SingaporeAmericanSchoolHighSchoolSyllabusEconomics2016

Instructor:Mr.Hughes
Room:H213
FreePeriods:A2,A3,B3
Email:mhughes@sas.edu.sg

CourseDescription:
Economicswillprovidestudentssomeinsightintowaysbywhichpeopleandnationsfunction
economically,i.e.,howtheymakealiving.Basiceconomicconceptsincludingwealth,utility,
capital,labor,supplyanddemand,profitandcompetition,production,distribution,exchange,
consumption,andthefactorsaffectingeachareaarestudied.Monetaryandfiscalpoliciesare
examinedinthelightofcontemporaryeconomics,bothnationalandinternational.Studentswill
studyfiscalpolicy,thepublicdebt,andwaysbankscreatemoney.

Units(Topics):

1.
BasicConcepts
1.1.
Economicthinking
1.2.
Econ.Systemsmixed,market,command
1.3.
CircularFlowofIncome
1.4.
PPFandopportunitycost
2.
Microeconomics
2.1.
Demand
2.2.
Supply
2.3.
MarketForces(Equilibrium)
2.4.
MarketStructures(theoryofthefirm)
3.
Macroeconomics
3.1.
Measuringaneconomy
3.2.
AD/ASmodel
3.3.
Macroequilibrium
3.4.
LRASandequilibrium
3.5.
UnemploymentandInflation
3.6.
FiscalandMonetarypolicy

Formativevs.Summative:

fromGradingPolicy:
Assessmentscanbeformativeorsummativeinnature.Formativeassessmentsare

usedtoinforminstructionandguidelearningtheyoccurbeforeorafterinstruction.
Formativeassessmentscanincludepractice,preparation,orrevision.Summative
assessmentsareusedtoevaluateorjudgestudentachievementandoccurafter
instruction.Summativeassessmentcanincludecheckingcorrectnessofunderstanding,
application,extension,and/ortransfer.

RequiredCourseMaterials:

Textbook:ContemporaryEconomicsbyWilliamA.McEarchern.
LaptopandCharger
BinderorfolderforEconomicsONLY
Highlighters,pens,pencils,etc.
Earbuds
Senseofdecency

GeneralCoursePolicies:

MatureUseofTechnology:Exceptforextremecircumstances,becauseoftheschools
ampleresources,technologymalfunctionswillnotbeanacceptablereasonforincomplete
work.Studentswillnothaveaccesstotheclassroomprinter.

LaptopWiFishouldbeturnedoffinclass,unlessinstructedotherwise.Pleasereadthe
AcceptableUsePolicyintheStudentHandbook.

TechIntegration:

Schoologywillbeusedforassessmentpurposes.GoogleAppsareextensivelyusedinclass.

Absences:

Shouldanyworkbemissedduetoavalidatedabsence,youwillbegiventwoweeksfromthe
dateofyourabsencetocompletetheworkforuptofullcredit.Anyworknotcompletedwithin
thistimeframewillbecountedasazero.

Anyworkthatisnotsubmittedontimeforreasonsotherthanavalidatedabsencemustbe
completedwithintwoweeksoftheduedate.Thisworkwillreceivenogreaterthana50%
gradeifcompletedbutazeroifnotcompletedwithinthetwoweekperiod.

SemesterGradeBreakdown:(9pointsystem,useofmean/median,weighting,
nonacademicfactorsetc.Common)

Theassessmentprocessistofurtheryourlearninganddevelopment.Itisanopportunity
foryoutorecognizewhatyoudowell,whereyourweaknesseslie,andwhatcourseof
actionisneededforyoutoimprove.

