P113 Fall 2003 - Exam 1 Distribution

Overall mathematical average for students taking exam = 73/100

P1=9/10, P2=9/10, P3=7/10, P4=7/10, P5=9/10, P6=9/10, P7=8/12, P8=9/13, P9=5/15

Overall, the class as a whole did quite well on this exam!   Great job!  The distribution is fairly narrow and peaked higher than I normally see on the first exam.  The low tail is less pronounced than I often see.   If the distribution stays this much better than I normally see, your class will force me to change my grading curve in order to give a higher percentage of higher grades.   That would be cool.  At any rate, I typically set a B at roughly the numerical average, sometimes adjusting for a low tail.  In this case, the tail is not so pronouced, so think of a B at 73.  I don't waste time fretting over where all the other grade lines are drawn for term exams.  You can see from the distribution how you are doing.  If you did well, keep doing what you have been doing.  Don't let up though.  We start going a bit faster and hitting material which is a bit harder to visualize before long.  If you didn't do as well as you would have liked, look over the exam and your study techniques.  I have put some tips on the web that might help you in this evaluation.  I'm also available to chat about it with you.  Bear in mind that this stuff starts to work for different people at different stages.  But, since it builds on the early material, you want to try to get it to click in as early as possible.   Now is the time to evaluate how you approach the course and make whatever changes seem appropriate.  I can't help you much if you come in just before the final exam telling me you ditched most of the problem sets and workshops.