Final Exams

Ember01

Writing out final exams are difficult. The questions have to be written in a way that the students understand, but won't question which one is the right answer. The questions need to be easy enough that with some studying, the students get the answer right, but not too easy that the student doesn't even need to study or too difficult that with all the studying in the world, the student still won't get the right answer. Ugh... I hate writing out final exam questions.

And, the study guide has to give the student an idea of what to study, but shouldn't tell them the answers.

I'm giving my students the essay portion to take home before the final exam and then having them take the multiple choice/short answer portion in class.

I hate final exams.

choephori

I do too. :-/

Even my best students never seem to do well on them, no matter how I write the test.  Just tends to be way too much material.

And then grading them is just an absolute pain...

Out of curiosity, do you adhere to the thought that if a student is able to score a 100% on an exam, you, as the teacher, have failed by not encouraging them further?  I still go back and forth on that idea a lot...

bourgehm

I hate final exams too. Because I need to take them.

bourgehm

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_final-exams?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:e3c2a87e-bd5f-4250-80e4-0d520ae5761dPost:f7909566-46df-48c0-95fd-448107b50a31">Re: Final Exams</a>:
[QUOTE]I do too. :-/ Even my best students never seem to do well on them, no matter how I write the test.  Just tends to be way too much material. And then grading them is just an absolute pain... Out of curiosity,<strong> do you adhere to the thought that if a student is able to score a 100% on an exam, you, as the teacher, have failed by not encouraging them further?  I still go back and forth on that idea a lot...</strong>
Posted by choephori[/QUOTE]

Or they could have just studied extremely hard!

peekaboo2011

I hate grading, period.  Although I haven't graded anything but lab quizzes and practicals, they suck the life out of me.

Hope, I'm with you on hating taking them.  I only have three this semester, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm not going to do very well...

heyimbren

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_final-exams?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:e3c2a87e-bd5f-4250-80e4-0d520ae5761dPost:10188538-016b-4109-a77d-38446cc532b6">Re: Final Exams</a>:
[QUOTE]I hate final exams too. Because I need to take them.
Posted by bourgehm[/QUOTE]

Agreed. At least I only have 3 left! I've already written 2 :/

bethsmiles

I hate taking finals. Most of my professors assign a paper or a project for my finals rather than a test (thank god!),

Ember01

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_final-exams?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:e3c2a87e-bd5f-4250-80e4-0d520ae5761dPost:f7909566-46df-48c0-95fd-448107b50a31">Re: Final Exams</a>:
[QUOTE]I do too. :-/ Even my best students never seem to do well on them, no matter how I write the test.  Just tends to be way too much material. And then grading them is just an absolute pain... Out of curiosity, do you adhere to the thought that if a student is able to score a 100% on an exam, you, as the teacher, have failed by not encouraging them further?  I still go back and forth on that idea a lot...
Posted by choephori[/QUOTE]

I feel like I've failed my students if they aren't all getting As, Bs, and Cs. I feel like if they are getting Ds and Fs, I didn't teach them enough to prepare them for the test. I know lots of teachers who gloat when their students all get Cs, Ds, and Fs.

I understand thinking that you didn't push them enough if people are gettings 100%s, and I do think that way when it comes to take home assignments and papers. I do like to push my students at papers.

But, when it comes to a test, I know I always had horrible test anxiety, so I guess that is why I over-prepare my students for tests.

