In reading Aubyn's response below and going back to my earlier response to Melady I realize that in neglecting to comment on or suggest a suitable punishment for her students, it sure sounds like I am advocating that the students in question should simply be allowed to take an equivalent make-up, period. Surely, that is not my position. Moreover, Aubyn's response to my post has also led me to think further about Melady's situation and about my earlier position regarding the use of more difficult make-up exams.
As Aubyn rightly points out, it would be unwise to have an 'at will' testing policy or to allow some students in one class take the final at a later time while not extending the same opportunity to other students. Therefore, given the situation as described, I feel that Melady's students surely deserve some sort of negative consequence for missing the official final. After all, if these students are simply given an equivalent make-up, they'll have additional time to prepare for the exam, not to mention that they've already had an opportunity to be tested for the information learned (albeit using a different testing format), thus giving them an unfair advantage over the other students. The 10% reduction in their grade suggested by another TIPSter (Aubyn?) is one solution that sounded reasonable to me. Actually, I could even accept having a course policy whereby missed exams can be made up with more difficult make-ups, as long as students clearly understand that the reason for having a more difficult make-up is to attempt to balance the unfair advantage that they would have if they were simply allowed to take an equivalent exam at a later time. In fact, although I would not use that policy for reasons stated earlier (and for the reasons Aubyn states regarding control over item difficulty), I am aware that some professors use such policies. However, at least in most such cases, students are warned ahead of time to expect a more difficult make-up. As I understood the situation with Melady's students, no such course policy using more difficult make-ups is currently in place. However, if her students can be convinced of the reasons for having to take a more difficult make-up, I might consider this as a viable option. Again, I want to make clear that my main objection to the use of a more difficult make-up final stems from my strong belief that educational exams should be exclusively used for the assessment of students' knowledge and NOT as a vehicle for meting out punishment. However, I do agree that the advantage that these two students have gained by their actions needs to be addressed somehow. Miguel At 12:00 AM 12/29/02 -0500, you wrote: >Miguel wrote� >(SNIP) However, in the absence of concrete evidence and given the >possibility that the students' behavior was unintentional I ask that you >reconsider giving them a more difficult make-up. Here are my reasons >(SNIP) > >Although I am not aware of any cases where a university make-up exam has >been legally challanged for being more difficult than a regular exam, I am >certain that legal precedents already exist in the field of employment >testing. > >However, there is even a more fundamental reason why I would not give a >make-up that is more difficult than the regular exam. IMO, exams should be >given exclusively to assess students' knowledge of the subject matter. >(SNIP) I think that to use exams in a punitive fashion contributes to the >development of test anxiety and so it is undesirable because you'll likely >not be getting a true measure of students' knowledge. > >Aubyn writes� >Most college teachers agree that educational testing should not be (and >too often is) punitive, and I too dislike the practice of giving �more >difficult� make-up exams, but I do disagree with a couple of points that >Miguel is making above. > >First, I�m not so sure that employment testing and classroom testing are >analogous for the point under discussion. To the extent that they are, >there certainly are times when there are penalties for missing a scheduled >employment test (for selection or promotion) � for example, in many >instances (though I understand not in the ones Miguel has been involved >in) the applicant simply misses out on the opportunity to be considered >for the position or promotion � often far more punitive than having a >course grade lowered by a half a letter or so. > >Second, in the case under discussion, the students missed a Final >Examination, the time and date of which was clearly, publicly and >repeatedly announced. I don�t think the teacher needs evidence � >�concrete� or otherwise � to impose the usual consequence for missing an >exam. While we have no way here of judging how intentional the student�s >behavior was, it seems clear that the burden of proof lies with the >student to show that they deserve some relief from the penalties for >missing the exam. > >Third, one could argue (it is a hoary argument, but rather persuasive >nevertheless I think) that allowing students, at will, to take exams late >is the most punitive practice a teacher could choose � as it punishes all >of the students who took the test on time, and thus had less time to >prepare for it. How many of Melady�s students who took the exam on time >would have done better had they had an extra week to get ready � >especially after their other Finals were over). > >If teachers were so inclined (and had the permission of their institution) >I suppose they could have an at will testing policy, and tell students >that they could take exams whenever they felt like it � though this only >pushes the problem into the future, as there would eventually have to be a >deadline of some kind (6 months, 12 months, 10 years?) at which point one >would be faced with the same challenge of how to handle deadline failures. >Even in such a case, I think it would only be fair to use such a policy if >it were announced in the syllabus at the beginning of the course, so that >all students had an equal opportunity to make use of it. > >I don�t use the �harder make-up test� option myself just because I don�t >feel like I have a fine enough control over item difficulty to implement >it fairly � that is why I attach penalties to late exams taken without >prior arrangement. > >I went through grades K-12 in an educational system that had almost no >points or letter grades, and almost no punitive consequences for any >academic behavior, and I think that is an ideal way to teach and learn. I >deeply wish that higher education in general, and my institution in >particular, functioned in the same way � but we do not. The punitive >dimensions of college classrooms do not arise primarily from teacher-based >policies and practices, but from the larger grade economy in which these >classrooms are situated. Arbitrary, isolated exemptions from the >consequences of student behavior do not (it seems to me) reduce the >punitive nature of American college education, but simply redistribute the >punitive consequences in ways that are usually less fair. > >I have occasional pangs of guilt for participating in the grade economy >too, but as long as we do participate (as opposed to, say, actually >guaranteeing every student an �A� on the first day of class regardless of >student behavior during the term, or refusing to turn in any grade at all >� I have considered both of these and have reasons for rejecting them) >then I think the most fair thing we can do is make policies as clear as >possible up front, and implement the policies as consistently as possible >- while still being flexible enough to deal with the inevitable >emergencies. > > > >**************************************************** >Aubyn Fulton, Ph.D. >Professor of Psychology >Chair, Behavioral Science Department >Pacific Union College >Angwin, CA 94508 > >Office: 707-965-6536 >Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >***************************************************** > >--- >You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Miguel Roig, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology St. John's University 300 Howard Avenue Staten Island, New York 10301 Tel. (718) 390-4513 Fax: (718) 390-4347 http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~roigm --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
