s/o: How organized were classes in your high school?

[Amy in NH]

Public school, mid to late 1980s:

No syllabus for any class, didn't learn the word until college.

No rubrics until college, novel concept.

There was a student handbook which included a grading scale for the whole school. I think there was one English class where we had a written assignment grading scale.

I remember a course list, but no descriptions. All high schools now have program books with course descriptions available online.

[SparklyUnicorn]

We didn't have a syllabus, but I never felt like the classes were disorganized.

 

 

[QueenCat]

We had syllabi in high school in the early '80s. They varied in detail but almost always said something like "subject to change at the teacher's discretion". Our parents weren't notified of changes, etc. They only saw the syllabus if their child showed it to them or they showed up for the open house at the beginning of the year.

[mom2scouts]

I don't think I ever saw a syllabus until I got to college. In high school, we showed up to class, had the lesson, got the homework for the day, and were given a few days notice for tests.

[catz]

I would say it varied.  Sometimes expectations and a syllabus were provided and were very clear.  Sometimes less so.  I don't specifically remember having teachers who threw out random things.  I always felt like I knew what was coming.

 

In the case of band and choir (I participated in both at different times in high school), everyone knew that was a performance class and performing was part of your grade.  Dates weren't always set ahead of time and exceptions were given for special circumstances (funeral, pre-planned family travel when school wasn't in session, etc) but was definitely the expectation. 

[MEmama]

I don't think I ever saw a syllabus until I got to college. In high school, we showed up to class, had the lesson, got the homework for the day, and were given a few days notice for tests.

Yup. Big public high school in California, late 1980's.

 

Actually the idea of telling kids their homework is only worth 10%, say, seems like just asking them to slack off. Who would bother if they knew it wouldn't make a difference? I think the whole idea of focussing on one arbitrary aspect or another for grading is disingenuous to actual learning.

 

We used to get extra credit in biology for bringing our teacher scorpions in a jar. Why, I have no idea but I'm certain my grade improved as a result. And in history one year we got extra credit for bringing in bed springs--our teacher made chainmail for his outfits for Ren festivals.

[Bluegoat]

We had syllabi in high school in the early '80s. They varied in detail but almost always said something like "subject to change at the teacher's discretion". Our parents weren't notified of changes, etc. They only saw the syllabus if their child showed it to them or they showed up for the open house at the beginning of the year.

 

Yes, I don't know if this was ever written down, but the teachers always seemed free to change their plans, and it happened from time to time.  Either they decided something wasn't going to work, or had a better idea, or the class was better suited to some other plan.

 

I don't find it that odd, really, that's how I teach in my homeschool. 

[SKL]

As I recall, it was pretty predictable, although I don't recall them using the word "syllabus."  For example, my biology teacher handled each chapter exactly the same way.  Read the chapter, outline it, copy the diagrams, etc.  The projects were known well in advance, and we got a list of exactly what had to be included.  We got study guides for at least some of the tests (the final for sure).  Only the early labs were somewhat unpredictable as they involved showing us what the equipment was and how to use it.  Similarly, the Spanish teacher always taught each chapter in the same predictable way.

 

Math went systematically through each chapter by the book.  Only question was whether they would assign the even or odd problems.

 

English again followed a similar pattern with each unit.  We may have skipped some of the readings in the lit book, may not have known on day one all the books we were going to read, but I can't say I ever felt surprised by the goings-on there.

 

This was why I wasn't afraid to skip classes in high school.  I knew exactly what I was "missing" and may have already done that work anyway.  :P

[PeachyDoodle]

We didn't have a syllabus, but I never felt like the classes were disorganized.

 

No, I didn't either. And many of the things mentioned here as listed on a syllabus (attendance policy, whether food was allowed, etc.) were school-wide policies that didn't need to be reiterated in every class unless something major came up. We did have to read and sign a copy of the school handbook every year.

 

It was pretty much a given that big-ticket items like major papers, tests, and projects were going to count for a significant portion of your final grade. Probably the teacher would have been talking about those major assignments from early in the semester. But I don't remember ever being told that a test was 25% versus a homework assignment at 10%. We did usually get a rubric on major projects and papers -- e.g., so many points for turning in your outline, so many for grammar and spelling, etc. And there was plenty of advance notice for those, and for tests and such, but the dates weren't scheduled in advance.

