SHOULD FINALS BE CUMULATIVE?

Faculty Responses

Dear Colleagues,
>  A couple of students have (alas for them), expressed dismay
>and even outrage to learn that the final exam in my Astronomy
>course will be cumulative, rather than just on the material
>since the last exam (two weeks ago).  One stated that 
>this was the only course of hers that had a cumulative final, 
>and that if I had intended the final to be cumulative, I should
>have stated it in the course syllabus.
>   Am I missing something?  Has a major pedagogical change taken
>place without my knowledge?  (Just when I thought I had gotten current
>on my educational research results!)..Has the final exam generally
>become another hour exam?  Sounds like a good idea to me.
>Now, instead of remembering material for one semester, students
>will have only to remember it for three weeks at a time.  And
>they can still get more credit for the final (I count mine 25%)
>than for the hour exams (15% each).  Nice deal.  
>    Let me know what you do in your courses.  If I find that a 
>suffient number of you have adopted the "non-cum final" (NCF) strategy, 
>I'll try it myself.  Maybe I'll even shift to daily exams so that students
>will only have to use short-term memory, saving essential long-term
>synapses for more important things.
>  Larry Marschall
>
>------------------------------

From jfink Thu Dec 7 06:43:07 1995 Larry, To my knowledge, all regular final exams in mathematics and computer science are cumulative. Exceptions occur in some upper-level courses in which the instructor substitutes a significant term project and paper for the final. Jim

From rsorense Thu Dec 7 07:58:37 1995 Larry, I have received this question from students of late and am also puzzled. With an exception or two (for which I believe there were reasonable extenuatng circumstances) my final exams have been cumulative. There is another clue in all of this. The word "cumulative" is surely not in the workaday vocabulary of most of our students. Yet this is the adjective always used when they ask the question. Could it be that some faculty are stressing that their final exam "will not be cumulative?" Could it be that some think cumulative finals are examples of "vertical" thinking by "phallocentric monoculturalists?" I shall forego the easy pun on the abbreviation "cum."

From dhinrich Thu Dec 7 08:21:54 1995 Larry- I'm with you. What nonsense. My final exam in every course is cumulative although it may emphasize things covered since the last exam. How can an exam not be cumulative when concepts and theories build on one another and some tools learned early are used to analyze latter materials? It is amazing that some people do this and yet we don't have grade inflation around here. Of course, maybe they are the ones pulling up the lower grades of others. Don Hinrichs

From mhayden Thu Dec 7 08:23:35 1995 Hang tough. I final is supposed to be cummulative. Left to students, a course would have no substance or educational value at all. You've got to keep it cummulative.

From dlevine Thu Dec 7 08:26:11 1995 Larry I'm teaching three courses this semester. Two of them, CS104 and CS 221 have had two midterm exams. The final in each is cumulative, but with emphasis (double weighting) on new material. Thus about 1/4 of the material is from the first exam, 1/4 from the second, and 1/2 "not cumulative" (although that seems a bit of a misnomer to me). In CS 109 (Graphics for non-majors), the final is not really cumulative, but also counts only 15% of the grade; the midterm was 10% - the portfolio, which is intrinsically cumulative, is 75%. CS 103 (our largest course) follows much the same pattern as 104 and 221. Electives vary, but mine usually follow that pattern as well. So, no, I don't think you are the last bastion of accumulation. --dbl

From swarshaw Thu Dec 7 08:30:23 1995 Larry, Don't worry. I got the same song and dance from a number of students. I teach three different courses this semester (and do every semester!) and ALWAYS give a cumulative final exam in every course. The reason for this is that I want students to put everything together in their own minds that we have learned throughout the semester. Since my exams tend to be mostly essay questions, this forces them to think through the issues in broad terms and include the range of material that we have discussed throughout the semester. Stand firm. -- Shirley Anne

From rburgess Thu Dec 7 08:31:07 1995 Larry, Although students might appreciate your more-frequent-exam movement, it'll never catch on in languages. It'd be hard to tell them, "ok, you learned the verb "to be" for the 1st test, so now you don't have to worry about knowing it any more. That also goes for the present tense." I'm not convinced that it would work, so I keep plodding along with cumulative finals (not only that, for the second semester final, they have to know everything from the FIRST SEMESTER, TOO!! Call me irresponsible). Hopefully you won't have a lot of votes for the little bit at a time then forget it idea. Ron

