5 ms·

Reminds me of over a decade ago I was in a high school AP course. At the start of the course, the teacher recommended we get a AP prep book to study throughout

by gtk40 4y ago

Reminds me of over a decade ago I was in a high school AP course. At the start of the course, the teacher recommended we get a AP prep book to study throughout the year, and recommended 2 brands. She specifically said not to get one brand, noting that it was of inferior quality. I had already got the prep book she didn't recommend as I had found it on sale before that remark was made. I later learned that she used that book for all of her test questions, sometimes literally copying the test from the book with minimal editing. I got a 100% on a test out of the blue after averaging in the 80s and then had to make it less obvious.

fezfight 4y ago
Similarly, with a slight twist, a prof I had used to recommend we read the entire text book, not just the chapters required for the class. It was an open book exam so people figured they could annotate the pages or whatever and didn't bother to follow his adcice. He would often say, 'everything [we] ever want to know is in that book!' He was right. The final exam was verbatim the practice exam given at the end of the book. As luck would have it, I had discovered the practice exams a week earlier. Once I realized they were identical to the final, I literally copied the answers and handed it in. It was a 3 hour exam and half the class was done in 15 minutes.
- fuzzfactor 4y ago
  I had one where on the first day of the semester, the very first thing the minute the class started, the professor casually said "if you do every homework problem in the book, you'll get an A on the final." Not everyone was there on time, some students were going to drop & add the class and most people weren't paying attention. He casually joked for a couple minutes then settled down to get started. There was never another hint. When the final came, each question was verbatim from homework problems that were not assigned.
- benj111 4y ago
  I had an exam once where we were told to read the entire question paper first. At the end it told you to ignore all previous questions and just do this one. 2nd favourite exam question after an economics multiple choice exam where we had to calculate the probability of passing the exam just by guessing.
  - The-Bus 4y ago
    I once had a sociology professor whose final was multiple choice and every answer (out of 50) was a B, except for the last, which was a C.
- WalterBright 4y ago
  Wouldn't you rather learn the material?
  - fezfight 4y ago
    Sure. Not a lot of learning going on during exams, I'm afraid.
    - WalterBright 4y ago
      Cheating on the exam means it wasn't learned.
- Aeolun 4y ago
  That’s a fun anecdote, but horrible teaching.
  - wyclif 4y ago
    Here's my little related story. I was in one of my fave used book stores (Baldwin's Book Barn in West Chester, PA) which is not exactly close to where I was living at the time. After browsing for an hour or so and picking out a few books, I spied a title on a top shelf that I thought was interesting but couldn't remember ever seeing before. I pulled the book down and began perusing it, and on the inside cover there was a familiar-looking stamped bookplate that said "Property of <My Name>." I was a little freaked out because I couldn't remember ever owning the book. After thinking about it a few minutes, I dimly recalled lending the book to somebody years ago and I guess it was never returned to me. When I went downstairs to the checkout counter, I showed the older man working that day my ID and the bookplate while telling my story, saying I never got a chance to read this book. He very kindly told me to just take the book and didn't charge me for it, saying "I'm just glad it found its way back to you."
    - fezfight 4y ago
      What a lovely story, thank you for sharing.
  - mbg721 4y ago
    It depends what the class was for. I had a sort of similar experience with a physics class where the professor would take a break mid-exam and just give everyone the answers, but it was a class that was a prerequisite for engineering students who didn't care and really didn't need to, and also a stepping stone for the passionate physics students who did care, but would do the heavy lifting later. The prof was well-regarded for spending his time more on helping with true understanding for the students who cared.
  - fezfight 4y ago
    That describes my entire education.

by gtk40 4y ago

fezfight 4y ago

Similarly, with a slight twist, a prof I had used to recommend we read the entire text book, not just the chapters required for the class. It was an open book exam so people figured they could annotate the pages or whatever and didn't bother to follow his adcice. He would often say, 'everything [we] ever want to know is in that book!' He was right. The final exam was verbatim the practice exam given at the end of the book. As luck would have it, I had discovered the practice exams a week earlier. Once I realized they were identical to the final, I literally copied the answers and handed it in. It was a 3 hour exam and half the class was done in 15 minutes.

fuzzfactor 4y ago
I had one where on the first day of the semester, the very first thing the minute the class started, the professor casually said "if you do every homework problem in the book, you'll get an A on the final." Not everyone was there on time, some students were going to drop & add the class and most people weren't paying attention. He casually joked for a couple minutes then settled down to get started. There was never another hint. When the final came, each question was verbatim from homework problems that were not assigned.
benj111 4y ago
I had an exam once where we were told to read the entire question paper first. At the end it told you to ignore all previous questions and just do this one. 2nd favourite exam question after an economics multiple choice exam where we had to calculate the probability of passing the exam just by guessing.
- The-Bus 4y ago
  I once had a sociology professor whose final was multiple choice and every answer (out of 50) was a B, except for the last, which was a C.
WalterBright 4y ago
Wouldn't you rather learn the material?
- fezfight 4y ago
  Sure. Not a lot of learning going on during exams, I'm afraid.
  - WalterBright 4y ago
    Cheating on the exam means it wasn't learned.
Aeolun 4y ago
That’s a fun anecdote, but horrible teaching.
- wyclif 4y ago
  Here's my little related story. I was in one of my fave used book stores (Baldwin's Book Barn in West Chester, PA) which is not exactly close to where I was living at the time. After browsing for an hour or so and picking out a few books, I spied a title on a top shelf that I thought was interesting but couldn't remember ever seeing before. I pulled the book down and began perusing it, and on the inside cover there was a familiar-looking stamped bookplate that said "Property of <My Name>." I was a little freaked out because I couldn't remember ever owning the book. After thinking about it a few minutes, I dimly recalled lending the book to somebody years ago and I guess it was never returned to me. When I went downstairs to the checkout counter, I showed the older man working that day my ID and the bookplate while telling my story, saying I never got a chance to read this book. He very kindly told me to just take the book and didn't charge me for it, saying "I'm just glad it found its way back to you."
  - fezfight 4y ago
    What a lovely story, thank you for sharing.
- mbg721 4y ago
  It depends what the class was for. I had a sort of similar experience with a physics class where the professor would take a break mid-exam and just give everyone the answers, but it was a class that was a prerequisite for engineering students who didn't care and really didn't need to, and also a stepping stone for the passionate physics students who did care, but would do the heavy lifting later. The prof was well-regarded for spending his time more on helping with true understanding for the students who cared.
- fezfight 4y ago
  That describes my entire education.