 

That's why I was surprised when so many people said they would have expected the band's graduation requirement to have been announced at the beginning of the semester. In my experience, a few weeks' notice would have been more than sufficient.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I don't remember seeing a syllabus until college. Dd has received a syllabus for every high school class she has attended. Some have been more detailed than others. The online grade book had a bunch of information on how much each type of assessment is worth, but not every teacher puts every grading opportunity (assignment/quiz/test) in the grade book ahead of time.

 

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[Library Momma]

Public High School in the 80's - I had a syllabus in almost every class and for the AP classes they were more detailed and needed to be signed and returned.  What I never had and never even saw until my children were in school was a study guide.  When I was in school you would study from your notes, there were no supplementary guides from the teachers.  Some teachers would constantly stress how important lecture notes would be when you got to college.

[lllll]

nm

Edited May 18, 2017 by _ -_-

[Bootsie]

I graduated from high school in 1981.  I do not remember a syllabus for any high school classes.  A teacher might provide some type of outline our course information.  Most often the teacher discussed this the first day of class and wrote something about the grading system on the board that students were expected to write down in their notebooks.  That was long before the days a teacher could type something in a word processor and send it to the printer.  Anything would have been handwritten or typed on mimeograph paper.  There were no online or electronic syllabi either.

 

Even in college I do not think that all classes handed out a syllabus.  Some professors still discussed the class information the first day of class.  

[AmandaVT]

No syllabus until college. We did what the teachers told us to do. (I don't mean this as snarky- it's just how the course expectations were in all classes. )

 

 

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This was my school experience as well. I've been trying to remember how much advance notice we were given for band events. I don't think it was a lot - I mostly remember word of mouth, older students letting the younger ones know what was expected. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

No, I didn't either. And many of the things mentioned here as listed on a syllabus (attendance policy, whether food was allowed, etc.) were school-wide policies that didn't need to be reiterated in every class unless something major came up. We did have to read and sign a copy of the school handbook every year.

 

It was pretty much a given that big-ticket items like major papers, tests, and projects were going to count for a significant portion of your final grade. Probably the teacher would have been talking about those major assignments from early in the semester. But I don't remember ever being told that a test was 25% versus a homework assignment at 10%. We did usually get a rubric on major projects and papers -- e.g., so many points for turning in your outline, so many for grammar and spelling, etc. And there was plenty of advance notice for those, and for tests and such, but the dates weren't scheduled in advance.

 

That's why I was surprised when so many people said they would have expected the band's graduation requirement to have been announced at the beginning of the semester. In my experience, a few weeks' notice would have been more than sufficient.

 

Even a large number of syllabi I've received over the years only had a rehashing of school wide policies, the required book(s), and "maybe" test dates. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Never even heard the word until I got to college.

 

Public high school in the early 70's. We always knew what was expected because our teachers told us that. Or we just looked in the book and saw what was coming up next. I don't remember ever caring about how the grade was calculated. I just did the best I could and forgot about it. Although I seem to remember other kids in my classes who were fairly obsessed with their grades ... accelerated classes with plenty of competitive kids - I just wasn't one of the competitive kids.

I wonder if it depends somewhat on when you were in high school. I too was in high school in the 70's and there was no syllabus. We had high expectations. I was bored stiff in college.

[Cinder]

My boys graduated from a small private school--each class provided a syllabus outlining general requirements, expectations, grading. Ds2 was in drama class and they were told up front what the performance date would be and that there would be a couple weeks of after school rehearsals, but exact dates/times weren't given for the rehearsals until a couple weeks prior.

 

As to specific assignments for other classes: 9th-10th graders received theirs weekly, 11th graders received theirs monthly, 12th graders were given the whole semester's assignments on day one. It's the student's responsibility to hang on to the assignment sheets throughout the appropriate term (week/month/semester) and update them as directed by the teacher. The school also uses google classroom to communicate with the students, which seems to work really well. I've heard teachers even tell the students what times they will/won't check their school email/classroom chat board. Another thing I like about the school is that big assignments--projects, papers--get grading rubrics that are handed out when the assignment is given.