AbigailMS

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_final-exams?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:e3c2a87e-bd5f-4250-80e4-0d520ae5761dPost:f7909566-46df-48c0-95fd-448107b50a31">Re: Final Exams</a>:
[QUOTE]I do too. :-/ Even my best students never seem to do well on them, no matter how I write the test.  Just tends to be way too much material. And then grading them is just an absolute pain... <strong>Out of curiosity, do you adhere to the thought that if a student is able to score a 100% on an exam, you, as the teacher, have failed by not encouraging them further?  I still go back and forth on that idea a lot...</strong>
Posted by choephori[/QUOTE]

<div>
</div><div>This kind of peeves me. Maybe only because some people (a pharmacist I work with) get SO mad when they don't get an "exceeds expectations" on their own evaluation, but they don't believe its possible for an intern to get a 5/5 on their own intern evaluation. I don't get it? I feel like especially in a work setting, if they did everything they could to do the best they could, then they deserve that kind of credit. Especially in this scenario, because our work setting is our student setting. </div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>excuse the rant. :)</div>

alanacatherine

final exams can suck it.

choephori

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_final-exams?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:e3c2a87e-bd5f-4250-80e4-0d520ae5761dPost:5bc8bf06-32a3-40dd-af1c-ee3a1aa9cc44">Re: Final Exams</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Final Exams : I feel like I've failed my students if they aren't all getting As, Bs, and Cs. I feel like if they are getting Ds and Fs, I didn't teach them enough to prepare them for the test. I know lots of teachers who gloat when their students all get Cs, Ds, and Fs. I understand thinking that you didn't push them enough if people are gettings 100%s, and I do think that way when it comes to take home assignments and papers. I do like to push my students at papers. But, when it comes to a test, I know I always had horrible test anxiety, so I guess that is why I over-prepare my students for tests.
Posted by Ember01[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>*nods*  Totally understand this, and agreed with a lot of the other previous statements about it being indicative of a student's ability to prepare/study that well.  Personally I adhere to the thought that if students who I know work/study hard get good grades and those that haven't put in the effort don't pass, then the class difficulty level is appropriate.</div><div>
</div><div>I'm honestly not even sure I totally agree with exams being the primary way students are evaluated since I've encountered lots of students that are very brilliant, but just, for one reason or another, have trouble expressing that on paper under a time limit.  Would be curious if there was another method out there that might catch attention as a more appropriate alternative. :)</div><div>
</div>

bethsmiles

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_final-exams?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:e3c2a87e-bd5f-4250-80e4-0d520ae5761dPost:5bc8bf06-32a3-40dd-af1c-ee3a1aa9cc44">Re: Final Exams</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Final Exams : I feel like I've failed my students if they aren't all getting As, Bs, and Cs. I feel like if they are getting Ds and Fs, I didn't teach them enough to prepare them for the test. <strong>I know lots of teachers who gloat when their students all get Cs, Ds, and Fs.</strong> I understand thinking that you didn't push them enough if people are gettings 100%s, and I do think that way when it comes to take home assignments and papers. I do like to push my students at papers. But, when it comes to a test, I know I always had horrible test anxiety, so I guess that is why I over-prepare my students for tests.
Posted by Ember01[/QUOTE]

There is a professor like that in my department. I never take a class if she is the one teaching it. She designs tests so that no one can pass. It's ridiculous.

peekaboo2011

One of my professors stated at the beginning of the term that it was impossible to get a 100 on her tests.  She prepares us very well - we get a class of review the class before the test, and we get a notecard that we can write 5 things on.

She pulled a student aside after the last test though.  Apparently, said student has gotten 100s on all of her tests, and the professor isn't too happy about it.  I don't know if she thinks this girl is cheating (we all know she isn't, but we don't like her, so it would be really funny to see her taken in front of academic integrity), or what, but it made me giggle.

Emmakj

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_final-exams?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:e3c2a87e-bd5f-4250-80e4-0d520ae5761dPost:b7cc1cd0-552f-4119-b914-8393df68f922">Re: Final Exams</a>:
[QUOTE]final exams can suck it.
Posted by alanacatherine[/QUOTE]

<div>AMEN!</div><div>
</div><div>I can see frustration in writing a test, there is also much frustration in studying. I currently have a teacher who has made us do about 10 discussion questions on blackboard where we basically read the material, then write a test question for it. To me that is just laziness. I can understand doing a few like that, but she is going to choose questions we wrote for the test. I feel like we are writing the test for her. </div>