"Grade" distribution of Test 1

Your reported score is a raw score out of 40 possible points. You can turn that into a more familiar percentage score by

your score
---------- x 100
40

Here are some descriptive statistics which are used to determine the grade scale:

average = 29.2 out of 40, or approximately 72.8%
median = 29 (this is the "middle" score if we ranked all scores)
mode = 33 (this is the most frequently occuring value. there were four 32s)

All of the above help determine the "middle". For this, I think the mode is not a good middle. But I think 29 is a good middle. That score, then, is the lowest B.

The standard deviation can be used to measure the distribution of scores around the mean. I like to target 10%. The standard deviation for this test was 4.2 out of 40 or about 10.4%. Pretty close.

So here's a grade you can associate with your score:

A range: 33 and higher
B range: 29 - 32.5
C range: 25 - 28.5
D range: 20 - 24.5
F range: 19.5 and lower

Be aware: I do not enter a letter grade into my gradebook for any assignment. I enter only your raw score. It is appropriately weighted given point value of the assignment (40 points in this case) and the weighting value as expressed on the syllabus (15%). So, using measured language here, if you got the score of 26.5 you received a B-type grade. However, you did not "get a B" because that letter isn't recorded. What ultimately matters is the weighted average of all assignments at the end of the term.

After the second test and the mid term grades are determined I will carefully go over the weighted average calculations. It is fair that you know your overall standing in the class after each exam. Given the number of assignments so far, this test is your first measure of "expected grade".