Sunday, December 2, 2012

Take Home Tests Are Too Hard?

I just got done grading a pile of take home tests.  They had two days to do the work.  We had class discussion before I sent them out with it.  The results are in.  How did they do?  Let's just say monkeys with typewriters did better--at least the monkeys will eventually come up with Shakespeare, statistically speaking.  The average score was 45%. 

This is my most ridiculous group ever, who clearly don't want to be in school.  I suspect, like all entitled snowflakes, they think I will hand out bright shiny "A's" like trinkets for the holiday season.  Well, have I got news for them.  "D" is for Dumb.  "F" is for Failure.  And that's it, kiddies.  School's out!  

4 comments:

  1. The sad part is I bet you were still too easy on them. lol

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  2. I think the key phrase here is "do the work." I, thank goodness, get only a few such students, but there seem to be some these days who really have trouble completing any activity that doesn't occur in class. They can pass tests if said tests are based on material gone over in class, but require them to read and absorb material on their own, or (heaven forfend!) write, and they're completely stumped.

    And then, of course, there are the ones who are physically present but mentally absent in class (see several posts down), and think they'll observe knowledge by osmosis, or catch up on their own, or something. That doesn't work either.

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  3. While students rejoice at the prospect of a take-home test, they never seem to realize that the test will require more than merely regurgitating one or two facts per question. It will require (Heaven forBID!) actual reading and critical thinking on their part. I switched to take-homes this semester and the results were just as disappointing as yours were. And yes, Naughty Prof, I was still too easy.

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  4. I'm so glad you're standing by your standards instead of caving and curving the grade.

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