Totalpointswillbeusedtocalculatetheoverallgradeexcludingthefinalexam.The
followingareaswillbefactorsintheassessmentofoverallsemestergrade:

FormativeAssessments
20%

SummativeAssessments 60%

CulminatingAssessments 20%

fromGradingPolicy:
PerformanceStandardsandScoring,GradingScales
Individualassessments(e.g.,tests,performancetasks,essays,projects)areassessed
onofa9pointscale(A+,A,B+,B,C+,C,D+,D,F).Percentageswillnotbeused.For
itemstraditionallyscored,adecisionrulewillbedeveloped(e.g.,1920=A+,1718=A,
1516=B+).APandA+gradeswillcontinuetobeweightedsoacumulativeGPAmight
beabove4.0.

NonAcademicFactors
Gradesareintendedtoreflectachievementofessentiallearningoutcomesinacourse.
NonacademicfactorsofCollaboration,ResponsibilityandLearningAttitudewillbe
reportedonafrequencybasisbutwillnotimpactstudentgrades...
a.Nonacademicfactorsarenotfoundedincurriculumbutimpactstudent
learning(e.g.,attitude,participation,respect,comingpreparedtoclass,work
habits,organization).
b.DescriptorsforSASLearningBehaviorscanbefoundontherubric.

PowerStandardsC3EconomicsStandardsFourdimensions

Dimension1Developingquestionsandplanninginquiries
Constructingcompellingquestions:
Explainpointsofagreementanddisagreementexpertshaveabout
interpretationsandapplicationsofdisciplinaryconceptsandideasassociated
withacompellingquestion.
Explainpointsofagreementanddisagreementexpertshaveabout
interpretationsandapplicationsofdisciplinaryconceptsandideasassociated
withasupportingquestion.

Dimension2content
EconomicDecisionmaking:
Analyzehowincentivesinfluencechoicesthatmayresultinpolicieswitharange
ofcostsandbenefitsfordifferentgroups.
ExchangeandMarkets:
Evaluatetheextenttowhichcompetitionamongsellersandamongbuyersexists
inspecificmarkets.Evaluatetheeffectivenessofgovernmentpoliciestoimprove
marketoutcomes.
NationalEconomy
Useeconomicindicatorstoanalyzethecurrentandfuturestateoftheeconomy.
Evaluatetheselectionofmonetaryandfiscalpoliciesinavarietyeconomic
conditions.
GlobalEconomy
Analyzetheroleofcomparativeadvantageininternationaltradeofgoodsand
services.Explainhowcurrentglobalizationtrendsandpoliciesaffecteconomic
growth,labormarkets,rightsofcitizens,theenvironment,andresourceand
incomedistributionindifferentnations.

Dimension3Developingclaimsandusingevidence
Gatheringandevaluatingsources
Evaluatethecredibilityofasourcebyexamininghowexpertsvaluethesource.
Evidence
Identifyevidencethatdrawsinformationdirectlyandsubstantivelyfrommultiple
sourcestodetectinconsistenciesinevidenceinordertoreviseorstrengthen
claims.
Claims
Refineclaimsandcounterclaimsattendingtoprecision,significance,and
knowledgeconveyedthroughtheclaimwhilepointingoutthestrengthsand
limitationsofboth.

Dimension4Communicatingandcritiquingconclusions
Communicatingconclusions

Constructargumentsusingpreciseandknowledgeableclaimswithevidence
frommultiplesources,whileacknowledgingcounterclaimsandevidentiary
weaknesses.
Takinginformedaction
Usedisciplinaryandinterdisciplinarylensestounderstandthecharacteristicsand
causesoflocal,regional,andglobalproblemsinstancesofsuchproblemsin
multiplecontextsandchallengesandopportunitiesfacedbythosetryingto
addresstheseproblemsovertimeandplace.

