8.01 Review Quiz 2 Results, Fall 1998

The average grade for Review Quiz 2 was 63. Although this is 10 points lower than the previous Review Quiz, I don't think that we should be disappointed. The material has gotten a little harder since the first few weeks, and the quiz was correspondingly harder.

The graders who graded each problem estimated what they considered to be a passing grade on that problem. The minimum passing grade for the exam, which was based on the sum of those numbers, has been set at 56. In more detail, the numerical grade that you received can be translated into a letter grade by the following chart:

NUMERICAL GRADE	LETTER GRADE
80 - 100	A
68 - 79	B
56 - 67	C
41 - 55	D
0 - 40	E

The cutoff for exemptions from the tutoring attendance requirement will be 72. All students who received a grade of 72 or higher will be exempt from the tutoring attendance requirement starting Thursday, October 29, and extending until the next Review Quiz, on Friday November 20. Remember, by the way, that tutoring is highly recommended even when it is not required.

A histogram of the grades for the quiz is shown below. Note that vertical bars have been offset by half a point, so that each bar indicates the number of students who received the grades that are directly below the bar. Each bar indicates 5 possible grades: 96-100 for the first bar, 91-95 for the second bar, etc.

If you did badly on this exam, you should try to figure out a way to study for this course more effectively. Talk to your 8.01 recitation instructor, your 8.01 tutor, and/or your advisor. I believe that every one of you is capable of passing this course if you put in some effort. If you are having trouble, you might want to seek extra help from any of the following sources:

Ask your Tutor to give you time outside of your normal appointment.
Make use of the office hours of the faculty in the course. You are not confined to just your own instructor. The office hours of the entire faculty are available to you, and are listed on the 8.01 web page.
Academic Resource Center Room, 7-104 (See Yellow Flash 1).
The ARC "Study Skills Workshops" as listed in Yellow Flash 1 may also be useful. An announcement is attached to the 8.01 web page.
The Tutorial Services Room, 12-124 (x 3-8406). Appointments should be made 48 hours in advance.

Some of you would be well-advised to put in some hard work, but there is no need to panic. Even if you got a zero on this exam, you can still pass this course! As I said with the results of the previous Review Quiz, while all students who achieve a numerically passing average grade can count on passing the course, not all students who receive a numerically failing average grade will fail. Each such student will be discussed individually at the final grade meeting of the recitation instructors, tutors, and me, and some students who are near the borderline will be passed. The most common reason is the demonstration of significant improvement during the term, even if it was not enough to numerically compensate for some bad grades at the beginning of the term.)

Regrade Policy and Deadline:

While we try to grade carefully, mistakes can never be completely avoided. If you have questions about the grading of your exam, you should bring them to your recitation instructor. In order to make sure that regrade requests are handled while the instructors can still recall how the grading was done, we are setting a deadline for regrade requests. Any question about the grading should be brought to the attention of your recitation instructor no more than two weeks after the class in which the paper was returned. If you are not satisfied with the action taken by your instructor, please feel free to contact me. Please try to contact me within about a week of when your recitation instructor responds to you.

--- Alan Guth, 8.01 Lecturer

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Last modified: Wednesday, October 28, 1998 10:16 pm