As outlined in the Syllabus, I give three Tests and one Final Exam. I find that students in Calculus I are often surprised by my style of testing, so I usually use something like the following weights:
Thus, in-class tests contribute 60% to the students overall grade for Calculus I.
In addition to these tests and the final exam, I give a Quiz (to make sure that students have minimal prerequisite skills), two Benchmark (or Gateway) tests, and at least two projects. In this way the student’s course grade is based on multiple forms of assessment. .
Quiz:
I announce the Quiz on the first day of class, and usually give it on the third day – in time for a student who is underprepared for the course to change her/his registration during the Add/Drop period. This quiz covers very minimal prerequisite skills.
Benchmark 1:
This is given at or just before midterm. It covers the prerequisite skills (again) and symbolic computation of simple derivatives (those that are covered in Sections 2.3 and 2.4 of the text).
Benchmark 2:
This is given at the end of the semester, and covers difference quotients and symbolic computation of derivatives (up through the end of Chapter 5).