 

I went to high school in the dark ages so no syllabus, no gradebook access, assignments doled out daily (or as appropriate). There were only a couple classes I remember getting told at the beginning what to expect for the term: ceramics--we were told what techniques/projects we'd be doing; and speech--what types of speech presentations, how we could earn extra credit. Oh, and I remember being told our big English paper (senior year) would be weighted 4 times. Back then we didn't really have separate weights on daily homework vs tests/projects/papers so adding weight to specific assignments was how it was handled. My school did a big song festival each year and we were told freshman year that it would affect class schedules and that there would be a big performance that would take up many weekend and some after school hours. But I don't think such info was repeated each year as the festival was part of the school culture and, since it was a private school, only a handful of new students were admitted in 10th-12th grades.

[FaithManor]

My friend who teaches high school algebra 2 tames a photo of each and every student signing that they received his course syllabus/outline handouts on the first day of school. CYA. Too many parents and studentshe play the "we weren't told he would actually have to turn in assignments or take tests in order to pass the class" card. No he said, she said. Here is the photos of you 15 year old receiving the information and signing the receipt. If he or she does not read it, that is your issue not mine.

 

I am sure we will see more of this in the future. When I was in high school though, it was normal. My chem teacher even included study guides and helpful study hints in her small business all of which ended up being much appreciated by those of us who actually read the syllabus.

[zoobie]

Highly rated public high school, graduated in the early 1990s. We had printed syllabi for almost all classes. Things might not work exactly as planned, but we had a general idea. They also contained the grade breakdown: 10% homework, 20% final exam, etc. 

 

All of that seems to be online now? 

[Guest]

No syllabus for me.

Grades were solely based on exams except for PE and band, where performance mattered. No mid terms, yes finals but often if you had an A you were.excused.from the final.

 

Band performances were a major part of the grade. Dressing incorrectly for a performance or failing to attend meant a D. A D was not a passing grade back then.

 

PE had a quarterly exam over rules of the games. We would have to diagram court sizes, know plays, etc.

I'm impressed that y'all remember this stuff!  I'm old enough to have teenagers, and I remember that in high school we were told the value of our exams, homework, etc. as part of our total grade, but how that info was conveyed?  No idea.  Nor do I have any recollection of the first time I heard the word "syllabus".  I do, however, distinctly remember the *smell* of freshly mimeographed papers.

[JennyD]

I am always so amazed by people my age (45) who can remember details about their high school education.  Syllabi? I have no idea.  I vaguely recall taking math and I know that at some point I read Ethan Frome, Hamlet, and Macbeth.  Beyond that, I got nothing.

 

(ETA: posted at the same time at GGardner!)

 

 

Edited May 15, 2017 by JennyD

[brehon]

I don't recall ever having a syllabus in high school. Maybe in a couple of classes the teacher handed out a one page mimeographed sheet which specified percentages of grades (e.g., this paper will be worth X%, etc) and books we needed to buy/check out. (Obviously, the latter would be for English.) This includes the AP courses I took. No course descriptions at all.

 

I also sang in the choir all four years and the only thing I remember is a sheet listing the various UIL contests.

 

So, maybe proto-syllabi? Of course, my 30 year reunion will occur in a couple of years; so, my memory may be faulty [ ;) ] and/or things have changed.

 

ETA: I attended a medium-large PS.

Edited May 15, 2017 by brehon

[Tanaqui]

Actually the idea of telling kids their homework is only worth 10%, say, seems like just asking them to slack off. Who would bother if they knew it wouldn't make a difference? I think the whole idea of focusing on one arbitrary aspect or another for grading is disingenuous to actual learning.

 

Studies increasingly show that homework doesn't really improve test scores. The point of homework is supposed to aid retention, but if it doesn't do that, why should students have to do it?

 

[Bluegoat]

Studies increasingly show that homework doesn't really improve test scores. The point of homework is supposed to aid retention, but if it doesn't do that, why should students have to do it?

 

I'm not a fan of homework in elementary, but I hate to reduce school to test scores.

 

My dd12 has homework for the first time this year, as it's her first year of ps.  It's been good for her - it isn't an intrusive amount, but she's discovered that there are challenges to organizing her time outside of school and bad choices cause her problems later.  It's a good time to get some experience in this as next year she starts jr high and will have classes with different teachers and projects and such out of class. 

[MEmama]

Studies increasingly show that homework doesn't really improve test scores. The point of homework is supposed to aid retention, but if it doesn't do that, why should students have to do it?

