Math peeps - I need your help again!

[SeaRain]

Our rubrics are screwy. This is the situation: Documents have varying point values. The document must end up with no more than 25 points to post to the gradebook.

Document A: 19 possible points. 1 wrong.

Do I divide 18 by 19 then multiply by 25 points to get 23.68 or 24 points to put in gradebook?

Document B: 36 possible points. 8 wrong.

28 / 36 * 25 = 19.44 or 19 points to put in gradebook?

[Deb S]

Yes, this works, except that if working with a base of one hundred the 28/36 gives you a 77. The 19 out of 25 gives you a 76. In the translation, 1 point is actually lost for the student. If that is not an issues in the big scheme of things, then you are perfectly fine. You have to decide if you want to stretch it out to a decimal point or not.

Deb S

[larry kremis]

I was told there would be no math.

[SeaRain]

Who told you that? Let me at 'em.

[Deb S]

LARRY,

There is math all around you. You bought new shoes and math had to be used to add the tax and to give you change. Since we are a base 10 society, money is a great way to teach math!!!!!

Aren't you on fire for math now?

Deb S

[darroll]

I post the number correct over the number possible for each assignment & exam. I also color code and use separate pages in my grade book so that I can easily discern what kind of evaluation I am looking at.
End of term, I total the actual number of points possible and then total the points earned and divide (points possible into points earned i.e. 18 by 19) for %’s.
Then I weigh exams and assignments to derive a grade. (homework % value is ¼ of the total, class work % is ¼ and exams % are worth ½ of the final grade. 100-95 =A, 94-85 =B, 84-70 =C anything less than a 70 and you need to repeat the class or grade.
If you are working with a true rubric then percentages and multiplying this and that are not an appropriate way to evaluate. There should be descriptors that denote a completed level of achievement and the numerical value that accompanies it, use them. The final placement is a bit subjective but I look for the level (by description and numeric value) that was achieved the majority of the time, as well as, whether over the course of the term the level of work improved (to give a iffy rating the higher or lower evaluation). I then assign the evaluation (which should be a narrative), accordingly. True rubrics were not designed to be used with the standard letter grade system (at least not in the schools or training I came from).
Mrs. Cyn

[SeaRain]

The rubric they gave me doesn't fit the assignment;

Since this works, it will have to do.

Thanks.

[Deb S]

Do you have the option to change the rubric in the future?

There are some good sites out there until you get used to making your own rubrics.

Here is one:
http://www.rubistar.com/

Darroll is right in a sense about the rubrics; however, that is not what you were asking. I actually answered the question you were asking. Your thinking was correct. You are stuck with the rubric you were given. That happens in life. Use it because you have to. You have to equate it to a 25 point scale, so you are doing what you have to do under the given circumstances.

Rubrics are used all of the time in education and equated to a standard percentage rating scale. It may not be right according to some schools of thought, but it is a reality as people are getting used to using them as an alternative method of evaluation.

You can go to the school of rubrics later. Right now, you have to get your stuff graded.

Deb S

[Bull]

Change the system

[SeaRain]

OK. New subject. Students are Medical transcriptionists. They can get a job where they get paid by the hour. If they work from home they may get paid by the line. So this is the math problem:

what the formula is to figure out how many words per minute needed to be typed to figure out a rough hourly wage? Kind of like I can type around 50 words per minute factoring in research time and proofing if I get paid $0.08 for a 65 character line how much would that be per hour? How many lines would I need to type to make $10 per hour?

Thanks. That would be great information.