I am concerned about the students who are not attending. Not necessarily that they are not attending, just that I have nothing on which to base their abilities on yet.
When I set the mock coursework I deliberately didn't release the answers. Partly this will stop the "answers in the back of the book" mentality and partly this was to make sure they come to me in class and I get a sense of how well the group are able to cope prior to the actual coursework. Not one student has approached me to mark their mock. A couple have asked me questions on the mock coursework questions, but those are the ones who are attending class and I know anyway.
Prior to the Easter break only one student submitted the coursework. I have looked at this and every question is answered correctly, although there are a couple of rounding errors and slight notational problems that may knock the mark off 100% it will be pretty close. This means this student has passed Scientific Mathematics, since 40% is a pass and the coursework accounts for 50% of the assessment. This is marvellous news, though of course I can't tell the student until the coursework deadline has passed, which is a pain as I know she will ask me in this week's class.
My worry is that the students who aren't attending will not do the coursework correctly. Still, they know when the classes are and can attend if they find they have problems. And there is a later opportunity for correction since the end test is worth 50% of the assessment and 40% is a pass. So I will try not to worry.