Oh, my point wasn't really about homework. I'd rather have kids do their work in class and have non- school hours be free to pursue other interests or you know, just be kids. My point was making a Big Deal about what percentage each thing is worth when I would think if it's worth teaching it ought to be worth learning. If most kids know in advance that doing a certain project isn't worth many points, why would they do it?

 

I fully admit I am not going to make a good public school parent. ;)

[Slartibartfast]

I had a syllabus in my AP classes.

 

I was in band, it was based on performance, effort, attendance to games and contests, and our preparation for them.

[Slartibartfast]

Where is the band thread?

[MinivanMom]

I only had a syllabus for AP classes. It spelled out what we were going to cover to be prepared for the AP exams; I don't think grading policies were ever outlined. You turned in all your work and expected to get an end-of-course grade that was similar to the grades you got on the work. There was never any breakdown.

 

I dropped an elective class midway through my senior year (at the semester), and the teacher tried to give me a C. I went to the teacher to complain and was told that I got what I deserved for dropping the class. I then went straight to the principal to complain that the grade was in retaliation for dropping the elective since all of my graded work during the semester had been given A's. The principal went to the teacher, and the teacher claimed that I had failed to turn in several assignments which resulted in 0's that pulled down my grade. I produced the assignments (they were right there in the classroom ungraded), and the teacher was forced to adjust my grade back up to a B. I was ticked, but I had already gotten my college acceptances, and I was fortunate that the principal was willing to intervene to that extent. There was no grade breakdown and no transparency so what could anyone do? Lesson learned: wait until grades are in to drop any classes.

[PeachyDoodle]

Where is the band thread?

 

I'm not seeing it at the moment. It appears that it may have been removed.

[Word Nerd]

My DD has basic ones that list expectations and an overview of the class, grading policies, etc. and most require student and parent to sign off indicating that they read and understand them. They are definitely not intended to be taken as an absolute, unchangeable contract that may not be amended or added to by the teacher over the course of the class, which seems to be how some in the other thread perceive a class syllabus.

[Slartibartfast]

My DD has basic ones that list expectations and an overview of the class, grading policies, etc. and most require student and parent to sign off indicating that they read and understand them. They are definitely not intended to be taken as an absolute, unchangeable contract that may not be amended or added to by the teacher over the course of the class, which seems to be how some in the other thread perceive a class syllabus.

Even my college classes sometimes went off syllabus or the syllabus was amended. I think actually sticking to the syllabus that rigidly was more unusual than the reverse.

[vonfirmath]

I remember syllabi my senior year -- Maybe AP Calculus BC (my junior year -- the teacher had taught at the university before).  And the teachers making a big deal of reading these and keeping them because you'd be getting stuff like it in college and it was Very Important.

 

[vonfirmath]

Where is the band thread?

 

It went "Hidden" while I was reading it :(

[Guest]

Mediocre public high school. We had syllabi for many classes, and anything with unusual requirements like performances or field trips had it stated well ahead of time, complete with parent/student agreement forms that acted as permission slips.

[regentrude]

I did not attend school in the US.

I had never seen a "syllabus" before I started teaching at a university. Teachers taught, tests were announced roughly a week ahead of time, homework was given in class. Large projects might be announced at the beginning of the semester.

We never received any handouts in writing; copy machines were sparse and tightly controlled.

[regentrude]

Studies increasingly show that homework doesn't really improve test scores. The point of homework is supposed to aid retention, but if it doesn't do that, why should students have to do it?

 

What exactly is investigated in these studies? What age groups does it refer to? I can see this holding true for very young children  - but not as a generalization, and certainly not across all subjects. Also, what do "test scores" measure?

How well is homework designed? Is it busywork (as has been mostly my experience with hw given in school) or is it carefully designed to address precisely the concept the student is supposed to learn and practice (as has been my experience with HW in my kids' college classes)?

 

Nobody learns to play an instrument well from just attending the once weekly lesson with the teacher but not practicing at home.

In college, most of the work is done outside of class, and students who fail to do this work will not perform well. Almost all problem solving in math and physics happens during the homework; a student will not  master the concepts if he just observes the few lecture examples.

And nobody learns to write without writing at home; you can't compose and revise a thoughtful essay in a 50 minute class period.

