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Exams

Once again I am proctoring and grading exams. I've gotten into a comfortable routine of monthly exams and weekly problems sets to give lots and lots of feedback to my students.

I am regularly caught off-guard by two kinds of questions from students who are stressed and not thinking clearly. The first is any variation of "can you remind me how to do this", which, outside of the exam, I would be more than happy to do. The second is a variation of "am I on the right track" which is subtly different from the first but still asking for an unfair advantage over other students.

There are many factors other than student ability affecting their exam grades; health, distractions from their personal life, misreading a couple of questions, etc. I do not like to base too much of a term grade on any individual exam, usually aiming for 10% for a monthly exam and 20% for a final exam.  To base too much on a final exam or a final and a midterm is lazy, inaccurate assessment and I'm too proud for that.

One last note:  I had red ink on my hands at my wedding, as my wild bachelor party the night before was me alone in my hotel room grading exams. To each their own I guess.

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