Department of Economics
Winter 2024
Midterm 1 Partial Credit
Description:
This is an optional partial credit assignment. You will receive additional points that will be applied to your midterm grade at the end of the quarter. These extra points will not show up in your grade posted on Canvas but will be included in your final grade. The extra points will be applied as a fraction points missed on your midterm 1 exam (up to 50 percent of missed points for very well done assignments).
Please follow the directions carefully. Because this assignment is optional, submissions that do not meet all of the requirements will not receive any credit.
1. For each question on Midterm 1 that you got wrong, provide a clear written explanation of each of the following, in detail: (This document can be typed or handwritten and scanned but must be submitted as a single PDF.)- What you did wrong (this must match the work that you turned in with the exam)
- Why you did it wrong
- How to solve the problem correctly
- What you learned from this exercise that will help you remember how to solve this type of problem correctly in the future.
2. Submit a video of yourself teaching the viewer how to solve (in detail) each question you got wrong. (You can record a video directly in Canvas from the media tab on the assignment, or upload a pre-recorded video. Be aware that Canvas limits the maximum file size that you can upload to 500MB).
3. Propose a transformation of the exam score variable that has the following properties:
- Your transformation (weakly) preserves the rank ordering of exam scores
- Your transformation still has a maximum score of 50 and a minimum score of 0
- Your transformation has a smaller variance than the original variable
Use Stata to show that your transformation has these properties. A Stata data set with a simulated sample of exam scores that match the Midterm 1 mean and variance is posted on Canvas for you to use. A .do file with the commands I used to make the data set is also posted. These commands may help you. Explain why you think your transformation would be the best way to adjust the exam scores (make sure to explain what “best” means to you). There is no single correct answer to this question, but you will be graded on the quality of your explanation. Include your transformation, explanation, and the Stata output that proves the transformation has the desired properties in the same PDF as for part 1.
Successful extra credit submissions will include one PDF (parts 1 and 3 as well as photos/scans of the relevant pages of your original exam) and one video (part 2). Incomplete submissions or submissions that do not follow these instructions will not be considered. Note: in Canvas you will need to submit the PDF and video as two separate attempts. The order in which you submit them does not matter, but you will not be able to view the first attempt after the second attempt is submitted (you can view the first to make sure it worked before you post the second attempt). Don’t worry about this--I will be able to see both of them.
This assignment is due no later than 2/18 at 11:59pm PST. Late submissions will not be accepted.
You must work independently on all parts of this assignment, but you can ask the professor or TAs for help with the midterm material in office hours.