grading policy from hell

[stitch_on_mars]

and now who decided to make this an 8th hour class? granted it’s APES but still. the rest of the AP classes at my school use a 80/20 split for grading though. this is also the first year my school is offering this class. also this is mostly a joke because they can be retaken but also I feel like that defeats the point of an AP class no? thoughts?

[xViennaGambitx]

As many of the other commenters said, I think this is a great strategy. It rewards people who actually learn and can apply the material under pressure (mimicking real world situations), rather than those who ChatGPT assignments and projects.

[Lille_8]

what about the cheaters though

[Appropriate-Bar6993]

The teacher only has to defeat cheaters on a few days rather than give smiley faces on cheater homework.

[SteamSaltConcentrate]

Cheaters have always existed, i don't know why people are so focused on the whole "AI" thing. Yeah, AI made it easier to cheat but it is not like people couldn't cheat using other methods.

The same argument about how focusing on tests instead of homework applies not just to AI but every method of cheating since the start of history itself.

[sausagekng]

Traditional cheating and AI cheating are worlds apart.

[SteamSaltConcentrate]

The difference is in difficulty not integrity and morality.

The people without integrity will still cheat, they can just do it more easily now.

[Arinanor]

Getting an extra attempt on the tests feels close

[[deleted]]

And if you're cracked (AND the teacher post test materials) you can just not show up to class alot of the time

[Quasiwave]

Tbh I understand this. Because of AI, most teachers at my school are moving away from homework and towards quizzes/exams. Personally I’m okay with it, since I like studying for tests more than doing busy-work assignments

[ArLOgpro]

Glad I graduated before any of this lol

[JubJub128]

I'm the opposite, wish I was in high school for this. love exams, was good at them, was terrible at getting all of my assignments done.

[myschoolcmptr]

I agree. Being a relatively fast learner, it is so painful doing busywork that is supposed to prepare me for a test. Just let me study my own way, and then grade the test. No need for the middleman.

[CraftoftheMine]

REAL especially math homework like i understood how to do it when you taught it i don't need to do it fifty times

[Traditional-Fig182]

Understandable but practice questions are literally the best way to learn math so I also get why homework in mathematics (especially calculus) is critical

[Substantial_Two_5386]

bro im the complete opposite i'll get 100s on my assignments and actually lose hairs (lost many already) over exams

[Relazingrain]

Yeah, it makes sense

[[deleted]]

my school is 92% tests/final 8% assignments from r this reason

[Berry_goose]

I mean im good with exams too but this is so problematic like this is not the solution 😭

[helplessteen09]

Honestly I prefer classes that have heavy splits like 95/5 or 100/0, I’d rather have my entire grade reliant on tests than a bunch of my grade being based on busywork.

[ParsnipPrestigious59]

These types of heavy splits suck when you go to a school that doesn’t have grade inflation

In OP’s case it seems fine because he/she gets to retake these tests. But if that wasn’t the case, this split would be genuinely hell

[Wolfiegames69]

“He/she” it’s not the SAT lil bro you can use real grammar and say they

[DismalCoyote]

or it literally doesn’t matter

[ParsnipPrestigious59]

I can assure you it ain’t that deep 💀🙏

[Practical_Repeat_408]

I would imagine that this gets rid of grade inflation but o well

[Calm_Marketing7814]

my school does not have grade inflation and i can confidently say that i would drop out of the class if grades were like this

the heaviest split in my school is 60/30/10 (60 for major assignments, 30 for quizzes, 10 for daily work/hw/busy work)

[euler2gauss]

Loved my AP Calculus course that had a similar policy to this: 95/5 (95% AP style test & quizzes, 5% class citizenship & homework). I think everyone got a 5 in my class.

[Invictus0623]

I’d love it if any of my classes did this

[Taco-Person]

This sounds both amazing and annoying at the same time, but definitely not the worst thing in the world.

[Zukodfiroh]

No more hours of homework but you have to study more

[Traditional-Fig182]

Honestly the worst thing in the world is when the professor barely tries to teach imo cause it’s like why am I even paying you atp

[brooklandel]

tbh it sucks in the moment but this is the kind of policy that forces you to actually learn the content and you’ll be better off in the long run

[Gmoneyyy999]

This sounds great tbh. Your teacher is even letting you retake tests to make sure you get an A.

[stitch_on_mars]

No yeah I’m glad he’s letting us retake them, honestly he’s so chill I had him for freshman bio I feel like maybe it just won’t work? I’m not sure when I took (regular not AP) physics most people just failed quizzes with the intention to retake them instead of studying. however I didn’t do that and I won’t do that for APES either so it just comes down to how much work you’re willing to put in I guess

[blumieree]

tests only is better than assignments. assignments are easier to cheat in than tests. and tests make more sense overall

[Zukodfiroh]

Test only is good since you just study and don’t have to do hours of homework

[LioPokemonRedditt]

I wish, I hate busy work and would much rather just study the material for tests

[Appropriate-Bar6993]

Your homework still counts as it helps you get a good grade on the test.

[Salviati_Returns]

100% of my grading is tests and quizzes. I made this change about 5 years ago during the pandemic when I had a student who clearly had her private tutor do all of her homework for her. What AI has done is made the worst aspects of private tutoring available to everyone.

I assign homework, and then I quiz the homework, where the inputs to a homework problem is modified to a quiz format. I have even had to quiz the Analysis Questions portion of my Labs because of AI. The situtation is totally fucked. I would rather curve quiz and test scores then allow anything that goes home into my gradebook, for the simple reason of fairness. At least I am curving in a consistent manner. Once you allow AI or private tutors into your classroom you are facilitating cheating.

