That's just bad outdated practice. It leads to cramming and less remembering than of the demand is for students to do work and show learning and effort throughout the year.
replyMost courses I've taken have obligatory assignments that are pass/fail, and you have to pass a certain amount during the semester to take the final exam. But the grade is determined entirely of the final exam.
replyWhich to me seems the best way, you still have to learn throughout the year. Especially to avoid cheating this works nice. And as an aside, most people I know that did a year abroad in the US got 1-2 grades higher, as it was quite easy to just farm extra credits.
It has been my observation that most of the better students were the ones who would not put in work during the semester/year and cram at the end.
replyThat's maybe something a school can do if exams are next week, or after.
replyAt my school, tomorrow is the last day of exams. Most of the students have left campus. There's no time or mechanism to schedule an(other) exam.
Then you're testing how good someone is at exams as much as anything
replyExams have performance variance. Otherwise you're only getting a pass/fall signal in any case.
replyExams are the only fair way to evaluate if someone knows something (written or oral, in person). Take homes and attendance are just window dressing.
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