Course Grading

Final letter grades are determined from your final cumulative score that is computed using the following breakdown:

20% Homework Assignments:
ten (10) homeworks each worth 2% of your final grade.
25% Programming Assignments:
five (5) programming assignments each worth from 5% of your final grade.
55% Exams:
three (3) exams, two midterms exams each worth 17% of your final grade and the final exam worth 21%.

Letter grades are assigned at the end of the semester. We do not provide letter grades for individual assignments or exams. At the end of the semester after all of the scores are recorded then thresholds are set given the difficulty of the coursework during the semester. Thresholds are raised if the coursework was easier or lowered if it was harder. By adjusting the thresholds at the end of the semester we can account for varying difficulty among semesters to ensure consistency of grading across semesters. Typically, the median student's course grade is in the range of a low B to a high BC. If you have a question about your overall grade, please meet with your instructor.

Assignment grading feedback is provided via grade reports for homeworks and programs accessed through the CS367 Forms. After a regrade period, scores for a particular assignment are then uploaded into Learn@UW. Exam scores are only reported through Learn@UW.

Exams

There are three exams that total to 55% of your final grade. Exams are a primary tool we use to evaluate your performance in this course.

Midterm 1 (17% - Topics): Tuesday, March 1st, 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Midterm 2 (17% - Topics): Tuesday, April 12th, 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Final (21% - Topics): Sunday, May 8th, 2:45 to 4:45 PM

The exams are composed of two parts. Questions in part I are 1 point each and are choosing between two options such as true/false and those in Part II are 3 points each and are multiple choice. Both midterm exams cover primarily new material. The final will be in part cumulative but with the majority of the exam on the topics covered since midterm 2. You are responsible for:

lectures (including topics covered in lecture that are not covered in the readings),
readings (including topics covered in the readings that are not covered in lecture),
Homeworks, and
Programs.

Final Exam Room Assignments:

For the location of the building, click on the building name below or check out the campus map.

Lecture 1: room 272 of Bascom Hall
Lecture 2: room 2650 of Mosse Humanities Building
Lecture 3: room 1351 of Chemistry Building

Policies for Exams

Exam Materials: No textbooks, electronic devices, or help from neighbors are allowed during the exams.
Exam Conflicts: must be brought to the course coordinator's attention during the first two weeks of class.
Make-Up Exams: are given only with your instructor's permission when you are unable to take the regular exam due to extenuating circumstances. Requests for make-ups after an exam are rarely approved and only for verifiable emergencies.

Regrades:

within one week

Programming Assignments

There will be five (5) programming assignments each worth 5% for a total of 25% of your final grade.

Accounts are provided on the CS lab computers for you to do your programming work. See the CS Computer Labs page for more information.

Links to programming assignment pages:

Policies for Programming Assignments

Collaboration: Program 1 must be done individually.
Programs 2 - 5 can be done in pairs but you must follow the rules below.
Questions: are to be posted on Piazza, a free tool that we're using to manage questions. Before posting a question, please search the assignment pages for an answer and also search Piazza to ensure your question hasn't already been asked.

Late Programs: are not accepted for a grade without prior approval from your instructor. Contact your instructor at least three (3) days in advance of the due date if exceptional circumstances beyond your control that will prevent you from completing an assignment by the deadline. We will ask you to submit the work you've completed, which we'll review and then might give you a short extension to the due date.
Grading: See assignment grading below.

Homework Assignments

There will be ten (10) homework assignment each worth 2% for a total of 20% of your final grade.

Links to homework assignment pages:

Policies for Homework Assignments

Collaboration: on homework assignments is NOT allowed.
Questions: are to be posted on Piazza, a free tool that we're using to manage questions. Before posting a question, please search the assignment pages for an answer and also search Piazza to ensure your question hasn't already been asked.
Late Homework: is NOT accepted for a grade.
Grading: See assignment grading below.

Assignment Grading

Step 1, Submission: Submit your work before the assignment deadline by loggin into and using the CS367 Forms. Follow the instructions on the "Submit Files" form making sure to use the correct file names and verifying your file contents are correct.

Step 2, Grading: Assignments are graded by the course TA(s) and/or Grader(s) using specified grading standards.

Step 3, Solution: Solutions for homework assignments are posted on Learn@UW so that you can check your work in advance of getting it graded. Solutions to programming assignments aren't posted.

