In some countries, graduation from a degree program requires passing a number of high-stake exams. Examples of high-stake exams include the SAT, International Baccalaureate exams, and many licensure exams. Music exams administered by the Royal Conservatory of Music are also high-stake. These examples lie at the extreme end of high-stake exams in the sense that the exam grade is all there is for determining success. In a course setting, an exam needs only be worth 50 per cent or more to be considered high-stake, though some might say that any test that causes anxiety is high-stake regardless of the percentage of the final mark.

Much has been written on the pros and cons of high-stake exams (see for example for a fascinating analysis). Here, I would like to talk about one feature of high-stake exams that can be considered beneficial in certain contexts: High-stake exams require exam-takers to prepare themselves to perform on-demand.

There are real-life situations where the ability to perform at an acceptable level on-demand is required. Performing arts and competitive sports are prominent examples. In finance, health care, emergency response etc., one often needs to have the required knowledge at one’s fingertips to make timely decisions. In these areas, high-stake exams hold their place as professional requirements. Yet in many other areas, the pressure of high-stake exams doesn’t seem beneficial. Does it make sense, for instance, for a calculus final exam to be worth 50 per cent or more of the final grade? After all, mathematicians take their time to think through math problems.

I feel that, at least for lower-year math courses, the answer is a qualified yes. An initial hurdle that must be overcome is that such exams must be designed to assess students’ knowledge and ability fairly and accurately. Then, such exams can serve as training opportunities for high-stake professional exams in the future.

Also, high-stake exams make students put in their best effort in preparation (or so I hope). As a result, students will have the opportunity, though under stress, to organize the material in a way that they have not done during the term. Of course, how long they retain what they have prepared is another topic for discussion.

Finally, high-stake final exams could benefit the instructors in the following way: If most students put in their best preparation effort (especially when they follow ), then the results of such exams could be an indication on how well the term work has worked for the students. Certainly, the results can be skewed by the cramming effect and test anxiety. But if the class as a whole underperforms significantly, then some soul-searching is in order.

杏吧原创 midway through the first time I taught MATH 3801, Linear Programming, I found out that many of my students did not remember what the rank of a matrix was. The rank of a matrix is a basic concept covered in first-year linear algebra. It is as basic as the derivative in first-year calculus. To avoid losing a third or more of the class, I had to give a review.

After this experience, whenever I taught MATH 3801 again, I would clearly list the linear algebra concepts heavily used in the course and I would test the students on these concepts early on in the term. Such actions turned out to be effective as I no longer had to deal with too much trouble arising from students鈥� lack of proficiency in basic linear algebra.

So, in response to Alison Sandstorm鈥檚 , I would say that final exams are probably not as necessary as beginning exams.

I remember that as a student, I would forget a lot of what I had studied not long after writing the final exam. But I also remember that much of the course material would finally make sense as I studied for the final exam. Studying for the final definitely helped me improve my command of the material. The only problem was that I could not make the improvement last.

One of the major challenges of teaching courses with prerequisites is that students don鈥檛 always remember what they have learned. However, is it always reasonable to expect students to be proficient at what they have learned after a long break?

One way to address students鈥� deficiencies in prerequisite knowledge or skills is to spend the first week or so on review. Unfortunately, most courses have more than enough material to fill the entire term, leaving practically no time for doing a proper review. Besides, students don鈥檛 necessarily show up for the first few lectures.

The main purpose of a final exam, for most courses anyway, is to do a check on students鈥� command of the course material. If there is a time when such a check is really needed, it is at the beginning of a course that depends on it. Hence, if students are required to pass an exam on the prerequisites before the course registration deadline, perhaps they will be better prepared to take on the new material!

As switching from final exams to beginning exams won鈥檛 happen any time soon, we will have to continue to come up with ways to when we teach and hope for the best.

For many university students, sleepless nights spent cramming and hand cramps from furious writing are inevitable parts of exam season, and therefore unavoidable parts of university. But some professors have started to drop final exams from their courses entirely in favour of more frequent smaller assignments, and they鈥檙e pleased with the results.

Political science professor Mira Sucharov says structuring her courses around final exams forced her to make her lectures heavy on facts, figures and PowerPoint slides.

鈥淭o me it became a bit of a vicous circle,鈥� she says. 鈥淪tudents would come to class, I would lecture and pour lots of details into them for them to write furiously as notes and later have to reproduce in a final exam format.鈥�

Replacing final exams with weekly readings and an attendance grade has allowed Sucharov to be more spontaneous and incorporate more discussion into her lectures.

鈥淭he classroom environment is more lively,鈥� she says. 鈥淪tudents are looking at me more than at their pens and paper or laptops.鈥�

Philosophy professor Annie Lariv茅e usually includes exams in her history-based courses, but has dropped them from many of her other classes. She says courses that deal with contemporary topics run better without final exams because they 鈥渁re not a matter of just learning facts that are already established, but more about developing a capacity to make sense of our experience.鈥�

Lariv茅e says teaching Philosophy of Feminism with weekly written assignments, usually reading reviews, in the place of a final exam changed the spirit of the course entirely.

鈥淲e were doing the work together in the classroom. It was extremely satisfying for the students, not just to learn things, but to learn how to learn together and to be part of the creation of knowledge,鈥� she says.

Students told her they were more motivated to succeed in the course because they knew they were doing the work for their own sake, not just to fulfill requirements.

