How Exams Work

Distance Calculus uses a Mastery Learning format. There are no multiple-choice exams, no surprise topics, and no scantrons. Every piece of work you submit is real mathematics, graded by a human, with the goal of confirming what you actually know.

The full course assessment is intentionally multi-modal - we don't make a single high-stakes exam carry the entire grade. Several different evaluation tools each check a different facet of your understanding, and your earned letter grade reflects the combined picture.

Homework Assignments (the Foundation)

Homework is the largest part of your course experience and the prerequisite for any final exam.

• You submit homework electronically through the course software (LiveMath or Mathematica).
• An instructor or teaching assistant marks up your submission with detailed feedback.
• You revise and resubmit. Under Mastery Learning, this cycle repeats as many times as it takes - typically 2 to 6 rounds per assignment - until the notebook is genuinely complete at 100%.
• Each assignment ends at one mark: "C" = Complete. There is no "78" or "B+" on a notebook.

You must drive every assignment in the course to "C" before you are eligible to begin the final exam sequence. There is no credit-by-examination path: the only way to the finals is through the homework.

The Final Exam Sequence

After all homework is Complete, your earned letter grade is determined by some combination of the following, depending on the grade you're aiming for:

1. Proctored Final Exam (required for every passing grade)

• Live, over video call, with your Course Professor or Teaching Assistant.
• Under exam conditions; no notes, no software, no chatbot, no outside help.
• Pass at 70% or higher to earn any passing letter grade.
• May include a brief oral exam of 1-3 problems to confirm academic honesty across the entire course engagement.
• This is intentionally the easiest of the final exams; the take-home exams below are harder.

2. Take-Home Final Exams (required for B and A grades)

• Open for 48 hours so you can fit them around work and family schedules; actual engagement time is typically 4-8 hours.
• Completed independently under the honor system, with computer-algebra software permitted just as in homework.
• Not graded recursively - submitted once, scored once.
• B-Level Take-Home unlocks B-grade evaluation (passing at 70%) and the door to A-grade evaluation (passing at 85%+).
• A-Level Take-Home is required for A-grade students, also at 85%+ to pass.
• Exam engagement may be screen-recorded and submitted for instructor review.

3. Video Portfolio (required for A grade)

• You screen-record solutions to 2-5 assigned problems, narrating your reasoning.
• The closest analog to "come to the board and work this problem" that you'd encounter in a classroom course.
• Specifically required for A-grade students; serves as a final mastery demonstration.

Quick Grade Map

See the Grade Policy page for the full rules, and How Distance Calculus Courses Work for the broader course flow that leads up to the final exam sequence.

Start Your Enrollment Application

Distance Calculus - Student Reviews