SubmissionofLateSummativeWork:(provideopportunitycost&windowCommon)
fromGradingPolicy:
SubmissionofLateSummativeWork
PLCswillestablishamaximumwindowforstudentstosubmitlatesummative
assessmentsforfullcredit.Thiswillbecommunicatedatthebeginningofthecourse.It
istheresponsibilityofthestudenttomeetalldeadlines.Itisalsothestudents
responsibilitytoproactivelytalktotheteacherwhenasummativeassessmentmaybe
latetodetermineiflatesubmissionispossible.Iftheworkisnotsubmitted,theteacher
mayassignaNC(nocredit)todenoteamissingassessment(whichcalculatesasa
zero).
NotenoughevidencetodetermineagradewillresultinanIncompleteforthecourse.If
thestudentfailstosubmitmissingworkfortwoacademicweeksafterthecourseends,
theincompletewillchangetoanF.

AlternativeCreditorMasteryPolicy:

fromGradingPolicy:
ReAssessment
TeachersandPLCswilluseformativeassessmentsandreassessmentstoprovide
studentsopportunitiestomasterlearningtargetsstudentsdonotdeterminethis.
ReassessmentofsummativeassessmentswillbeatthediscretionofthePLCand
teacher.ReteachingwilloccurwhentheteacherorPLCdeterminesthatstudentsare
notmeetinglearninggoals.
a.Reassessmentsmayrangefromanindividualstudenttotheentireclass.
b.Whentasks/assignmentsarereassessed,theymaybereassessedpartially,
entirely,orinadifferentformat,asdeterminedbythePLC.
c.Whenreassessmentisoffered,studentsmustmeetthefollowing
requirements:
i.completetheoriginaltaskorassessment
ii.completerequiredassignments,and
iii.completereteaching/relearningactivitiesasdeterminedbythePLC
d.Reassessmentgradereplacestheoriginalgrade.
e.Thefollowingfinalmeasuresoflearningmaynotbereassessed:endof
course/semesterexams,finalresearchpapers,orculminating
projects/performances.

AlternativeorDeeperEvidenceofLearning
Extracreditisnotgiven.Instead,PLCsmaydetermineopportunitiesforalternativeor
deeperevidenceoflearning.Theseopportunitieswillbearticulatedtostudentsin
advanceandwouldrequirestudentstodemonstrateevidenceoflearning(formallyor
informally)postexperience.

AcademicIntegrity:(PLCpolicyregardingstrikeoneCommon)
fromGradingPolicy:
AcademicDishonesty
Studentswillbeassessedontheirownlearningandwithintheparametersestablished
bytheteacher/PLC.Academicdishonesty,orplagiarism,doesnotallowtheteacherto
clearlyassessthestudentslearning.Anyformofacademicdishonestywillnotbe
toleratedandmayresultinaNoCreditforthatassignment.Academicdishonesty
scoreswillcalculateas0inthefinalgrade.
Plagiarismistheactofpresentinganotherswordsandideasasonesownwithout
creditingthesource.Allwritersareresponsiblefordocumentingtheuseofideasand
wordsthatarenottheirown.
Plagiarismincludesmorethantheintentionalmisusingofreferencesources.Students
areequallyguiltyofplagiarismwhentheyallowtheirassignmenttobecopiedand
submittedastheworkofanother.Whileanobviousformofplagiarismiscopyingadirect
quotationwithoutprovidingquotationmarksandcreditingthesource,amoresubtleform
ofplagiarismincludesparaphrasingmaterialorusinganoriginalideathatisnotproperly
introduced,rephrased,anddocumented.
Studentscanavoidplagiarismbyacknowledgingthesourceofmaterials,using
quotationmarks,orrevisingallparaphrasedmaterialsothatitispresentedinonesown
styleandlanguage.Whenindoubt,askyourteacheroralibrarianforclarification.
Additionalconsequencesareatthediscretionoftheadministration.Dependingonthe
severityoftheoffense,anyincidentmayskiptoamoreseriousconsequence.
1stoffense:Reportedtotheofficetobeaddedtostudentdisciplinelog
teacher/PLCdecidesconsequencesandcontactsparent.Studentwillmeetwith
administrator,notingnextoffensewillresultinSaturdaySuspension.
2ndoffense:ReportedtotheofficetobeaddedtostudentdisciplinelogNo
CreditonworkandstudentwillserveonedayofSaturdaySuspension.Student
andparentswillmeetwithadministratortosignacademichonestycontract,
notingnextoffensewillresultinOutofSchoolSuspension(OSS).
3rdoffense:ReportedtoofficetobeaddedtostudentdisciplinelogNoCredit
onworktwodayOSSlossoftravelduringInterimSemesterstudentand
parentsmeetwithSuperintendentandHSadministrationforpreexpulsion
hearing.
4thoffense:Reporttoofficeandstudentisrecommendedforexpulsion.