As for those who argue that the stress of final exams prepares students for the stress of the real world, Sucharov points out that exam conditions are highly artificial. People very rarely encounter highly structured, timed writing exercises, like exams outside of their education.

Lariv茅e says students鈥� mental health is another reason to avoid exams. She鈥檚 seen students break down in panic attacks during them.

鈥淲hy put my students through that kind of traumatizing experience if I can avoid it?鈥� she says. 鈥淚 personally don鈥檛 learn well under stress, and I don鈥檛 think anxiety is a good way to motivate people.鈥�

Do you think final exams are necessary? Or have you found alternatives for your courses? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below or emailing oavptl@carleton.ca.

I have mixed memories of final exams as an undergraduate. There was anxiety around memorizing the material, of course; there was camaraderie in forming late-night study groups; there was satisfaction in nailing an answer; there was relief after walking out of the examination room. Now, as a professor, I have chosen to forego exams altogether. It鈥檚 not specifically to save my students stress 鈥� all assignments naturally have their own stressful elements鈥� but rather to protect the classroom environment as a learning space.

Giving up exams in my courses has meant liberating myself from the feeling that I must present a litany of facts and figures which my students will dutifully write down for the purposes of鈥eproducing said facts and figures on the exam. It also means that I have jettisoned my PowerPoint presentations, since I had also designed those around the expectation that I must supply detailed material which students will later reproduce (I admit that the 鈥渄eath by PowerPoint鈥� comment I once received on a course evaluation humbled me).

But most importantly, not holding exams has meant that my classroom space is now one of active inquiry. 鈥淐ourse material鈥� is provided through weekly readings; students come to class prepared to be engaged in a guided conversation. Neither are we bound to unquestioningly follow the readings. If our conversation takes us in another direction as a result of me prompting students to pose questions that they extract from the week鈥檚 themes, we go with it. (To ensure that there is sufficient incentive for students to complete the readings and to attend class, I award a grade for attendance and for the submission of weekly analytical reading write-ups).

There are some risks to creating a less-structured class environment than one that has been tightly scripted from detailed lecture notes. Students can raise tough questions; a less relevant tangent might be followed. But there are also rich rewards. Students look at me and at each other rather than at their notebooks. We get to chart the how-to-answer-a-question journey so integral to higher order learning as much as identifying the hard and fast answers. We have created a learning community together, one which I get to be a part of too.

The EDC will close for the holidays on December 23 at 4:30 p.m. Please note that all Scantrons must be dropped off no later than 11 a.m. on the 23rd to ensure that the exams are processed before the break. Otherwise, exams will be processed starting on Jan. 4.

Please note: We now require that an accurate count of exams be provided on the Scantron scanning request form. We are asking that instructors or TAs count the Scantrons so that we know the exact number being dropped off. This will improve our quality assurance process, and ensure optimal service and the integrity of results.

We’ve also updated our to streamline the drop off process. Please use this new form going forward.

The EDC will close for the holidays on December 23 at 4:30 p.m. Please note that all Scantrons must be dropped off no later than 11 a.m. on the 23rd to ensure that the exams are processed before the break. Otherwise, exams will be processed starting on Jan. 4.

Please note: We now require that an accurate count of exams be provided on the Scantron scanning request form. We are asking that instructors or TAs count the Scantrons so that we know the exact number being dropped off. This will improve our quality assurance process, and ensure optimal service and the integrity of results.

We’ve also updated our to streamline the drop off process. Please use this new form going forward.

In what has been a particularly chilly and snowy December, it鈥檚 the end of the term at 杏吧原创 and that means its crunch time for students, instructors, teaching assistants and staff at the university.

Students are studying, preparing and writing exams, papers and submitting projects. Instructors and teaching assistants are madly marking, calculating and submitting final grades. Staff at Teaching and Learning Services are also working hard on many different projects, but some are particularly busy supporting the processing and marking of exams and helping with grade calculations.

Particularly relating to exam processing, the EDC provides a critical service to instructors who use multiple-choice exams as part of their assessment strategies; EDC staff members process the many, many, many Scantron answer sheets that students are completing right now.

Even though we use a high-speed scanner than can scan hundreds of exams per hour, the machine is in constant use five days a week eight to ten hours a day. We do our best to try to get exams processed within 48 hours of them being dropped off, but it can be tricky when many exams come in together or when there are very large classes.

After each exam is processed, we produce an item analysis that helps instructors identify the effectiveness of their questions and overall exam. This statistical report can identify potential mistakes in scoring, ambiguous questions or alternative answers (distractors) that don鈥檛 work. The report is included with the results from every exam that is processed. Information of how to interpret the item analysis is available at the and instructors are encouraged to meet with one Dr. Anthony Marini, one our assessment experts.

As I listen to the steady drone of the Scantron machine as it scans the exams, I decided to look up a few stats from last year鈥檚 December exam period:

• Total exam sheets scanned and processed: 35,854 exams
• Total number of courses: 285
• Departments dropping off the most exams: Psychology, Business, Law and Biology (Most of these courses are large enrollment first and second year courses, and many of these courses also include other forms of assessments as part of the courses鈥� overall assessment strategy.)
• Decibel level of scanner in full flight: 80 db (Average, measured non-scientifically with the iPhone app, Decibel.)

I expect this year will process a similar amount of exam sheets, if not a couple thousand more (杏吧原创鈥檚 first year class is larger this year than last year).

The EDC will close for the holidays on December 23 at 4:30 p.m. Please note that all exams should be dropped off no later than 11 a.m. on the 23rd.