Generate a Spreadsheet that Computes Your Final Numeric Grade for this Class

Course Elements and Final Course Grade

Use the weighted grade distribution located in the assessment section of the syllabus You should have a cell for the 3 monthly tests, quizzes and the final.

Then generate a formula cell that computes the final course grade based on the grades of the tests and the assignments. You may presume that you will get between a 90 and 100 for your portfolio. Now obviously you don't have a finals grade or a grade yet for all your tests or your other assignments due later. This is where a spreadsheet's What-If? analysis capability comes to bear. Let's use the spreadsheet to project a final grade based on making an A,B, or C on the final. So your spread sheet should have the following elements:

Your name and the class name in the topmost left cell.

A title column that labels each of the course elements and the final course grade. Three columns of grades computing the course grade for a finals grade of 95 (we can dream can't we?), 85, and 75. Again you can put a grade of 90 - 100 for the portfolio.

Put a zero in for portfolio and watch the final grade change! For any grade that you already have for tests and quizzes, please use that actual grade. For any test you do not have the grade for, project a realistic grade for that test/quiz. Note that it's faster to create the 95 column, then copy that column into the 85 and 75 columns than to enter all that data by hand. Finally you'll need a formula to compute the course grade. This is called a weighted average. If you've never done one before then take a read of Dr. Math's weighted average column. Specifically he has a section on computing course grades. Again you should compute the formula for the 95 column, then copy it over for the 85 and 75 column. Cut and paste is your friend. Pay attention to how the relative cell references change when you cut and paste the column with the formula in it.

A suggestion when testing your formula is to assign every grade with a 100. If your formula is correct then the computed final grade will also be a 100. If it's not, then you need to adjust your formula. I use this technique when computing grades at the end of the semester.

Finally you have to turn in some items. Specifically:

The actual completed spreadsheet. This is the file with the xls extension that you save.

A PDF of the completed spreadsheet. You want to know how to do this because you don't necessarily want to send a editable spreadsheet to someone if it's complete. A interesting one. The PDF doesn't show the formulas in the cells. Mr. Excel shows a technique for displaying the actual formulas in their cells instead of their computed values. Show the formulas, then print a PDF of the spreadsheet with formulas instead of the computed values.