Poll: What type of grading structure do you prefer?

[MajorTomServo]

In my college experience, I've encountered two kinds of classes. One where there's 3-5 grades the entire semester (usually two tests, a paper, and a final) and one where there's attendance, participation, homework, quizzes, tests, projects, papers, and a final. Which do you prefer?

 

[Mojo]

Definitely lots of small ones that add up. Having tests/finals that make up a large portion of your grade on a single day just doesn't agree with me. What if you're having an off day? The pressure that builds up and the amount you need to learn for large tests is just stupid. All you do is push it into your short term memory, use it in the test, then forget it.
That's the reason Harvard actually got rid of major final exams in 2010. source [http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/learning/harvard-profs-giving-up-final.html]

 

[ohnoitsabear]

As someone who tends to do quite well on major tests, I have to say that I prefer a small number of exams over a large number of assignments. However, I will concede that having a small number of assignments is probably a more effective way to get people to learn the stuff. So, I guess I don't really have a strong opinion on this one.

 

[Esotera]

None at all from an academic perspective. Graded exams are always going to simplify matters & miss good points and bad points made in the answers. Exams are a pretty stupid way of assessing ability as they tend to test retention of facts rather than critical thinking & expertise in a field.

Anyway, I guess coursework & multiple short exams are probably better, as they're more realistic to what you'd encounter in the workplace.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Definitely lots of small ones that add up. Having tests/finals that make up a large portion of your grade on a single day just doesn't agree with me. What if you're having an off day? The pressure that builds up and the amount you need to learn for large tests is just stupid. All you do is push it into your short term memory, use it in the test, then forget it.
That's the reason Harvard actually got rid of major final exams in 2010. source [http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/learning/harvard-profs-giving-up-final.html]

agreed, in video games and in real life time limits are the devil, and teachers ALWAYS overestimate students abilities and underestimate their abilities.

example:

"Oh i wrote this test over the weekend, it took me an hour to finish, i'll give you guys an hour and a half to finish it"

************, you wrote the thing and had the answers the entire time, i'm starting from scratch under pressure, that is some bullshit.

(and as you mentioned, having an off day? oh, well lets put this test that is worth 45% of your grade on it, just to make sure you get upper cutted into submission)

 

[Tom_green_day]

I tend to fuck up on big tests, doing better in classwork and stuff. Prefer all aspects of my work being regarded, instead of a few tests.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I definitely prefer just a few large grades. There's less work involved in the entire class, and all you have to do is not fuck up your exams. Way less crap to remember, and much more free time.

Classes where you have a bunch of assignments are basically your professors' way of telling you that you can't be trusted to study, read, and learn on your own, so here's a bunch of stuff to make sure you study the subject "correctly." I always find these kinds of classes rather offensive.

 

[Aris Khandr]

I prefer fewer grades. Mostly because I couldn't be bothered to do homework. It seemed like such a waste of time to me to do more work outside of class when I already know the material. I reliably scored over 90% on every exam I took, but nearly failed most of my classes in high school because of homework. Frak homework.

 

[BrotherRool]

More so in school than Uni, but I support breaking up test into smaller chunks just on principle. The idea you can wake up with a headache one morning and have a years worth of learning thrown down the drain is abhorrent.

At least two chunks. I can understand about wanting people to retain this stuff and not cramming segment A for the test and forgetting for the next one

 

[Heronblade]

Depends on the course in question. Many of the courses I am taking right now for instance are best dealt with via a series of relatively long term projects. Little bits of homework would just get in the way. Then there are others that focus more on progressive learning, for which smaller homework assignments can keep the mind focused and on task.

With that stated, I strongly dislike the concept of a single make it or fail exam, there is absolutely no excuse for being that inflexible.

 

[General Twinkletoes]

I just switched to a school that has a few big grades, and I fucking hate it. 9 weeks are easy as hell, then 1 week has 5 assignments and tests in every course. What a stupid system.

I much prefer the system in my old school where they'd give you a regular amount of homework every week. It was a lot harder most of the time, but I never got as stressed out because it wasn't all crammed into one week.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

In my college experience, I've encountered two kinds of classes. One where there's 3-5 grades the entire semester (usually two tests, a paper, and a final) and one where there's attendance, participation, homework, quizzes, tests, projects, papers, and a final. Which do you prefer?

Er, both?

In the (English) classes I teach, I typically have several heavily weighted papers that often comprise over 50% of a student's total grade (that's for all of the papers, not each paper).

However, I also typically keep track of a series of smaller grades (participation, homework, quizzes) that make up a smaller percent of the grade (between 20% and 40% depending on the specific class).

That way, there are a number of "heavy" grades that make up most of the class, and also a number of smaller grades that fill in the rest.

The idea is that, for students who excel at a few heavy grades, they can pass on that alone even if they do badly on the small grades.

Meanwhile, a student who prefers the smaller grades, so long as they don't absolutely bomb the big ones, can make up for a mildly bad grade on one or two of the big ones by consistently doing well with the small ones.

Thus, both demographics are served.

 

[aba1]

None at all from an academic perspective. Graded exams are always going to simplify matters & miss good points and bad points made in the answers. Exams are a pretty stupid way of assessing ability as they tend to test retention of facts rather than critical thinking & expertise in a field.

Anyway, I guess coursework & multiple short exams are probably better, as they're more realistic to what you'd encounter in the workplace.

I agree

OT: Personally I have always found I have done well with 1 or 2 large assignments that I work my way through throughout the semester.

 

[Supertegwyn]

I have an absolute hatred for large tests. I just get worked up and get something like a low C on all of them. I can generally make it up with lots of (great) small work, but it still irritates me.

 

[Marter]

The former, although with assignments filling in for exams. I have one class this term whose mark is comprised of 3 papers and that's it. No attendance, no exams; just those three essays. So much nicer than exams.

Although, even if there are tests, I'd still prefer that over the multiple smaller pieces of work.

 

[Vegosiux]

None at all from an academic perspective. Graded exams are always going to simplify matters & miss good points and bad points made in the answers. Exams are a pretty stupid way of assessing ability as they tend to test retention of facts rather than critical thinking & expertise in a field.

Thread done, pretty much. The main thing exams teach you is how to do well on exams.

But since there has to be some kind of evaluation, smaller things that add up would be the better choice.

 

[Crayzor]

I prefer having a few bits of work that each count for a sizable amount. I've spent this academic year on international exchange at UVic in British Columbia, and I've found that if a piece of work isn't worth much of my overall grade, I am really unmotivated to do it at all.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

One final exam worth 100% and nothing else. Preferably over a semester.

 

[Yuno Gasai]

None at all from an academic perspective. Graded exams are always going to simplify matters & miss good points and bad points made in the answers. Exams are a pretty stupid way of assessing ability as they tend to test retention of facts rather than critical thinking & expertise in a field.

You took the words right out of my mouth.

I think the BTEC approach is my favourite 'grading structure' - your overall grade is determined based on a combination of assignment work, practical work and maybe a handful of exams (depending on the subject you're taking). I massively prefer assignments because you're much more likely to understand what you're doing wrong and to have that kind of thing corrected in an assignment than you are in an exam. In an exam, you're right or wrong - in an assignment, you have a little more leeway (and it does come down to how you explain yourself, not just the answers you're giving).

Then there's the fact that I get massively anxious before any kind of test, so I'd rather avoid studying in an environment where it's all building up to ONE SUPER IMPORTANT EXAM ERMAGERD.

 

[Mrkillhappy]

I tend to learn better with many small assignments placed throughout the term because with just the big tests I make an attempt to study about a week before and tend to not retain the information as well as I would if I had to constantly work.