading midterm format

The standards based grading format for the midterms in this course are based on Marney Pratt’s BIO 131.

Executive summary

Instead of traditional one-and-done exams, you will have multiple attempts to “master” the following 15 learning goals over 4 midterms. Note the availability of each learning goal to master is in the “Midterm” column. Furthermore, you can attempt each learning goal as many times as you like; in the end the highest proficiency score will be the one that counts.

Grading via proficiency scores

For each learning goal question you attempt in each midterm, you will be assigned a proficiency scores which also translates to a numerical score:

Proficiency Score
Excellent, exceeds standard 4
Almost Excellent, only minor problems 3.5
Proficient, meets standard (understand the idea generally, but some mistakes or get confused by subtleties) 3
Approaching, doesn’t fully meet standard but is progressing (understand it somewhat but have misconceptions, gaps in knowledge, or make serious mistakes) 2
Beginning, does not meet standard (know a little bit, but not enough to really use it for anything) 1
No attempt made 0

The 4-point grading scale will be translated into letter grades as follows, where all 15 learning goals are weighted equally in an overall average:

Score 3.60-4.00 3.20-3.59 3.00-3.19 2.80-2.99 2.60-2.79 2.40-2.59 2.20-2.39 2.00-2.19 1.66-1.99 1.33-1.65 1.00-1.32 0-0.99
Letter Grade A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- E

Administrative notes

  1. The exam periods are in the McConnell Hall Foyer Friday 3:00-9:00 pm, Saturday 12:00-6:00 pm, and Sunday 12:00-6:00 pm.
  2. Read the “Basics” and “For Students” sections of the new Spring 2022 Self Scheduled Exams instructions
  3. You are all subject to the Smith Honor Code
  4. Notes for before exam:
    • Bring 3 colored pencils/pens.
    • Bring your Smith ID card
    • You do not need a calculator.
  5. Notes for during exam:
    • Closed-book, no internet, and individually completed.
    • In case of potential errors or ambiguity on the exam, please note them, state your assumptions, and use your best judgement.
    • Timestamps will be strictly enforced. Any timestamps indicating than more time was taken than allowed are subject to an honor board case. Those with ODS accommodations have the extended time specified in their ODS documentation letter.
  6. You can’t take their exam “wherever.” Specific rooms have been set aside for taking exams and that is where you should choose from. Available rooms will be posted at the exam pick up point in McConnell Foyer and kept up to date here.
  7. If you have an accommodation and need a private room, you can book space for their accommodation through the booking system. Please be in touch directly at this email address if you can’t find a place and a time.

Midterm I

Administrative notes

  1. Friday 3/4 through Sunday 3/6. See times above
  2. You will be given 120 mins to complete it (including transit time to writing areas), however I try to time it so that it will take much less than that. In other words, you should have plenty of time to complete it without rushing.
  3. You are allowed a single 3x5 inch index card of notes (double-sided ok). You are required to submit your index card with your midterm, which you will then get returned to you.

What to Study

  1. Everything relating to learning goals 1-5:
    1. Lecture chalk talks
    2. Labs/problem sets (PS05 solutions will be posted after all PS05’s have been submitted)
    3. Book readings
  2. You don’t need to write complete and perfectly function code, however you might need to
    1. Understand presented code
    2. Fill in the blanks
    3. Write pseudocode (learning goal 2). See below:

What is “pseudocode”?

Think of pseudocode as a recipe, blue print, or algorithm outline that balances:

  1. Being just specific enough that someone who reads it can walk through the steps unambiguously
  2. But not being so specific that it has to work perfectly when typed into R

Midterm II

Administrative notes

  1. Friday 4/1 through Sunday 4/3. See times above
  2. You will be given 180 mins to complete it (including transit time to writing areas), however I try to time it so that it will take much less than that. In other words, you should have plenty of time to complete it without rushing.
  3. You are allowed a single-sided standard 8 by 11 piece of paper as a cheat sheet (you’ll be able to use the other side for Midterm III). You are required to submit your sheet with your name on it, which you will then get returned to you.
  4. You need a calculator for this midterm. Smart phone calculators are allowed.
  5. There is no guarantee that you’ll get the same or similar questions in Midterm II as you did in Midterm I. So if you want to improve your proficiency score for a particular learning goal, be sure to study the entire learning goal and not just what you got wrong on Midterm I.

What to Study

  1. On top of the Learning Goals for Midterm I, everything relating to learning goals 6-10:
    1. Lecture chalk talks
    2. Labs/problem sets (PS07 solutions will be posted after all PS07’s have been submitted)
    3. Book readings
  2. Be sure to consult the “What to Study” section from Midterm I for discussion on Learning Goals 1-5

Additional notes

  1. Be sure to see the Midterm II cover page in Slack on #general.
  2. Remember: 450 students (18.75% of Smith student body) are taking their midterm this weekend!
  3. You can’t take their exam “wherever.” Specific rooms have been set aside for taking exams and that is where you should choose from. Available rooms will be posted at the exam pick up point in McConnell Foyer and kept up to date here.
  4. If you have an accommodation and need a private room, you can book space for their accommodation through the booking system. Please be in touch directly at this email address if you can’t find a place and a time.

Midterm III

Administrative notes

  1. Friday 4/22 through Sunday 4/24. See times above
  2. You will be given 240 mins to complete it (including transit time to writing areas), however I try to time it so that it will take much less than that. In other words, you should have plenty of time to complete it without rushing.
  3. You are allowed a double-sided hand-written 8 by 11 piece of paper as a cheat sheet (you can reuse your Midterm II cheatsheet even if it was printed). You are required to submit your sheet with your name on it, which you will then get returned to you.
  4. You need a calculator for this midterm. Graphing calculators and smart phone calculators are allowed.
  5. There is no guarantee that you’ll get the same or similar questions in Midterm III as you did in Midterm I or Midterm II. So if you want to improve your proficiency score for a particular learning goal, be sure to study the entire learning goal and not just what you got wrong on Midterm I or II.

What to Study

  1. On top of the Learning Goals for Midterms I and II, everything relating to learning goals 11-15:
    1. Lecture chalk talks
    2. Labs/problem sets (PS09 solutions will be posted after all PS09’s have been submitted)
    3. Book readings
  2. Be sure to consult the “What to Study” section from Midterms I and II for discussion on Learning Goals 1-10

Additional notes

Midterm IV

Administrative notes

  1. Format:
    1. Take it anytime between Tue 5/3 8:30am and Friday 5/6 2pm (must be submitted by 2pm).
    2. Print it single-sided from Moodle. Do not click the Moodle link until you are ready to start your exam.
    3. Submit it by going to the McConnell Hall Foyer, timestamping it, and submitting it in the appropriate box.
    4. Added after lecture: To minimize on printing, please print only the pages corresponding to the LG you want to attempt. You can do this by editing the PDF to delete the pages of LG you don’t want to complete.
  2. You will be given 260 mins to complete it (including transit time to writing areas).
    1. The 260 minutes starts when you click on the link on Moodle.
    2. The 260 minutes ends when you timestamp in the McConnell Hall foyer.
  3. You are allowed a double-sided hand-written 8 by 11 piece of paper as a cheat sheet (you can reuse your Midterm III cheatsheet). Please don’t submit it.
  4. You need a calculator for this midterm. Graphing calculators and smart phone calculators are allowed.

What to Study

  1. Same as Midterm III