Grading

Design

Correctness, design, and style are the three axes along which CSCI E-33a assesses student work.

Guidelines on Awarding Design Points

Design points are not subtractive—that is, a baseline grade is not a 5 and earning a 3 does not mean that a student has “lost two points” on an assignment or “earned a 60%” (two common interpretations we hear from students). Rather, points are used to characterize the extent to which a student has met, exceeded, or fallen short of the course’s expectations.

The course expects that most students on average will be earning a score of 3 or 4 on the Design axis, with perhaps a 2 serving as the low end. Reserve awarding a 5 only to those submissions that are exceptional, for which you can find absolutely no room for improvement. If you can propose even one modification that would improve efficiency, it’s not a 5 and should not be scored as such.

3’s and 4’s should be awarded to work that demonstrates a good to great mastery of the given week’s concepts and problem set. A student’s benchmark for success is considered a 3.

1’s and 2’s should be awarded to work that demonstrates a poor to fair understanding of the given week’s concepts and problem set. Awarding a 1 or a 2 indicates that there are substantial improvements to be made to the design of a student’s solution.

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 should I grade incomplete work?

If a student has submitted an incomplete solution, it is best to approach grading design in response to the question, “Given what the student has submitted, what evidence do I have that they have understood a good design approach to the problem?”. It’s best to avoid a scenario where a student is double-penalized for incompleteness on both correctness and design, but it’s also best not to extrapolate from a single function that a student has understood all of the week’s concepts.

How long should I spend grading?

This depends on the week! On average, aim to spend about 10 minutes per student in your section. Set a timer if it’s helpful!

Grading Deadlines

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

Project-Specific Grading Guidelines

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

• Project 0
• Project 1
• Project 2
• Project 3
• Project 4
• Final Project