[PITTM]

on our final study guide he gave us a list of things that would be on the test and that would not be on the test. suprisingly(sarcasm) the items he told us would not be on the test made up 38% of the points on our final exam!! automatic everyone in our class fails anyone? yep, it was soooo pathetic. ive already written a letter to the professor, should i go over his head and to the dean of economics on this one?

rj

 

[hciman77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PITTM on our final study guide he gave us a list of things that would be on the test and that would not be on the test. suprisingly(sarcasm) the items he told us would not be on the test made up 38% of the points on our final exam!! automatic everyone in our class fails anyone? yep, it was soooo pathetic. ive already written a letter to the professor, should i go over his head and to the dean of economics on this one? rj

A similar thing happened to me. In 1991 when I was doing my first Masters our lecturer told us what was coming up on one final - he pretty much told us what 2 of the questions would be. His memory was flawed however and the compare A vs B question turned out to be a compare C vs D question. The Exam was 3 one hour questions (choose 3 out of 5, with one compulsory) , as befits a higher degree so for those who banked on that one question - big doo doos.

The Head of the School went completely ballistic - not for Donald giving us the wrong info but for him telling us what was coming up in the first place.

I suppose it depends on how much detail your TA gave you, i.e if it was what topics or pretty much giving you the questions, if nearer the latter then some schools would consider that tantamount to cheating so it might be better to keep schtum

 

[mulveling]

Is the test/class going to be graded on a curve? There wouldn't be much of a problem in that case. The majority of my college classes were graded on a curve - it's also a good way to rein in grade inflation, as long as a reasonable curve is used.

On the other hand, if there's no curve, then turly that TA is a jerk.

 

[PITTM]

the test will be graded on a curve but only about half of the class was at the aformentioned review section so not everyone recieved the same misinformation so the curve may not get the job done. i got a response from the professor a few minutes ago saying he had given the TA a copy of the final over a week ago, and in our review session 3 days ago he told us he had not seen the final and then proceeded to tell us what we shouldnt "waste our time studying for". it seems to me that if he had access to the final, didnt utilize it and then gave us information about what wouldnt be on the final he is closing in on grounds for dismissal. which i wrote in my 2nd response to the professor.

rj

 

[chosen1]

In my opinion you should be learning everything in the class, not just what is on the exam. It is your fault for not being prepared. Sure the TA may have made a mistake (or just been a jerk), but ultimately it is your responsibility to learn the material.

 

[PITTM]

youre right, when the person in charge of the class tells you not to study for something you SHOULD study for it...works like a charm...

rj

 

[IstariAsuka]

Just curious, what economics class is it? I'm majoring in economics.

Anyways, yeah, that sucks. But, if there is a curve, that should sort out some of it, but it's definately worth complaining about. If the professor won't do anything about it, I'd at least consider filing a complaint or something with the Dean.

 

[jefemeister]

yeah, if it's on a curve you're fine (supposing you did better than the others). I had a class once (a circuits class) where I got a 13%. I about killed myself until I found out the mean was 7%. Now THAT guy should have been fired.

 

[PITTM]

it was environmental economics, a required class, its not really my field though. the professor seemed receptive to my problem and said he didnt really trust the TA either and that all of our grades would probably work out fine. encouraging words. after my 2 finals tomorrow, hello graduation, hello summer!

rj

 

[PITTM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jefemeister yeah, if it's on a curve you're fine (supposing you did better than the others). I had a class once (a circuits class) where I got a 13%. I about killed myself until I found out the mean was 7%. Now THAT guy should have been fired.

haha, now i almost feel better. class mean being 7% is pretty sweet. so there were actually people with like 2-3%? haha.

rj

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jefemeister yeah, if it's on a curve you're fine (supposing you did better than the others). I had a class once (a circuits class) where I got a 13%. I about killed myself until I found out the mean was 7%. Now THAT guy should have been fired.

You must have gone to the Screw of M. I remember my first chem test there. It wasn't bad. I went to check my grade and I got a 12 out of 144. D'Oh!!!! I almost wet my pants. Then I found out the mean was a 7, so I actually got a B+ on it. All my classses were like that. What a stupid way to run a University...

 

[Born2bwire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gpalmer You must have gone to the Screw of M. I remember my first chem test there. It wasn't bad. I went to check my grade and I got a 12 out of 144. D'Oh!!!! I almost wet my pants. Then I found out the mean was a 7, so I actually got a B+ on it. All my classses were like that. What a stupid way to run a University...

But there are always a few people who ace the test, that's the kind of students that the Professors want to find and it's a good way of doing it in a class with scores of students.

I've had that happen to me before, where a TA told us one thing and that material was specifically on the test. It wasn't his fault though, the Prof had to leave the country before the final and the TA's did not see the final until the night before the proctoring when the Prof got back. But the thing is, you deal with it. The rationale is that you are expected to know all of the material and that if such a discrepancy is made the curve will help smooth that out.

 

[ajt976]

That's a total bummer dude. Hopefully there is some sort of curve. Looks like the complete opposite happened in my economics class. The teacher gave us EVERY single question that would be on EVERY single test. No one ever came to that class, all you had to do was memorize the questions to the test. Needless to say...my GPA wasn't at all sad with the 98% I got for a final grade.

If they don't have a curve, I would definitely file a complaint.

 

[PITTM]

again, im perfectly fine with the rationale that we should know all the material. but to tell us that something WILL NOT be on the exam when he has seen the exam and to have it on there at such a high rate is a bit frustrating...studying things that arent on the test at all for 3 days only to find you were studying the complete wrong thing is lame. if he would have told us "just study everything" as teachers probably should, he specifically instructed us NOT to study material a. if you dont think this is a problem i dont really know what to say...

rj

 

[Dimitris]

You are both correct and wrong. Just because he said you shouldnt study some chapters that doesnt mean that you shouldnt. On the other hand the guy deserves to be taken care of with a bat!If you are to throw a tough exam at least let everybody know that its going to be so. In my uni they would give you exercises that were way out of normal exercises during class. That was in order to make you think and use your judgement. When i was having my masters in the states i felt like cheating with all the TA's and preparation courses for exams.