Grading¶
One hundred points. Sixty from three team projects, forty from an individual exam.
The split is the point. Sixty points reward what you can build with other people, which is how the work actually happens once you leave. Forty reward what you understand alone, which no team can carry for you.
The projects¶
Each block ends with one. Each is worth twenty points, graded against a rubric published before the project opens.
Full specifications are on the projects pages.
How a project is graded¶
| Criterion | Points | What earns them |
|---|---|---|
| Method | 8 | Correct splitting, no leakage, evaluation that fits the problem |
| Execution | 5 | The code runs, the pipeline is reproducible, results are what you claim |
| Communication | 4 | A README and report a stranger can follow, limitations named |
| Craft | 3 | Repo conventions, commit history, code someone else can read |
Where points are actually lost
Almost never on modelling. They go on a leaked feature, a repo that will not clone and run, a conclusion the measured variance does not support, and a README written at midnight. Three of those four are settled before you write a line of model code.
Each criterion is split into bands on the rubrics page, so you can see what separates seven points from five before you start. How a team grade becomes your grade, and how work is handed in, are on the rubrics and submission pages.
The final exam¶
Forty points, individual, closed book except for one page of notes you write yourself.
| Part | Points | What it asks |
|---|---|---|
| A · Concepts | 15 | Short answers about why, not what. "Your CV score is 0.91 and your test score is 0.62. Give three plausible causes." |
| B · Code reading | 15 | You are given a pipeline. Find what is wrong with it and explain the consequence. |
| C · Judgement | 10 | A scenario. Choose a metric, a split, and a baseline, and defend all three. |
Nothing on the exam asks you to recall a formula. It tests whether you can diagnose, choose, and justify, which is what the projects spend fourteen weeks training.
How to prepare
Reread your own project logs. Most exam questions resemble something that went wrong in one of your three projects.
A little extra¶
Work that clearly goes beyond a brief can earn a small bonus: an extension done properly, something built that helps the whole class, a real error found in these materials, or help given to other teams that they credit. Bonuses are modest and at my discretion, they are never needed for full marks, and the total is still capped at 100.
Grades¶
| Points | Grade |
|---|---|
| 95 to 100 | 10 |
| 85 to 94 | 9 |
| 75 to 84 | 8 |
| 65 to 74 | 7 |
| 55 to 64 | 6 |
| 45 to 54 | 5 |
| Below 45 | 4 (fail) |
Passing needs both halves
You need 45 points overall and at least 15 of the 40 exam points. A team cannot carry you to a pass. This is the one place where the individual component is a gate rather than a weight.
Team formation, peer review, and deadlines are set out in each project brief when the project opens. See also the rubrics and how to submit.
Next: Week 1