Intellectual History Evaluation Rubric (Spring Semester, Second Year)

The overall class goals and requirements are:

• Become acquainted with some of history’s most eminent thinkers.
• Understand each thinker on his own terms.
• Place authors in the centuries-long controversy and dialogue of great ideas.
• Engage personally and thoughtfully in this Great Conversation.

Additional aims are:

• Grasp historical patterns in the development of thought.
• Evaluate the connection of each author to eternal concerns.
• Understand the effects of the Incarnation on intellectual history.
• Be able to write clearly and coherently in reaction to your reading.
• Make regular thoughtful comments about your reading.

The overall class grade depends on class participation (40%), the final (40%), and the midterm (20%). Each of these three items is graded as a percentage.

Grade interpretation follows traditional 4.0 formula of (percentage-55)/10 :
80 B, incomplete mastery of subject, notable opportunities to improve
90 weak A, substantial subject mastery, strong but not first among peers
100 solid A, complete subject mastery, 90th percentile among peers
70 C, no mastery of subject, many distinct opportunities to improve
60 D, poor work with some evidence of personal engagement
50- F, failure to perform assignment
110+ excellence clearly beyond grade level (A+ work)

“A” is anything beyond 95%, while “B” or “C” is anything around 85% or 75%.
The lowest “A-” is 90%, the lowest “B-” is 80%, and the lowest “C-” is 70%.

The midterm and final will be composed of a mix of objective and subjective questions. The objectives have some multiple-choice and true/false questions. The bulk of the objective test is a large number of identifications (or “ID’s”) in which the student must recognize a short “proverb” taken from the readings, and identify the work, the speaker, and the meaning in context. There is also a set of mini-essay topics, to be written on in class, from which the student picks a limited number to write on. (These topics are posted in advance of the midterm, and the students chose 3-5 of them to write on.) On the first year’s final, the point mix was 25 for M/C and 152 for ID’s.

Class participation is measured subjectively by the instructor and reflects both in-person and on-line activities. The on-line activities are also examined as to the number and size of posts.

• In a 100% performance, the student has directed thoughtful, relevant, cogent comments to the proposed class topics and to the other students, and has occasionally created topics.
• A 90% performance is similar, but with less consistency.
• In an 80% performance, the comments show less thoughtfulness or engagement.
• A performance of 70% or less is one in which the student has been absent from the discussion (either physically or mentally) for long periods of time.

This grading is not to be calibrated to a classroom curve. Because of our small student body, evaluation should be relative to peers at comparable college preparatory schools, not just within the student’s own class. In classes with students of excellent natural ability, or where there is flexibility to continue teaching until students gain mastery, there may be a preponderance of “A” and “B” grades.

When considering a student’s grasp of a subject, allowance should also be made for the difficulty of the material. A grade of “A” denotes mastery of a standard college preparatory subject, but may also be given when the student attains a vigorous and detailed engagement with more advanced studies in which mastery is not practical. A grade of “B” denotes reasonable but imperfect mastery of standard college preparatory subjects, or intelligent but passive engagement with more difficult studies. A “C” letter grade may be given to students who participate, but with only partial understanding or success.


Common paper markings used by Mr. Rose:
awk awkward word choice or expression
DD ding-dong: awkwardly repeated word produces a clanging sensation
order word order: Strunk and White, III.18, “emphatic words at end”
red redundant: Strunk and White, III.13, “omit needless words”
run run-on: too many thoughts in one sentence; break up and reorganize
weak word or phrase is unspecific, euphemistic, diffuse, or hackneyed
WW wrong word: meaning is mismatched to metaphor or intended idea
x (in circle) crossed out misplaced element, such as comma
“...” quoted words are suggested alternatives