CS 14 - Programming Point System

CS 14 Programming Point System

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Lecture Schedule

To encourage more freedom and interest on the part of you, the students, we have decided to depart from the traditional method of having specific assignments due at specific dates. For this course, you can pick which assignments you want to do from the available assignment pool, and turn them in when you have completed them.

Of course, assignments that would normally be assigned earlier in the quarter will be much easier if you wait until the end of the quarter to complete them, and the reverse is also true. To encourage early work and discourage procrastination, we have set upon the following system:

We have a pool of 10 assignments, listed here. Most of these are of roughly the same difficultly (20 points), a few are harder (30 points). The possible point values are posted at the top of each assignment.
Each assignment has a "target date" specified, which is roughly when we feel you have the required knowledge to complete the assignment as stated. For every half-week early you submit the assignment, the possible point value for it goes up by 10%. For every half-week late the assignment is submitted, the possible point value goes down by 10%. Thus, a regular 20 point assignment done 2 half-weeks early is worth 24 points (20 + 2 + 2), and a 30 point assignment done 3 half-weeks late is worth 21 points (30 - 3 - 3 - 3).
Lab scores also contribute to this pool. Note that lab attendance is the easiest method of acquiring points: a dilligent CS 14 student should be able to aquire about 2 points / hour on home programming projects, while a 3 hour lab is worth 10 points for that same student. Also note that since lab material may not be covered in lecture and will appear on tests and quizzes, lab attendance is necessary.
A perfect "point score" corresponds to the collection of 200 programming points. An A- score is 180 points, a B- is 160, and so on. Since points can be easily accumulated from the very beginning of the course, you should try to gather at least 40 points per week.