“At the end of the semester, the total scores for all students will be arranged in numerical order, the score that corresponds to the 99th percentile (S99) will be determined, and then letter grades will be
assigned based on this percentile score as follows:
A: Total Score ≥ 0.90 x S99
B: 0.80 x S99 ≤ Total Score < 0.90 x S99
C: 0.70 x S99 ≤ Total Score < 0.80 x S99
D: 0.60 x S99 ≤ Total Score < 0.70 x S99
F: Total Score < 0.60 x S99 or if you fail to complete 10 of the 12 lab
projects”
This is the explanation the department of chemistry for my college gives. But I don’t understand, so please explain it to me like I’m five.
In: Mathematics
Rather than assigning grades based on how many points you earned out of the available points, grades are assigned based on how you rank against the rest of your class. The people with the highest 1% of points earned determines what is considered the “maximum available points”. Grading is then done as usual, just using this adjusted maximum rather than the actual maximum.
The idea is that, if the assignments were so hard that *no one* got a perfect score, then the points needed to qualify for a particular grade are shifted down to compensate. This prevents things like flunking the whole class because no one got over 59% of the points that were available. If a situation like that happens, it’s more likely the fault of the instructor than the students, so this system adjusts the grading to favor the students.
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