Homework 1 Grading Guidelines:

Big picture:
Average homework grades are historically between 32 & 34 but obviously that depends on their quality of work. Students should lose more points for structural problems (setting up a problem incorrectly) than for formula errors (like typos, selecting wrong cells, parentheses problems). Be sure to check that students actually use formulas, not just have the correct answers – students occasionally cut & paste the values from other students’ files, without copying the formulas.

Grade
Points
Typical example
A
36 – 40
All problems structurally correct, answers plausible, possibly one or two minor formula mistakes
B
32 – 35
Most problems structurally correct, most answers plausible, a few formula mistakes or errors carried forward
C
28 – 31
Multiple structural problems, several formula mistakes
D
24 – 27
Student correctly completed at least one problem but the rest are profoundly flawed
F
< 24
Student attempted problems but went horribly wrong

Again, if a student attempted all the problems, he or she should get at least 20/40pts for the entire assignment (though some problems might earn zero points). Any questions left blank, attempted in improper ways (like not using a data table), or done without using Excel formulas (i.e., they solved the problems on paper and then entered the values in the spreadsheet) may further deduct from their score.

Specific Guidelines:
These are not intended to be an all-encompassing list of possible student mistakes!

Question Set 1:
-2pts: Common structural problems like using single productivity values or just averaging