201516HSGradingPolicy

TheintentofthisgradingpolicyistoestablishguidelinesforgradingpracticesatSingapore
AmericanHighSchool.Gradingpracticesshouldbeconsistentamongteachersofthesame
course,sothataBreceivedinacoursetaughtbyteacherXshouldmeanthesameasaB
receivedinthesamecoursetaughtbyteacherY.Insomecases,theexpectationsthat
accompanytheguidelinearetight,meaningtheexpectationsaretobeimplementedas
writteninothercases,theexpectationsareloose,meaningthatProfessionalLearning
Communities(PLCs)withindisciplineswillneedtodeterminehowthepolicystatementistobe
implemented.

GradingOverview
Gradingistoreflectachievementoftheessentiallearningoutcomes,bothcurricular(i.e.,
subjectspecific)andschoolwide(i.e.,DesiredStudentLearningOutcomesCharacter,
Collaboration,Communication,CreativityandInnovation,andCriticalThinking).Evaluationisa
partofassessmentitisjudgingthedegreetowhichevidencedemonstratesthedesiredlevelof
achievement.Scoringistheprocessofevaluatinganindividualassessmenttask(e.g.,aproject,
test,essay,performance).Gradingistheprocessofevaluatingoverallperformanceatperiodic
times(e.g.,midsemesterprogressreportsoratendofsemestergrades).Scoringandgrading
basedonevidenceoflearningcannotbeentirelyobjective,andprofessionaljudgmentis
essentialtodeterminingthelevelofstudentachievement.Bothprocessesusesymbols(which
canbeletters,numbers,orphrases)thatrepresentstudentperformance.Whenscoring,these
symbolsarereferredtoasscores.Whengrading,thesesymbolsarereferredtoasgrades.
TeachersatSASuseawiderangeofassessmentstrategiesincludingselectresponse(e.g.,
quizzes,tests,audienceresponsesystems),extendedwrittenresponses(e.g.,entrance/exit
slips,tweets,essays,blogs),performances(e.g.,researchpapers,labprojects,debates,
demonstrations,musicalandphysicalperformances),andpersonalcommunication(e.g.,
conferencing,noticingnonverbalcues,questioning).Assessmentscanbeformativeor
summativeinnature.Formativeassessmentsareusedtoinforminstructionandguidelearning
theyoccurbeforeorafterinstruction.Formativeassessmentscanincludepractice,preparation,
orrevision.Summativeassessmentsareusedtoevaluateorjudgestudentachievementand
occurafterinstruction.Summativeassessmentcanincludecheckingcorrectnessof
understanding,application,extension,and/ortransfer.

GuidelinesForGrading

1.PerformanceStandardsandScoring,GradingScales
Individualassessments(e.g.,tests,performancetasks,essays,projects)areassessedonofa
9pointscale(A+,A,B+,B,C+,C,D+,D,F).Percentageswillnotbeused.Foritems
traditionallyscored,adecisionrulewillbedeveloped(e.g.,1920=A+,1718=A,1516=B+).
APandA+gradeswillcontinuetobeweightedsoacumulativeGPAmightbeabove4.0.

