David Wasieleski
Thu, 27 Sep 2001 08:15:38 -0700
Not to be critical to Mike or anyone else who favors the "drop one exam" policy, but I've never been a big fan of it. I think i sends the message that one does not need to master all of the material for a course in order to achieve a high grade. In addition, in practice, it can also promote difficulty, as some students (granted, they're often students who would struggle anyway) will use that drop as an excuse for missing an exam or being unprepared. I've heard students approach other faculty after missing one exam (figuring they have a drop) and then having a potentially legitimate reason for missing a second one! Again, there's no perfect solution to this issue (my method is saying everyone's allowed to make up one exam if missed for any reason, but it has to be done at the end of the term, typically the same day as my final; that tends to weed out the legitimate vs. casual excuses for missing an exam), so to each their own, but the dropping policy is not one I've ever been comfortable adopting. My 2.5 cents... David W.
At 10:10 AM 9/27/2001 -0500, Mike Scoles wrote: >My syllabus always states that the lowest exam will be dropped (at least >in undergraduate classes). A missed exam counts as a zero. This allows >everyone to have a free "bad day", whether it is a death in the family, >the end of a romance, or the common anxiety-related "stomach virus." It >also gives a break to those students who will drag themselves in for an >exam regardless of how lousy they feel. > >-- >********* http://www.coe.uca.edu/psych/scoles/index.html ******** >* Mike Scoles * [EMAIL PROTECTED] * >* Department of Psychology * voice: (501) 450-5418 * >* University of Central Arkansas * fax: (501) 450-5424 * >* Conway, AR 72035-0001 * * >***************************************************************** David T. Wasieleski, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Psychology and Counseling Valdosta State University 229-333-5620 http://chiron.valdosta.edu/dtwasieleski "There's a lot of people saying we'd be better off dead. Don't feel like Satan, but I am to them..." --Neil Young "Rockin' in the Free World"