Edited May 15, 2017 by regentrude

[I talk to the trees]

I graduated in 1991 from a public high school in a medium-sized county. We had a syllabus with the course objectives and grading policy for every class except 9th grade p.e./health. I am surprised by the number of "no syllabus" replies here!

[QueenCat]

I'm impressed that y'all remember this stuff!  I'm old enough to have teenagers, and I remember that in high school we were told the value of our exams, homework, etc. as part of our total grade, but how that info was conveyed?  No idea.  Nor do I have any recollection of the first time I heard the word "syllabus".  I do, however, distinctly remember the *smell* of freshly mimeographed papers.

 

My mom saved much of this stuff. I found boxes of it when recently helping them downsize. Report cards, some papers, a few syllabi. An odd mix of things. I was surprised at what she had kept.

[Bootsie]

Now I don't remember hearing the word rubric until college, it was actually in one of my education classes actually, the lesson was how to design a rubric lol.  I was like "what's a rubric"  And then when they passed out an example, I was like "OOOOohhhhhhh, that's what that's called!"  We usually got a rubric with the assignment. 

 

I didn't hear of using rubrics for grading papers until I had been teaching at the college level for a number of years.  I can see in some cases that grading rubrics are helpful.  However, I have concerns that students have become too dependent upon a rubric to give them structure for their work.  I have students who write one incomplete sentence on a discussion question that is worth 20% of an exam grade and complain when they receive a low grade that they didn't have a rubric so they didn't know they should have written more. 

[TrixieB]

I never saw a class syllabus until I went to college.  This was 30+ years ago, public school in a couple of different districts, and private school.  I asked dh and his answer is the same as mine.

 

 

[Lang Syne Boardie]

The unfairness of just working and doing whatever the teachers say and not knowing what was a throwaway assignment and what was actually, say, a quarter of your grade, would have made me go nuts. Like, I think I literally would have suffered mentally from that. 

 

Well, yes. The arbitrary, yet tedious and un-challenging culture of public school, and the capricious game of trying to earn public school approval (which seemed to be about people pleasing rather than about true merit), made me go nuts. I found out how to acquire the necessary credits to graduate early.

 

We would be told our grades, but not the weights of grades so that anyone keeping score at home could make choices...I never earned less than an A on anything that I bothered to complete. But it irked me to never know which were the least costly assignments to skip! So I went by mood. "Tibbie is a genius but she doesn't apply herself."

 

Journalism class was not arbitrary. Being a page editor for the high school newspaper was, necessarily, a job with parameters and deadlines. LOVED it. Finally, a chance to really learn. If something was wrong with my work, my teacher would appeal to the lessons she had dutifully taught, and the handbooks she had provided. This was worth my time and attention.

 

Honors English was fun, because of words, words, words. We were having a conversation there, genuinely learning - I didn't need to know anything about grades at all. But that's ONE class, ONE student, happy to be there for the sake of learning the subject from a teacher who cared about both student and subject...which is not the same as professionally and respectfully telling students what to expect so they have some power over their choices.

 

In Science classes, I really needed to know whether the leaf collection (exact copy of the very simple one I created in second grade) was really going to matter. Common sense would assume such a project would be less important, grade-wise, than the quarterly test, but common sense would be wrong. That dang leaf collection was worth 50% of the year long class's grade. (Guess who didn't do it?)

[lllll]

nm 

 

Edited May 18, 2017 by _ -_-

[Farrar]

Well, yes. The arbitrary, yet tedious and un-challenging culture of public school, and the capricious game of trying to earn public school approval (which seemed to be about people pleasing rather than about true merit), made me go nuts. I found out how to acquire the necessary credits to graduate early.

 

We would be told our grades, but not the weights of grades so that anyone keeping score at home could make choices...I never earned less than an A on anything that I bothered to complete. But it irked me to never know which were the least costly assignments to skip! So I went by mood. "Tibbie is a genius but she doesn't apply herself."

 

Journalism class was not arbitrary. Being a page editor for the high school newspaper was, necessarily, a job with parameters and deadlines. LOVED it. Finally, a chance to really learn. If something was wrong with my work, my teacher would appeal to the lessons she had dutifully taught, and the handbooks she had provided. This was worth my time and attention.

 

Honors English was fun, because of words, words, words. We were having a conversation there, genuinely learning - I didn't need to know anything about grades at all. But that's ONE class, ONE student, happy to be there for the sake of learning the subject from a teacher who cared about both student and subject...which is not the same as professionally and respectfully telling students what to expect so they have some power over their choices.

