Grading

3-Point Scale

Many questions on the assignments in this course are out of 3 points. When assessing these assignments, score answers as follows:

• 3 is reserved for exceptional answers that demonstrate a full understanding of the material in a manner that exceeds the course’s expectations, which may sometimes involve external research. Please note that this does not necessarily mean a long answer; indeed, an overly long answer that introduces irrelevant information is not likely to receive a 3. Rather, a 3 is awarded to a thorough and well thought-out and prepared answer that focuses on the subject of the question being presented. As a general guideline, we expect no more than 15-20% of answers are likely to receive a 3 on any particular question.

• 2 is awarded for a good to great answer that demonstrates understanding of the material in a manner consistent with the course’s expectations. Most correct answers will be graded a 2, indeed as a general guideline, we expect approximately 60-70% of answers are likely to receive a 2 on any particular question.

• 1 is awarded for a poor to fair answer that either demonstrates partial understanding of the material or otherwise contains an error that suggests a misunderstanding of a key detail.

• 0 is given to answers that are incorrect, exceedingly brief, or blank.

The above rubric should be applied for all questions on all assignments, with special cases noted as exceptions in each assignment’s page, below.

Guidelines on Points

Points are not subtractive—that is, a baseline grade is not a 3 and earning a 2 does not mean that a student has “lost a point” on an assignment or “earned a 66%” (two common interpretations we hear from students). Rather, points are used to characterize the extent to which a student has met (2), exceeded (3), or fallen short (0, 1) of the course’s expectations.

Grading FAQs

What if a student asks for an extension?

If a student asks for an extension, you should respond by directing the student to the lateness and extension policies in the syllabus.

How long should I spend grading?

This depends on the assignment! On average, aim to spend about 10 minutes per student that you are grading that week (so, for a 40-person course, you might spend 400 minutes == ~7 hours grading that assignment in total). Set a timer if it’s helpful!

Grading Deadlines and Responsibilities

Grading deadlines for problem sets are in the respective pages on this site, but are also summarized below:

Assignment-Specific Grading Guidelines

The below pages include problem-set specific guidelines, as well as links to staff solutions on Vault50.

• Assignment 1
• Assignment 2
• Assignment 3
• Assignment 4
• Assignment 5
• Assignment 6
• Exam