|
Date |
No. of students |
Mean |
Standard deviation |
Maximum |
Minimum |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
Feb-8-99 |
34 |
64.9 |
25.0 |
100 |
14 |
38.2% |
26.5% |
11.8% |
23.5% |
- |
Feb-21-00 |
12 |
70.1 |
20.0 |
93 |
31 |
41.7% |
25.0% |
25.0% |
8.3% |
- |
Jan-23-01 |
22 |
76.3 |
17.8 |
99 |
37 |
59.1% |
22.7% |
13.6% |
4.5% |
- |
| Jan-15-02 | 47 | 65.3 | 25.5 | 100 | 7 | 38.3% | 27.7% | 17.0% | 17.0% | - |
| Jan-14-03 | 22 | 82.3 | 16.6 | 100 | 31 | 68.2% | 22.7% | 4.5% | 4.5% | - |
| Jan-20-04 | 35 | 77.3 | 18.6 | 100 | 35 | 60.0% | 17.1% | 20.0% | 2.9% | - |
| Jul-20-07 | 28 | 71.7 | 18.0 | 98 | 30 | 35.7% | 42.9% | 17.9% | 3.6% | - |
| Jul-18-08 | 25 | 78.5 | 16.8 | 99 | 40 | 56.0% | 32.0% | 12.0% | 0.0% | - |
| Jul-24-09 | 40 | 73.6 | 19.0 | 100 | 26 | 50.0% | 30.0% | 15.0% | 5.0% | - |
| Jul-23-10 | 35 | 70.7 | 21.7 | 98 | 23 | 44.4% | 27.8% | 22.2% | 5.6% | - |
| Jul-22-11 | 16 | 80.6 | 20.1 | 100 | 40 | 50.0% | 12.5% | 18.8% | 18.8% | 0.0% |
From 1999 to 2010: A =
80-100, B = 60-79, C = 40-59, D (fail) = 0-39
From 2011: A = 90-100, B = 80-89, C = 60-79, D = 40-59, E (fail) = 0-39
Professor's remark (July 2011)
Compared with previous years, the mean was relatively high (80.6) but the standard deviation was similar (20.1). The class size was smaller because this course is no longer required for YLP students (only jointly elective--see below). This year, there were eight students receiving 90+ but another eight students receiving points in a wide range from 40 to 85. This is the same tendency as before, that the class seems to have consisted of two cohorts of students.
Most students did well in giving three or four policy measures of the Meiji government in absorbing technology and producing Japanese engineers (Q3) - foreign advisors, sending students abroad, the Institute of Technology and technical high schools, and/or copying and licensing. Many also answered correctly on the Bank of Japan monetary policy in the 1990s and 2000s (Q5) - zero interest rates and supply of liquidity, plus occasional foreign exchange interventions (optional). But some students wrote additionally about fiscal policy.
The characteristics of the Japanese economic system (Q4) can be answered at least in two different ways. First, you can discuss the "Japan model" based on long-term relationship and official interventionism, as in the model answer. Second, you can also describe policy measures in the post WW2 period such as FILP, technical and financial support of SMEs by MITI and JDB, exchange rate stability etc. You can get full marks in either way.
This year the GRIPS grading rule has changed. Now the letter grades are A, B, C, D & E (fail) whereas in the past they were A, B, C & D (fail). Accordingly, translation of exam points to letter grades has been adjusted as shown above. Although A became relatively more difficult to get, as many as 50% of the students received it.
I don't deduct many points for your small mistakes. Sometimes I don't deduct anything at all. We are all human so small mistakes should be forgiven as long as the main point is grasped. This means you should write what you know even if you are not sure of the exact answer. I will give partial points generously.
Your exam sheets will be graded with numerical points (0 to 100) and an associated letter grade (A to E), and returned to you through the GRIPS academic office within a few working days after the exam. Exact timing depends on my other working schedule. If you find any problem with my grading, please report to me in person or by email. Please note, however, that my grading method is well established (since 1992) and it may be difficult to greatly change the points even if you appeal, unless the fault is on my side (adding-up errors, for example).
One important rule about my exam is that there is no ex post adjustment. This means that, after you take the exam, you are not allowed to switch to a term paper or another exam because you did badly. Whether to take the exam or pull out should be determined in advance according to the GRIPS rule. If you are suddenly ill, have a pressing family situation, have a job interview on that day, etc, contact me before the exam. I don't bend this rule even if that means the loss of your degree due to the lack of credits. Occasionally I have had such a situation, so I state this rule explicitly here.
YLP students, please beware. This course is "jointly elective" for your program which means you must pass at least one of the three courses on the Japanese economy offered at GRIPS (which includes mine) for getting your degree.
Grade Distribution Rule
Since 2011, the GRIPS grading rule has been that, for any class, grade distribution must in principle satisfy the following.
A: 20-50% of class B: 30-70% of class C: less than 25% of class D: less than 10% of class E (fail): less than 10% of class
In addition, the Grade Point Average (GPA) for each class must be between 3.1 and 3.5 (A:4, B:3, C:2, D:1, E:0).
This requirement is a little unreasonable, because I will know the actual point distribution only after the exam, and the best I can do is to adjust the difficulty of the exam so that the results may fall within these ranges. But if students are unexpectedly smart (or not so smart), they may not satisfy this rule. Uncertainty comes from the collective level of students in any particular year, which is unknown to me in advance, as well as my judgment error as to the difficulty of the exam.