Return-Path: william@bourbon.usc.edu Delivery-Date: Mon Apr 30 15:04:31 2007 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.1.3 (2006-06-01) on merlot.usc.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.3 required=5.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, NO_REAL_NAME autolearn=ham version=3.1.3 Received: from bourbon.usc.edu (bourbon.usc.edu [128.125.9.75]) by merlot.usc.edu (8.13.5/8.13.5) with ESMTP id l3UM4VRl006873 for ; Mon, 30 Apr 2007 15:04:31 -0700 Received: from bourbon.usc.edu (localhost.localdomain [127.0.0.1]) by bourbon.usc.edu (8.13.5/8.13.5) with ESMTP id l3UM3kCx028398 for ; Mon, 30 Apr 2007 15:03:46 -0700 Message-Id: <200704302203.l3UM3kCx028398@bourbon.usc.edu> To: cs551@merlot.usc.edu Subject: Re: Hello Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 15:03:46 -0700 From: william@bourbon.usc.edu Someone wrote: > I don't know whether it is appropriate to ask or no ? It's no problem for me. > I was just wondering how would be your grading scheme. > How do you grade the average and people above average !! Well, I plug all your scores into the equation shown at: http://merlot.usc.edu/cs551-s07/description.html#grading and then I plot all the outcomes on a curve. The average score (and scores around it) will be a B+. That much is guaranteed. The following is my approximate algorithm for assigning the rest of the grades. (The word "suitable" below is not defined very precisely. It kind of means "around the right place".) Starting from the average, I look for a suitable gap upward. Above that gap, it will be A-. Then I continue to look for another suitable gap upward. Above this gap, it will be A. Similarly, starting from the average, I look for a suitable gap downward. Below this gap, it will be B. Then I continue to look for another suitable gap downward. Below this gap, it will be B-. Then I continue to look for suitable gaps downward and assign lower grades, and so on. -- Bill Cheng // bill.cheng@usc.edu