# Exams December 8

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For most college students last week and this week means final EXAMS or at least the end of classes.

As I have observed my children go thru college I have seen a trend that I am pretty happy with. Not every course has a comprehensive final.

For most people my generation final EXAMS in all courses were likely to be comprehensive. The down side to that concept was you might do A or B work all semester only to be derailed by your final EXAM. Of the course the converse was true but very rarely did I pull off the “Hail Mary” of final EXAMS. That would be doing D or F work and acing the final. EXAMS were a huge stress event that did not always produce my best work.

Many EXAMS I took required bringing a blue exam book to class for the final. The blank sheets would often mock you when a question came up that you had no idea on how to frame a response. A fatal mistake was to BS or ramble but you just could not leave the pages blank. You became victim to stinking thinking that quantity was critical not quality.

What has me happy about the EXAM trend I am observing is that some college professors have reached a decision. That test performance is not the only way to determine if student learning has occurred.

Semester long group projects where posters are created and presented to the rest of the class is one example. Creating a semester long portfolio is still another. In some courses a comprehensive final EXAM might be the best answer but one size doesn’t fit all.

To all the student out there good luck. To all the professors happy grading.