 

In Science classes, I really needed to know whether the leaf collection (exact copy of the very simple one I created in second grade) was really going to matter. Common sense would assume such a project would be less important, grade-wise, than the quarterly test, but common sense would be wrong. That dang leaf collection was worth 50% of the year long class's grade. (Guess who didn't do it?)

 

See, this doesn't reflect my public school experience at all. A leaf collection in a high school class?!? Um, no way. And there was no way I could ace everything. The valedictorian didn't ace everything and I was nowhere near that good at the game. My high school classes were, by and large, more difficult than my college ones. At the very least, high school was more difficult to manage because there were seven courses every day and college was only four and they weren't even every day - even if some of them had more work, there was more time to manage it. It was just so sane. And way less competitive.

 

I've been thinking about this whole thing... I can't imagine not giving a rubric at the start of a major assignment. I mean, even for a math test, you want to know which problems are worth 1 vs. 2 or 3 points or whatever. And I can't imagine not letting kids know where they stand. I know that ideally students will do all the work with joy and for the love of learning! But, let's be real. That can't happen across the board all the time, even in the best situation.

 

There was a children's song that dh and I used to make fun of all the time because it had all these lines about "I do my very best each day!" and dh and I were like, nope, I wouldn't even try to do my best all the time. How exhausting would that be?!? It's like, I don't cook Thanksgiving dinner every single night. Because it would be too time consuming, exhausting, and expensive. Some nights are for frozen pizza. And most nights are for something homemade, but not "my very best." And school is a bit like that too. But if you don't have the rubric, it's like you're cooking every day and no one tells you which day is Easter brunch with all the in-laws and which one is the meal you throw together the night everyone has soccer practice from 6-8. And how patently unfair is that!

 

I guess my point is... school can be cruddy. Clear rubrics and grading scales don't fix bad teaching, low standards, or misguided goals... but they're unbelievably simple to implement and they make a huge difference.

[kitten18]

My DD has basic ones that list expectations and an overview of the class, grading policies, etc. and most require student and parent to sign off indicating that they read and understand them. They are definitely not intended to be taken as an absolute, unchangeable contract that may not be amended or added to by the teacher over the course of the class, which seems to be how some in the other thread perceive a class syllabus.

I taught public school for many years. I would absolutely not have been allowed to add commitments (especially outside of school time) to a syllabus after the first day of class.

[Farrar]

I taught public school for many years. I would absolutely not have been allowed to add commitments (especially outside of school time) to a syllabus after the first day of class.

 

I've also taught public school before. I can't imagine not having the flexibility to change assignments after the first day of school. Like, you couldn't decide that the class wasn't prepared to do one project and assign a different one several months later? You couldn't decide the class needed to skip homework one week, but needed an extra review on another in the spring, more than half a year after the syllabus?

 

There's got to be a good middle ground between giving rubrics, informing kids of where they stand, and staying flexible enough to actually teach and not just be a... static video course or something.

Edited May 16, 2017 by Farrar

[scoutingmom]

I did my best on all the assignments and tests. And to the comment that the students competing for awards would need to know what things were worth to make decisions.... um, those kids were in my class and they did their best o every assignment or test.

 

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[scoutingmom]

In one of my post-secondary classes (Ethics), the students were asked how we wanted the grades to work. My year picked Pass/Fail, and I think we decided on 1 written essay, with an optional make-up assignment.

 

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[Jean in Newcastle]

I don't know if it was a different time or culture, but the idea that we could pick and choose assignments based on whether they were "worth it" is inconceivable to me. And I don't know anyone in my class back then who didn't do their best on all assignments. That didn't mean that we all got perfect grades but we did what we could.

 

 

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[brehon]

Jean, I had the same experience as you with regard to school assignments. We did what the teacher assigned and did not choose based on perceived worth.

 

I suppose some of my teachers had a grading rubric they used, but I don't recall ever seeing one. Usually, I think, they told us things like make sure to have X number of citations and the paper must be Y words or pages. Although I'm sure my math teachers gave partial credit for work shown, they didn't assign total points to the individual questions beyond the standard each question was worth X points out of 100. I never saw that until university and it surprised me that professors assigned different point values to different problems.