From mbingham Thu Dec 7 08:31:19 1995 Larry, I hope your student is bluffing. The final examinations in my courses are always cumulative. Mark Bingham

-------------------------- From djameson Thu Dec 7 09:04:51 1995 Larry I have heard the same complaint from my Chem 101/102 students for the last 6-7 years. I intend to continue with cumulative (non-multiple choice) exams in the foreseeable future. It is part of the culture of our department (and possibly all sciences) to do so and it is a good idea. By the way, my guess is that the results of your "poll" may not give a clear indication of what goes on here. I doubt that many people who give non-cumulative exams will admit it. Cheers Don Jameson

From arowland Thu Dec 7 09:09:36 1995 Larry, Yes, you are missing something. It all started on a pleasant spring day many years ago when the faculty decided that senior comprehensive exams were not needed to ensure that majors had a firm overall knowledge of the area of study. Continuing through numerous twists and turns, we are now told to go easy, not to have exams the last week of classes, not to make new assignments late in the semester. So why should students think they should really understand courses they take. They do what we demand, they shout "UNFAIR" when one of us does something that deviates from the norm they expect. And what do you think the discussions we are having about curriculum issues will do to the current student attitudes? Anyway, try giving unannounced exams next semester. You'll like it. Alex

From jmikesel Thu Dec 7 09:12:58 1995 Larry--I give cumulative exams in my intro. and upper level courses. I do emphasize the new (not tested upon) material--about 50:50. Not certain about the rest of the staff, although some give an exam the last week to evaluate the new stuff & a comprehensive final. Give your questioning students an "A" for the "Attempt." See you at 2:30 PM. Jan From rcavalie Thu Dec 7 09:30:56 1995 In both Bio 101 and Plant Adaptations (Bio300) the finals are cumulative. We use the term comprehensive to mean the same thing.

From cthompso Thu Dec 7 06:16:26 1995 Larry, In case you really are seeking information on what the rest of us do, I also am stuck in the middle ages. All my exams are cumulative. For some reason, a few years ago I did begin to put this on my syllabi instead of just assuming that the students would understand this. It would not surprise me to discover that there is, in fact, a drift toward using the final as another one-hour test. As far as I can tell, there is a general trend to be less challenging. Kerr

From dfortnum Thu Dec 7 10:03:34 1995 I give cumulative final exams and always have. My course description for physical chemistry includes the following: FINAL EXAM: A FINAL EXAMINATION covering ALL of the material will be given. The scheduled date for the final exam is Tuesday, December 12, 1995 (1:30 to 5:00 p.m.) Total (400 points) I include a similar statement for all my courses. If a significant amount of new material has been covered since the last hour exam I may be sure to emphasize that on the final exam. I also give unannounced quizzes (ten best of however many I give [19 to date]) for 100 points, five hour exams (400 points), weekly homework (ca 150 problems or points) and laboratory work and reports (300 points) Sometimes I even announce that while the spring final exam for p. chem. covers the second semester's work, much of what we studied during the first term is relevant. While I do not explicitly test on the first term material, I do not ignore it in constructing questions to test the material covered during the second term. At one time we used to give a standardized American Chemical Society final exam (cumulative for the whole year) in some of our courses as part of the final exam. I think the key is that students should be learning, not just remembering. Remembering is part of learning, but not a substitute for learning. I had heard that some courses did not have "real" final exams, but I did not know it was a widespread practice. A colleague of mine at Ursinus College who taught political science gave only two exams, a mid-term and a final (and the mid-term did not count toward the final course grade). He believed that you should demonstrate what you knew about a subject at the end of the course and based his grade on the final exam. Don Fortnum x6254

From dflesner Thu Dec 7 10:17:30 1995 Subject: final exams All of my final exams are cumulative.