2.Feedback
Teachersareexpectedtogivetimelyandfrequentfeedback(bothformativeandsummative)
aboutprogresstowardtheexpectedlearningoutcomes(standards).Thismaybethrough
conferencing,rubrics,checklists,standardsbasedscoringand/ortesterroranalysis.
Additionally,formativeand/orsummativeupdatestoPowerTeacherneedtobemadeata
minimumofeverytwoweeks.
3.GradeCalculation
Insteadofrelyingsolelyonthemean(averageofscores)teachersmayutilizeothermeasures
ofcentraltendency(median,mode,mostrecentevidence)whendeterminingastudentsgrade.
Thismeans:
a.PLCsdeterminewhichstandardswillbeassessedeachsemesterandhowheavily
eachstandardwillbeweightedinthesemestergrade.
b.Standardweightingwillbesharedwithstudentsandparentsatthebeginningofthe
gradingperiod.

4.IndividualPerformance
Standardgradesareassignedbycomparingindividualperformancetopreset,clearlydefined
standardsratherthanbycomparingstudentstoeachother.Thismeans:
a.Learningtargetsareclearlyarticulatedwithaccompanyingrubricsandexemplars
(whenappropriate).
b.TeachersareexpectedtoadheretotheSASPerformanceStandards.
c.Groupscoresmaynotbeusedtodetermineanindividualstudentsgrade.
5.NonAcademicFactors:LearningBehaviors
Gradesareintendedtoreflectachievementofessentiallearningoutcomesinacourse.
NonacademicfactorsofCollaboration,ResponsibilityandLearningAttitudewillbereportedon
afrequentbasisbutarenotreflectedinfinalgradesoronthestudentstranscript.
a.Nonacademicfactorsarenotfoundedincurriculumbutimpactstudentlearning
(e.g.,attitude,participation,respect,comingpreparedtoclass,workhabits,
organization).
b.DescriptorsforSASLearningBehaviorscanbefoundontherubric.
6.RoleofFormativeandSummativeAssessment
Teachersdelineatebetweenformativeandsummativeassessmentsandemphasizeresults
fromsummativeassessmentswhenreportingonastandard.Theapproachtakenwillbe
determinedbyPLC.Optionsmayinclude:
a.Notassigningscorestoassignmentsorotherdevelopmentalopportunitiesand
insteadusingtheseopportunitiestoprovideformativefeedback(e.g.comments,
conferences,revisionstrategies).
b.Assigningscorestopracticeand/orformativeassessmentsbutexemptingthemif
achievementofthestandardislaterdemonstratedonasummative.
c.Assigningscorestopracticeand/orformativeassessmentsbutreplacingthemwith
mostrecentand/ormostconsistentachievementofthestandard.
d.Involvingstudentsindeterminingtheirfinalgradesonastandardbasedonevidence
oflearning.
7.SubmissionofLateSummativeWork
PLCswillestablishamaximumwindowforstudentstosubmitlatesummativeassessmentsfor
fullcredit.Thiswillbecommunicatedatthebeginningofthecourse.Itistheresponsibilityofthe
studenttomeetalldeadlines.Itisalsothestudentsresponsibilitytoproactivelytalktothe

