The Standards

CMSC 141: Introduction to Python • Summer 2026

The course is built around these 15 standards. Each is one specific skill. Your grade comes from how many you have earned by the end of the term, so this page is the master list of what you are working toward and when each one is in play. For how earning and re-earning a standard works, see the Course Policies page.

The first chance column is the assessment where a standard is first checked. The last chance column is the final assessment where it appears; after that, the door is closed. For almost everything the last chance is the final exam. The exceptions are course mechanics, which closes after Quiz 2, and exceptions handling, which is only ever on the final.

Standard Skill First chance Last chance Grading
S0 Course mechanics: course policies, academic integrity, the late policy, and how standards-based grading works here Quiz 1 · Jun 18 Quiz 2 · Jun 23 Strict
S1 Values and types: predict the type and value of expressions using int, float, str, bool, arithmetic, and type conversion Quiz 1 · Jun 18 Final · Aug 6 Strict
S2 Variables and I/O: write a short program using variables, user input, and formatted output Quiz 2 · Jun 23 Final · Aug 6 Strict
S3 Conditionals: write and trace code using Boolean logic, relational operators, and if/elif/else Quiz 2 · Jun 23 Final · Aug 6 Strict
S4 for loops: write and trace for loops using range() and the accumulator pattern Quiz 3 · Jul 2 Final · Aug 6 Strict
S5 while loops: write and trace while loops, including termination and common patterns Quiz 3 · Jul 2 Final · Aug 6 Strict
S6 Functions: define and use functions with parameters and return values Quiz 3 · Jul 2 Final · Aug 6 Strict
S7 Scope and stack diagrams: draw a frame diagram of a running program that calls functions Quiz 4 · Jul 9 Final · Aug 6 Strict
S8 Lists and tuples: index, mutate, and iterate over lists, and explain mutability using tuples Quiz 4 · Jul 9 Final · Aug 6 Strict
S9 Strings: use string indexing, methods, and formatting Quiz 4 · Jul 9 Final · Aug 6 Strict
S10 Dictionaries: build and query dictionaries using counting, grouping, and lookup patterns Midterm · Jul 16 Final · Aug 6 Strict
S11 Files: read from and write to text files Quiz 5 · Jul 23 Final · Aug 6 Strict
S12 Recursion: write a recursive function with correct base and recursive cases Quiz 6 · Jul 30 Final · Aug 6 Strict
S13 Exceptions: use try/except to handle errors Final · Aug 6 Final · Aug 6 Lenient
S14 Classes and objects: define a class with __init__, instance variables, and methods, and use its objects Quiz 5 · Jul 23 Final · Aug 6 Strict
Most standards are graded strictly: because you get more than one attempt, the bar is a fully correct answer. Exceptions (S13) is the one skill you see only once, on the final, so it is graded leniently, meaning a mostly correct answer earns it. Recursion (S12) has only two attempts, Quiz 6 and the final, so earn it on Quiz 6 while the material is fresh.