From ntsuboi Thu Dec 7 11:04:54 1995 Larry, I am teaching Traditional Japanese Theater (JPN140). I give six reading assignment quizzes (not cumulative, but questions about the assinged reading materials), two cumulative quizzes about the material covered in the class, and the final exam which is "cumulative". The total of six reading quizzes and two cumulative quizzes are about 250 point worth, whereas the final exam 100 point worth. This is my fifth time to teach this course, and I taught 106 students in the past three years. So far, not a single student complained to me. Of course, they know that two quizzes and the final exam are cumulative on the first day of the class. The information is written on the syllabus. As a foreigner in this country, I learned quickly that assumptions hurt my judgement. I am afraid that some students nowadays are so used to be given information, and lack the common sense. The only thing we can do as a teacher is to teach the common sense as well as the course you are teaching. Good luck! Noriko Tsuboi Garofalo NTG

From rosenbp Thu Dec 7 11:10:08 1995 I wonder what courses those students are taking? I've never heard of a non cumulative final exam. Mine are, have always been, and likely always will be cumulative (with additional emphasis on the as-yet-untested material since the last exam). The final counts more, is longer (though by only about 50-75%), and takes longer (ditto). Despite my statement in the syllabus that the final is cumulative, I am frequently asked by students to confirm this fact. PS - my regular exams are ALSO cumulative, and are likely to include another shot at the material that the class did poorly on during the previous exam. Pam Rosenberg, Sociology

From pfong Thu Dec 7 11:37:38 1995 Larry-In Biology 101 the final exam is cumulative, but the bulk of the material comes from topics since the previous midterm. This year all the lecturers are writing their own exams so the degree of "cumulative coverage" varies a little from section to section. Questions from the first 2/3 of the course are broad "take home message" questions that we feel are so basic to biology that the students really need to come away with this information. The cumulative nature of the final is specifically stated in the syllabus. I don't think it is out of step to do what you are doing. The students are getting more and more spoiled. An indictment of our high school system? Peter

From tberg Thu Dec 7 11:51:46 1995 You haven't missed anything, or, if you have, I guess I wasn't listening either. My final is cumulative. It will cover every text we went over in class, books, essays, and films. I have given quizzes during the semester (as carrot and as stick), which will count a fraction of their grade, but the final is 20%. The other 80% goes for a paper (20%), group work and presentation (20%), journal (20%), and class participation, a combination of physical and intellectual presence (20%). Remember when your daughters used to tell you that everyone else's parents were letting their kids do whatever? Well, I think your student is just doing the same thing with her teachers! Most of the time the putative unanimity (spelling?) is in the head of the complainer and no where else.

--Temma From rdawes Thu Dec 7 11:53:03 1995 Prof. Marschall: In my intro. (American politics) courses, students still take cumulative finals. I do mention it in the syllabus, to avoid misunderstandings. The final is worth slightly more than the exams during the semester, and material since the last exam is heavily emphasized. Most of the material that can be considered cumulative are items that have been somewhat emphasized throughout the semester. I also teach three sections of methods per year, and the final is on material covered since the midterm. However, given that the material since the midterm probably could not be understood without being comfortable with material up to that point, I guess you could say that the final in that course is also cumulative. Much of the same could be said about the other upper level courses I offer (State politics, parties, and voting behavior). Finals in those courses aren't explicitly cumulative, either, but I'm not sure how well students would do if they "forgot" the earlier material. I'd be interested to hear some of the results of your informal "survey." Roy A. Dawes

From sgratto Thu Dec 7 11:57:27 1995 Larry... In my opinion, the response that you have been getting from students about final exams is the most absurd thing I have ever heard. Every student should automatically assume that an exam is cumulative in every course unless someone tells him/her otherwise. Whether it be Music Theory (a cumulative skill building course), Opera Survey, Introduction to World Music, or Elementary/Secondary Music Education Methods (all of which are very different kinds of courses for different student populations), I give and make final exams cumulative. As a person who trains teachers, I believe that cumulative exams are the only way to help students think about and reflect on the big picture of the course over the entire semester. I would hope that this would be the norm all over campus. In the meantime, I would not let them strong arm you into believing that you alone are making finals cumulative. Perhaps we need a campus-wide statement from the Provost's office on the subject. Sharon Gratto

