The grading scheme for this course follows closely with that of other academic courses and departments. It is as follows:
A+ 90-100%
A 85-89%
A- 80-84%
B+ 77-79%
B 73-76%
B- 70-72%
C+ 67-69%
C 64-66%
C- 60-63%
D 50-59%
F 0-49%
You might have heard anecdotally or from other courses that oftentimes a course average of 76-78% is aimed for when grading. I don’t really follow that line of thinking, as I think it’s difficult to determine an average when each class, and each student in that class, has different strengths and is coming from different places.
I also like to grade based on individual improvement. I don’t compare one student’s paper to the rest of the student’s papers. I compare each student’s work to the work they have already submitted in the course. So, an 80% might not mean the same from one student to the next. The goal is to have your grades get better and better from assignment to assignment.