SCORE ON FIRST MID-TERM EXAM AS INDICATOR OF COURSE GRADE
IN 200-LEVEL LECTURE COURSES
Statistics based on scores and grades in 508:200 ANCIENT NEAR EAST (Fall 1999) and 510:201 ANCIENT GREECE (Spring 2000)
Chart showing Class, Number of Students receiving each Course Grade, and Number of Students in five ranges of Scores on First Mid-Term Exam. (*At bottom are figures for students who did not take the Final Exam; some of these received grades of "F", others received "W", depending on dates and conditions of withdrawal from the course.)
|
Class |
Num |
Gr |
90s |
80s |
70s |
60s |
<60 |
|
ANE |
11 |
A |
7 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
AGr |
10 |
A |
6 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Tot |
21 |
|
13 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ANE |
6 |
B+ |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
AGr |
13 |
B+ |
3 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Tot |
19 |
|
4 |
12 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ANE |
12 |
B |
0 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
|
AGr |
18 |
B |
0 |
5 |
7 |
4 |
2 |
|
Tot |
30 |
|
0 |
7 |
11 |
7 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ANE |
4 |
C+ |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
AGr |
7 |
C+ |
0 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
|
Tot |
11 |
|
0 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ANE |
7 |
C |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
|
AGr |
16 |
C |
0 |
3 |
3 |
9 |
1 |
|
Tot |
23 |
|
0 |
3 |
7 |
10 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ANE |
3 |
D |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
AGr |
15 |
D |
0 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
|
Tot |
18 |
|
0 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ANE |
1 |
F |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
AGr |
7 |
F |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
|
Tot |
8 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ANE |
8 |
no* |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
|
AGr |
5 |
no* |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
|
Tot |
13 |
|
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
12 |
|
Summary of Results |
ANE |
AGr |
Total |
|
Students taking MT1 |
48 |
90 |
138 |
|
Students failing MT1 |
18 |
19 |
37 |
|
Took no more tests |
6 |
2 |
8 |
|
Took MT2 but not Final |
1 |
3 |
4 |
|
Failed MT1 but took all 3 tests |
11 |
14 |
25 |
Course Grade distribution for the 37 students who failed
MT1:
12 dropped out before the Final Exam (receiving F or W)
5 received F, even though taking the Final
10 received D
3 received C
2 received C+
5 received B
0 received B+
0 received A
Correlations with very low (below 60) MT1 scores:
27 of 37 students who failed MT1 (73 %) ended up with D, F, or dropping out.
10 students (27%) ended up with C (minimal grade for credit toward a History major) or above
5 of that 10 (14% of the total) managed to earn a B despite failing MT1
Nobody who failed MT1 ended up with either B+ or A
Correlations with higher MT1 scores:
All 17 who scored in the 90s ended up with either A (13) or B+ (4) in the course
All 50 who scored 80 or above ended up with at least C in the course (only 7 fell below B)
All 78 who scored 70 or above (except 1 drop-out) passed the course (only 3 made D)
Conclusions: Performance on the First Mid-Term Exam is a very strong indicator of eventual course grade. Although a small proportion of students who fail MT1 manage to bring up their grades to C or even B (no higher), the great majority do not. Conversely, those who make high scores on MT1 tend overwhelmingly to stay at a high level, and those at a middling range (70s) tend to stay at that level or improve (though very rarely going higher than B). To earn an A in the course, it is almost certainly necessary to score at least in the 80s on MT1; scoring in the 90s makes an A very likely.