Tools for Grading
I've never tried VISTA, so these tools may all exist there and I wouldn't know. I just enjoy doing stuff with spreadsheets.
Technique for automatically dropping 0 to 4 low grades
Spreadsheets for students to keep track of grades Look at the syllabus associated with each spreadsheet. The grading rubric and the discussion about point values for labs and the lab final are really necessary for the spreadsheet to make sense. The second worksheet (Factors) in each spreadsheet contains the constants that provide the point values for each test and assignment.
Example with tests, homework, labs, and final - Syllabus
Example with tests, homework, and final - Syllabus
There are probably better ways to do this, but I put these up as food for thought.
Some science and math faculty members think that this is something that students should take responsibility for, and I do not disagree. I provide these only for non-science and non-math majors.