From dtannenb Thu Dec 7 12:25:43 1995 Larry, it looks like some of your students are pulling the old 'everybody else does it, so why dont you?' trick--the kind kids use to get their folks to give in. If you are interested in surveying practice, all my finals are cumulative, although I may have some parts that focus on material which was not yet tested [ie, since the last exam] and I may not always expect the level of detail on that earlier material since 3 hours isnt forever. Once results are in, do you plan to share them with the rest of us? -------------------------------------------

From ncushing Thu Dec 7 12:53:02 1995 Larry, I don't know how serious your request was, but I just wanted to let you know that everyone over here in the Spanish dept., to my knowledge, gives cumulative exams - I always have and always will. Remeber, "tis the season to be kvetching!" Nancy Nancy K. Cushing-Daniels

From kdoherty Thu Dec 7 14:42:48 1995 Larry -- I can understand your dismay -- it seems to me that students are sometimes less-willing to work hard. Anyway, my final exams have two parts. Part one is just another hourly exam. It, as all my hourly exams, is worth 50 points. Part 2 is a cumulative exam -- typically 2 essays that incorporate material from the entire course. This part is worth 25 points. Of course, I typically either give the students the questions in advance, to allow them to prepare, or at least give them several comprehensive questions ahead of time, from which I will choose two for the final. Ultimately, this serves to further my goal of having them learn the material. I'd be interested to know what you hear back from other people, since I am still fairly new at this myself. Kathy Doherty (Psychology)

From sjohnson Thu Dec 7 15:36:12 1995 Larry-- Just thought I'd throw my own experience into the ring. My final exams are cumulative--always have been, always will be. The one exception is that on my Survey of Brit Lit (which covers anywhere from 300 to 900 years of literature) the identification part of the exam (25%) covers material from the 2nd half of the course only. The other 75% of the exam is cumulative. My students seem to expect their finals to be cumulative. I think that whiner was trying to b-s a bit. Suzanne

From nforness Thu Dec 7 16:18:53 1995 Larry: My final exams are cumulative and always have been. I think this is true for most, if not all, of my colleagues in the History Dept. From my perspective, a student's ability to make sense of the whole course is important, and I assume it if to accommodate examing on the whole of it that we have exams that run three hours. Norm

From marey Thu Dec 7 16:28:43 1995 Hi Larry, Hope you got my mmessage about finals. Let me knowwhat else you want. Finals make no sense if they're not cumulative. Marie-Jo marey@gettysburg.edu >

From cmoore Fri Dec 8 11:11:24 1995 Larry, With the exception of Colloquy, every course I have ever taught in the past thirty-eight years has had a final exam where the questions have been accummulative, i.e., covering material from the first to the last day of the course. To be sure, I will have some questions on material not tested since the last exam. I don't know about your discipline, but I know that it is true of many of my students that what they THINK they understand in the first quarter or third of the course they may understand differently at the end. It is only at the end of the course that I can ask questions that tie in materials learned at the beginning, middle and end of the course. Finally, the reason finals are three hours long is so that professors can cover the entire course. I sincerely doubt that our students really want a THREE-HOUR EXAM on just what they have not been tested on since the last exam. I've never had a student try to sell me the idea that the finals are not accummulative, but I'm pleased you raised the issue. Carey

From fendera Mon Dec 11 18:08:50 1995 Larry, I was so busy preparing my cumulative final exams that I did not leap to the opportunity to reply to your request for information. I do give cumulative exams and think it important that students review material at the end of the semester to put together the discrete bits of information and understanding they've acquired into a more coherent whole. I wish that I could report that the final exams suggest this always happens for every student, but it doesn't always take; nonetheless, I think the effort important. Thanks for reminding us to think more carefully about what we're doing, Ann

From bginge Fri Dec 8 15:48:42 1995 Larry, I didn't get around to reading yesterday's digest until now, so pardon my lateness. Please, add me to the 27+ who would not dream of giving a non-cumulative final. Just for the files and thanks for sharing! Birgitte

From atrevely Fri Dec 8 16:32:13 1995 Larry I administer cumulative finals in some courses, not in others. Amy