Grading
 

I understand every student wants a good grade, and I am also glad to give high ones, but I cannot due to the policy of our school and department and the function of grading itself. The following are some points I believe important for you to interpret your final grade:

1. The final exam weighs 35% because it is the only close-book test we have ever had. I believe its result should reflect some real facts and actually did do so as I expected.

2. The original scores of the final exam ranges from 10+ to almost 70, so I adjusted them by using the formula - (ORIG*1.3)+13. Why I used 1.3 and 13, and a linear function? Because the highest original score becomes 100 in this way. I did not use some complex distribution to curve the scores as Excel does not support this and I don't want to bother to do it myself. I believe most people also prefer the linear transformation since it will put most people beyond the average score rather than the exact 50% when normal distribution is used instead.

3. According to the school's policy, only A-F without + and - are valid for grading. However I would rather to use A+/- and B+/- to show the slight differences, though A+, A, and A- will all be converted to A by our school for example.

4. Finally, I'd like to say that honesty is one of the most important virtues for a person who lives in the society. 
A school is a place for students to learn something. Some young students do behave improperly sometimes, but they in most cases deserve a second chance. I always believe encourgement instead of punishment should be the major weapon of teachers in school. However some behaviors are not tolerable without question, especially those taking advantage of my assumption that everyone in the class is honest and good. Some people should be pretty clear about what I mean and should realize he/she did something that he/she was not supposed to do. I have no idea if you will have a second chance in this case. But in the long term, you will always have a second chance and it is totally up to you.