teacherwhenasummativeassessmentmaybelatetodetermineiflatesubmissionispossible.
Iftheworkisnotsubmitted,theteachermayassignaNC(nocredit)todenoteamissing
assessment(whichcalculatesasazero).
NotenoughevidencetodetermineagradewillresultinanIncompleteforthecourse.Ifthe
studentfailstosubmitmissingworkfortwoacademicweeksafterthecourseends,the
incompletewillchangetoanF.
8.ReAssessment
TeachersandPLCswilluseformativeassessmentsandreassessmentstoprovidestudents
opportunitiestomasterlearningtargetsstudentsdonotdeterminethis.Reassessmentof
summativeassessmentswillbeatthediscretionofthePLCandteacher.Reteachingwilloccur
whentheteacherorPLCdeterminesthatstudentsarenotmeetinglearninggoals.
a.Reassessmentsmayrangefromanindividualstudenttotheentireclass.
b.Whentasks/assignmentsarereassessed,theymaybereassessedpartially,entirely,
orinadifferentformat,asdeterminedbythePLC.
c.Whenreassessmentisoffered,studentsmustmeetthefollowingrequirements:
i.completetheoriginaltaskorassessment
ii.completerequiredassignments,and
iii.completereteaching/relearningactivitiesasdeterminedbythePLC
d.Reassessmentgradereplacestheoriginalgrade.
e.Thefollowingfinalmeasuresoflearningmaynotbereassessed:endof
course/semesterexams,finalresearchpapers,orculminatingprojects/performances.
9.FinalExams,Papers,ProjectsandPerformances
Finalsgivestudentsanopportunitytodemonstratemasteryoftheessentiallearningoutcomes,
focusingondemonstrationofhigherlevelsofthinkingwhileavoidingminutiae.Allcourseswill
haveacommonculminatingassessmentattheendofasemesterasdefinedbythePLCor
teacher(forcoursesnotattachedtoaPLC),e.g.,atimedexam,project,paperorperformance.
Scoreswillaccountfor15%to25%ofthesemestergrade.
10.AlternativeorDeeperEvidenceofLearning
Extracreditisnotgiven.Instead,PLCsmaydetermineopportunitiesforalternativeordeeper
evidenceoflearning.Theseopportunitieswillbearticulatedtostudentsinadvanceandwould
requirestudentstodemonstrateevidenceoflearning(formallyorinformally)postexperience.

11.Absences
StudentswhoexceedNINEABSENCESinagivensemesterwillreceiveNOCREDITtoward
graduationforthatcourse.However,theseabsenceswillnotaffectstudentsgrades.
12.AcademicIntegrity
Studentswillbeassessedontheirownlearningandwithintheparametersestablishedbythe
teacher/PLC.Academicdishonesty,orplagiarism,doesnotallowtheteachertoclearlyassess
thestudentslearning.Anyformofacademicdishonestywillnotbetoleratedandmayresultina
NoCreditforthatassignment.Academicdishonestyscoreswillcalculateas0inthefinal
grade.
Plagiarismistheactofpresentinganotherswordsandideasasonesownwithoutcreditingthe
source.Allwritersareresponsiblefordocumentingtheuseofideasandwordsthatarenottheir
own.
Plagiarismincludesmorethantheintentionalmisusingofreferencesources.Studentsare
equallyguiltyofplagiarismwhentheyallowtheirassignmenttobecopiedandsubmittedasthe
workofanother.Whileanobviousformofplagiarismiscopyingadirectquotationwithout
providingquotationmarksandcreditingthesource,amoresubtleformofplagiarismincludes
paraphrasingmaterialorusinganoriginalideathatisnotproperlyintroduced,rephrased,and
documented.
Studentscanavoidplagiarismbyacknowledgingthesourceofmaterials,usingquotation
marks,orrevisingallparaphrasedmaterialsothatitispresentedinonesownstyleand
language.Whenindoubt,askyourteacheroralibrarianforclarification.
Additionalconsequencesareatthediscretionoftheadministration.Dependingontheseverity
oftheoffense,anyincidentmayskiptoamoreseriousconsequence.
1stoffense:Reportedtotheofficetobeaddedtostudentdisciplinelogteacher/PLC
decidesconsequencesandcontactsparent.Studentwillmeetwithadministrator,noting
nextoffensewillresultinSaturdaySuspension.
2ndoffense:ReportedtotheofficetobeaddedtostudentdisciplinelogNoCrediton
workandstudentwillserveonedayofSaturdaySuspension.Studentandparentswill
meetwithadministratortosignacademichonestycontract,notingnextoffensewillresult
inOutofSchoolSuspension(OSS).
3rdoffense:ReportedtoofficetobeaddedtostudentdisciplinelogNoCrediton
worktwodayOSSlossoftravelduringInterimSemesterstudentandparentsmeet
withSuperintendentandHSadministrationforpreexpulsionhearing.
4thoffense:Reporttoofficeandstudentisrecommendedforexpulsion.