Step 4, Graded: When grading has completed for an assignment, an announcement is posted on the course home page. You will receive a grade report for your work accessible through the CS367 Forms.

Step 5, Regrades: You may request a regrade of your assignment within one week after the graded assignment is announced if you believe your work was incorrectly graded. Before requesting a regrade for homeworks, check your work against the solution posted on Learn@UW. For programming assignments, you may point out minor corrections to your code (a few lines) if they result in significant differences in execution. Request regrades by emailing the grader named in your grade report.

Step 6, Learn@UW: After regrades are completed on an assignment, scores are then uploaded into Learn@UW. Once scores are uploaded, in Learn@UW you can see grading statistics such as class averages.

Rules of Pair Programming

You may have only one partner for each programming assignment.
You may have a different partner on different programming assignments.
You may not pair program with multiple partners on the same assignment.
Your partner must be currently enrolled in a CS 367 lecture.
You must register your partnership using the CS 367 Forms Page before you begin working on the programming assignment.
You must list your partner as a collaborator in the header comments of your source files (see Commenting Guide).
You must follow the principles of pair programming summarized below.

Submitting someone else's work as your own is academic misconduct, which will be dealt with in accordance with University Academic Misconduct procedures.

Principles of Pair Programming

The following is a summary of successful pair programming principles taken from a paper by Williams and Kessler:

Pair programming involves two people working together at one computer, continuously collaborating on design, coding, and testing. One person types; the other either provides directions ("Now we need to write a new method that does ..., Now we need a loop to do ...") or constantly reviews what the typer is doing, and provides comments.
Pair programming has proved successful both in classes and in industry. Programmers usually report having more confidence in their solutions and enjoying programming more when working in pairs.
It is important to switch roles often (slide the keyboard back and forth). Because pair programming can be quite intense, it is also a good idea to take breaks (to check e-mail, go for a walk, have a snack).
It is important to provide honest but friendly feedback. To be effective, there needs to be some healthy disagreement and debate, but pairs also need to be respectful of each other, and try to avoid becoming defensive when receiving criticism.
Inevitably, programmers do some independent thinking/working. For best results, that work should be reviewed by both partners (and perhaps revised) when they start working together again.
To be successful, pair programmers must realize that the benefits of working together outweigh their usual preference for working alone, they must confidently share their work, accepting instruction and suggestions for improvement in order to improve their own skills and the code they are writing, and they must accept ownership of their partner's work and thus be willing to constructively express criticism and suggest improvements.

Studying Tips

Attend lectures and take notes. Taking your own notes on the material covered in class requires you to organize your thoughts and think about the topics in ways that simply listening does not. Reread your notes soon after lecture to find points that are not clear.
Participate in class. Do in-class exercises and answer questions posed. These exercises give you additional practice on skills that you will need for homeworks, programming assignments and exams. Even more importantly, they help you identify which topics you do not understand. This will help you efficiently use your study time.
Do the assignments. This is obvious, but some students mistakenly believe that the purpose of homework and programming assignments is to evaluate student's skills. That is not the case, their purpose is to provide opportunities for you to practice the concepts taught in lecture. This practice is vital for learning and for performing well on the midterm and final exams.
Prioritize your studying. First focus on your lecture notes, then review the assignments, and finally go over the readings.
Study by re-organizing your notes. Successful studying requires you to be actively thinking about the material. An effective way to study is to re-organize and rewrite notes succinctly in terms that you understand.
Avoid getting bogged down on specific points. If you can't figure something out, move on to other material and wait to ask your instructor or TA for clarification.
You'll need to do some memorizing. Memorizing is a practical way to learn the definitions of terminology and concepts. A good way to memorize information is through repeated exposure to the material.
Form a study group. Often it is easier and more motivating to work with others when studying for an exam. You can distribute the work by having each group member come up with a few questions on a topic and then going over the solutions collectively. If you run into a concept that causes confusion often others in the group will feel similarly while some will have explanations. Working together will help you learn things by providing multiple perspectives and insights into the material. Try to find a study group that provides you with ample opportunity to communicate your understanding. It is your effort to express information that will be of the most benefit to your learning.
Finally, avoid cramming! We all know this, but often we find ourselves waiting until it is too late. This habit is worth breaking! Research has shown that studying in half hour to hour intervals followed by half hour breaks is far more effective than non-stop cramming.

COURSEWORK