Class Policies

Objectives

• To be a well-rounded individual and function in a highly complex society, a general knowledge of science is a must. So you as a student and I as a teacher have a common goal — for you to learn, to the best of your abilities, the material that I will present.
• Students will be able to apply the concepts of physics and the methods of analysis discussed in class to…
  • solve problems
  • discuss experimental observations
  • explain the workings of phenomena or devices
• using…
  • reasoning
  • mathematics
  • written expression
• both…
  • individually and
  • in groups

Supplies

• Bring the following items to class every day:
  • pen and #2 pencil with eraser
  • binder or notebook with dedicated space for keeping notes and classwork
  • scientific or graphing calculator (TI–83/84 recommended)
  • reference table
• Bring the following items to class when requested:
  • centimeter ruler
  • protractor

Restrictions

• Students will not…
  • share material (pencils, erasers, calculators, reference tables, rulers, protractors, etc.) while a quiz or test is in progress
  • engage in fraud or plagiarism
  • play games on a graphing calculator, laptop, tablet, or mobile phone during class time
  • act in an unsafe manner
  • violate any other rules of Midwood High School or the NYC DOE

Homework & Classwork

• Students are expected to attempt all homework and classwork problems and be prepared to…
  • write the solution to any problem on the blackboard at anytime or
  • submit the solution to any problem in writing at the beginning of class or
  • submit the solution to any problem in writing in class when time is called or
  • submit the answers to a group of problems online through Google Survey.
• Individual students are selected at random, but students with fewer points are more likely to be selected than those with more.
• When classwork is done in groups, the group will submit a solution and every student in that group will receive the same number of points for that solution. All groups are expected to attempt a solution to the problem assigned and all students are expected to contribute something to this solution.
• Typical homework and classwork problems are worth 2 points per part. Scoring is similar to that found on a Regents examination free response question.
  0. nothing correct
  1. something significant correct (typically an equation and substitution of values with units)
  2. completely error free
• Homework and classwork points accumulate throughout the semester. Class participation grades are then calculated so that…
  • the students with the most points will receive full credit
  • the students with no points will receive no credit (unless you never attend class, this will not happen)
  • everyone else will receive the appropriate fraction of full credit
• There will be several hundred points of homework and classwork by the end of the semester.

Quizzes

• Unless otherwise notified, expect to have a quiz every week.
• Typical quizzes contain one or two problems broken into four or five parts printed on a single piece of paper and last 20 minutes. Partial credit may be awarded for solutions that are partially correct.
• If you are absent on the day of a quiz, missing it will have no effect on your grade. Makeup quizzes will be made available for most, but not all, quizzes. They must be taken the day you return to school after an absence. Students who receive a failing grade on a quiz (<65%) may also take a makeup. This must be taken on the day the graded quiz is returned. In the event that the makeup grade is lower than the original grade, the original grade will stand.
• There will be at least 12 quizzes each semester.

Tests

• Unit tests will be given roughly every 15 school days on the most appropriate Tuesday and will be announced in advance.
• Tests typically contain 25 multiple choice questions and last one period. Questions are taken from publicly available Regents exams. Answers are entered on machine scoreable forms that require a #2 pencil or a dark black pen. (I will not provide pencils or pens.) Erase incorrect answers completely. (I will not provide erasers.) You may not reverse an incorrect answer by crossing it out or using white out. It is highly suggested that you indicate your selections first on the question sheet and then transfer them to the answer sheet in the last 10–15 minutes of a period.
• If you are absent on the day of a test, missing it will have no effect on your grade. Makeup tests will be made available for most, but not all, tests. They must be taken the day you return to school after an absence. Students who receive a failing grade on a test (<65%) may also take a makeup. This must be taken on the day the graded test is returned. In the event that the makeup grade is lower than the original grade, the original grade will stand.
• There will be at least 5 unit tests of equal weight each semester.

Labs & Projects

• The laboratory portion of this class is taught by a different teacher (Mr. Spergel or Mr. Machado) and is indicated on each student's program by a separate course code (SP1L in the fall and SP2L in the spring). The laboratory teacher will keep records of the number of minutes spent working on laboratory activities.
• Pursuant to Section 207 of the Education Law and Section 8.2(c) of the Rules of the Board of Regents, all students taking the Regents exam in physics "must have successfully completed a minimum of 1,200 minutes of hands-on laboratory experience with satisfactory laboratory reports on file". Failure to meet these requirements will result in the student being barred from the Regents Exam in June.
• Department policies require students to write at least one formal lab report or to complete at least one project each marking period. Guidelines for writing formal lab reports can be found on a separate web page. Project instructions will be will be given in class and mirrored on the class website. Formal lab reports and projects are broken into multiple graded assignments.
• There will be at least 9 lab and project assignments each semester.

Grades

• Grades are cumulative from the first day of class to the last instructional day of the semester. First and second marking period grades are simply moments in the term when student grades are formally reported.
• Progress reports are emailed to students every 1–3 weeks. Parents and legal guardians may also request to be notified.
• Tentative grades are based on:
  • 25% – average of all quizzes taken
  • 35% – average of all tests taken
  • 15% – average of all lab reports and projects graded
  • 15% – final relative homework grade
  • 10% – final relative classwork grade
• Final grades are based on:
  • 25% – average of the best 9 quizzes
  • 35% – average of the best 4 tests
  • 15% – average of the best 7 lab report and project grades
  • 15% – final relative homework grade
  • 10% – final relative classwork grade
• First marking period grades are divided as follows:
  • 90–100 Excellent
  • 80–089 Good
  • 70–079 Satisfactory
  • 65–069 Needs Improvement
  • 00–064 Unsatisfactory
• Second marking period and final semester grades are divided as follows:
  • there are no grades over 100%
  • grades above 90% are rounded to the nearest whole number
  • grades below 90% are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5% (a grade of 88% is also allowed)
  • there are no grades below 45%
  • a final grade of 65% or higher is considered passing
• Only the best grades from test, quizzes, and projects are used to compute your final grade. The more quiz and test grades you have available at the end of the year, the more chances you have for a higher grade. Your grade will never be lowered by an absence, but it will also never be raised by an absence. Classwork points are accumulated by being in class and doing work. An absence (for whatever reason) makes it impossible to accumulate points through classwork and will require doing additional homework to catch up. In the long run, there is no mathematical benefit to being absent.
• Grades are computed from numerical measures of performance and not negotiable.
• All students are expected to take the Regents Exam in June.

HW 0

• After you have read these policies, enter your contact info into this form. If you have multiple email accounts, please select an account you check regularly. Notify me in a timely fashion if you wish to change your preferred email address. The contact info you provide will only be used by teachers and school administrators at Midwood. We will not share your email address or phone number with anyone else without your permission.
• Add my email address (elert@midwoodscience.org) or download my vCard directly to your contact list or address book so that your email service does not confuse mass emails from me with spam sent from a zombie computer.
• Completion of this assignment counts as your first 10 homework points.