Evaluation & Assessment

1. Evaluation & Assessment 10/31/06

2. Typical Point Breakdown COURSE GRADES: Grades will be assigned on the basis of 450 points, distributed as follows: Midterm Examination I: 100 points Midterm Examination II: 100 points Graded Homework and/or Quizzes: 100 points Final Examination: 150 points

3. Midterm Exams • Mid-semester exams– 75 min • Regular exam (6:30-7:45pm) • Conflict exam (5:05-6:20pm) • Make up exam takes place one day after the regular(6:30-7:45pm)

4. Midterm Exams (Conflicts & Make-ups) • Students must sign up in 104 McAllister for any exam other than the regular • Student should have a valid excuse to take the make-up otherwise 20% will be taken off the exam score • University-approved activities: field trips, debate trips, choir trips, athletic events, religious holidays • Conflict exam is at instructor’s discretion

5. Final Exam • December 18 - 21, 2006 – 110 min • Schedule announced midway through semester • Two conflicts: • direct (two final exams scheduled at the same time) • overload (three or more final exams scheduled in a 15-hour block of time from the beginning of the first exam to the beginning of the third exam) • Students with conflicts are required to file for a conflict exam with the Office of the Registrar by the deadline • No make up. Only emergency cases (verified deaths in the family, or medical verification, etc.) are acceptable excuses. A deferred grade should be submitted

6. Exams Checklist (Start of Semester) • UG Office will provide each instructor with a listing of the evening examination dates on the first day of classes • Locations announced at a later date • http://www.math.psu.edu/UG/Fall2006/rptEveningExams.pdf • The students must be notified of the evening exam schedule during the first week of the semester • This information typically goes on your syllabus

7. Exams Checklist(Writing Exams) • The following exams are written by the department (with the exception of the Summer term): • 017, 021, 022, 026, 041, 140, 140A, 141 • All other exams are written by the instructors of that course under the supervision of the course coordinator • You may be asked to: • Write exam questions • Type the exam • Proofread the exam

8. Writing Exams • Begin writing any exam EARLY • It can take up to 4 weeks to choose questions, type, proofread, revise, and print the exam

9. Writing Exams (Choosing questions) • Talk to the course coordinator about the format of the exam • Look at old exams for ideas on question length, wording, difficulty, etc… • www.math.psu.edu/UG/InformationAboutMathCourses.htm • Use familiar questions: • Sample exams • In-Class questions • Textbook • Don’t write questions which can be understood; write questions which cannot be misunderstood!

10. Writing Exams (Revising) • Revising • Work through all questions checking for accuracy and appropriateness of questions • Respect your colleagues' work when revising • TIME, TIME, TIME

11. Exams Checklist(Week of the Exam) • Practiceexams (either prepared by the instructor or exams from previous semesters) • Distribute copies of the practice exams at least one week prior the exam date and discuss it in class • Extra Office Hours • Night Review • http://www.math.psu.edu/UG/reservations.htm

12. Exams Checklist(Day of the Exam) • Pick up the exam in 104 McAllister from Julie • Office closes at 5pm • Proctoring • Show up 15 to 20 minutes early to your exam room • Grading • The multiple choice portions are graded by scantron • Partial credit problems are graded by the instructors often immediately following the exams

13. Homework • Assigning and collecting • You can assign a standard homework from the textbook or employ your own problems • Most commonly homework is collected around a week after it was assigned • Grading • You will most likely be assigned a grader • You are welcome to grade your homework yourself if you prefer • You can have all problems checked or some specific problems, sometimes undisclosed in advance

14. Quizzes • Usually instructors give a quiz during the last 15minutes of class • They are most often short answer questions although multiple choice is also used • Problem types are typically homework problems, with occasionally definition and/or concept questions • Most instructors tend to grade their own quizzes • Announced vs. pop-quizzes

15. Other assessments • Monitoring class attendance • In-class problems • Projects • Reading assignments

16. Homework vs. Quizzes • Main points to consider: • Benefits to the students • Time

17. Grading • Try to maintain uniform criteria for your grading policies • Students should know how many points each assignment is worth before they turn it in • You may want to drop a few weakest quizzes/homeworks or allow students to make some fixed number of assignments up or give an extra credit assignment • Advise your students that no separate curve for each individual assessment will be implemented; there might be a global curve at the end of the semester though

18. Extra-credit & Late work • Extra-credit • Extra credit, bonus points or optional problems are all good motivations for students to do extra work • The number of extra credit points should not exceed 5% of the total number of points in the syllabus • You may want to use it do determine the student's grade if it falls on the borderline • Late work • Your late work policy should be on your syllabus • Remember to maintain a uniform late policy!

19. Grading (Revisited) • Uniform grading policy • Homework, quiz averages • Group grading • Final grade cut-offs

20. Student Evaluations GTAs who teach a class are required to obtain two student evaluations during each semester: • Mid-semester student evaluations (computer-scored) • Each GTA receives the results of this evaluation via email shortly after the evaluations are given • End-of-semester evaluations (2 open-ended questions) • GTAs may not see these evaluations until after grades have been assigned for the course • Each GTA should ask Becky for a copy of the written evaluations • These copies are normally distributed at the beginning of the next semester