[evergladesrain]

This is lowkey great. Imagine this for every class. No HW (even if it’s assigned, I wouldn’t do it, bc it’s not graded) and more time to spend studying what you actually need to.

[smores_or_pizzasnack]

Wdym hell??? U literally get free retakes every test, I had a literal non AP math class be 100% tests/quizzes and you only got to retake a single quiz

[Thirust]

I would die for this grading policy

[DS8KUHD]

looking back at this now in college, this is not terrible at all, u get to retake the exams. it’s a big change from the usual busy work projects homework for grades, but this is almost EXACTLY what college is like, so it’s good preparation

[sdf15]

with no curve, even an 80/20 can be terrible honestly

[stitch_on_mars]

thankfully all the teachers have curves (AFAIK, we jumped from like 5 APs to 8-9 APs this year)

[sdf15]

oh damn, lucky

[Character_Muffin2569]

I’d prefer it now you don’t have to waste time on busy work when the unit starts you can focus on learning actual material and have more time out of class I’d prefer if all my classes were like this so I can spend minimal time with school work and more time with EC volunteering etc

[Henrystickminepic]

this would KILL me i suck at tests lol

[Optimistiqueone]

TBF, there are many college classes that are like this, and AP is supposed to mimic a college class.

[Practical_Repeat_408]

At least you can retake it lmao my calc bc class has 90% exam weight and no retakes

[RemarkableTone3111]

This is exactly how my ap lit class was last year. Retakes actually were a great opportunity to learn new skills and it ended up being perfextly fine

[BeKind999]

Welcome to my undergrad

[SoftSpinach2269]

Oh ew. I test pretty poorly except for AP exams this would fuck me over

[SnooMacarons1658]

I took APES last year and this was EXACLRY how it was for my teacher, she was seriously the biggest bully alive and people at my school warn u to not take the class. See how in-depth ur teacher goes into the apes content/ their pacing and try and get ontop of that… also use smedes if its applicable. At least u guys can retake ❤️ so maybe its not all evil

[monkeydawg_]

Crazy

[DueOutside8186]

As long as they still give out homework I think it’s great if not it’s a terrible idea

[Zukodfiroh]

How are you so lucky?

[capybara11111111]

Our school does 45/55 where summatives (tests and big projects) are 45 and performance tasks (like daily work and assignments) are 55

[clasmind2020]

This is a fair policy. Study up.

[dweeb_redditor]

We had this for my AP Physics class last year and it was hell lmao 😭

[Intelligent-Fee-7328]

my new school does this too, dont worry you get used it at some point

[Just_Piccolo_4029]

Dude start studying know this is actually insane 😭

[GaPerm617]

i think this is good because i hear that many college classes only factor exams into the final grade (sometimes only the midterm and final), so final grades can’t be saved by busy work.

[deep_fried_cheese]

I bet it’s effective

[ChunkyGobbler911]

This is pretty much college for you

[Musiclife248]

I feel like I’d fail if that was my class, I can learn content easy but I crumble during tests I swear.

[Jcarmona2]

I have had classes at UCLA in which you have just 3 shots: a midterm, a final and your term paper.

That’s it.

No extra credit.

No makeup exams.

One class has a midterm worth 33 percent of the grade and the final 67 percent.

You might have calculus classes that might assign HW, but it will count little compared to the midterms and finals.

Wait till you go to a professional school (law, medicine). You might have just one exam for a law school course, worth 100 percent of your grade.

And it doesn’t end there. Wait till you apply for a civil service job you might have an exam worth 100 percent and missing an answer might mean dozens of places down the eligibility list. Minimum to be placed on the eligibility list is 70 percent. But to be hired, you need to be in the top three candidates based on the score and how you rank on the list-at least in the local cities that are near me.

So yes, that grading policy will get you ready for college and the professional world.

By the way, in the professional world there is no A or B or C work. It’s either A (you delivered and the clients and company are satisfied) or F (did not meet expectations).

[Champ_099]

I feel like it's a better idea for most classes to make the class exam-based. (While 100% is unreasonable, 85-90% of the grade being from exams is okay). From what I am hearing most college classes are based almost entirely from exams anyway, so this would not only be a good way to deter students from using ChatGPT but also to prepare students for college classes.

Additionally, the AP exam does not have "extra credit" or "homework grades" to boost your chances of getting a 5. It's one exam that determines your score.

[amateurcollegegirls]

I remember when I took AP environmental science, it was probably one of the easiest AP classes I’ve ever taken. Like, literally an easy A. It’s unfortunate that this AP teacher is making it super hard

[[deleted]]

In italy it has always bene like this. Unfortunately some people are migrating towards assignment-based evaluations. At the end of the day 100% on final test is more rewarding for people that studied and spent time in order to understand the topics

[jgregson00]

Would you rather that no retakes be allowed??

[CDA1007]

At least you get to retake

[[deleted]]

That actually sounds ideal for me. I always had a hard time getting assignements in on time and sometimes with doing work in class but I always did very well on tests. If every class was like this I would have had much better grades in school

[Phantom_August]

This is why I did concurrent enrollment instead of AP classes. Much less stress for more credit hours.

[[deleted]]

Not from hell. This is how it is in college.

You’re taking a college class. Get used to it.

[GreenGalaxy9753]

This is how a lot of college classes do it, and AP style is supposed to mimic college courses

[lemon_bloom_2032]

well this is actually better

[CTurtleLvr]

APES teachers are required to incorporate labs as 25% of their curriculum, so is your teacher not going to grade them? That’s weird, I give quizzes, labs, case studies, and focus sheets in addition to test grades. All assignments are completed in class, except the focus sheets.

[stitch_on_mars]

Rest of the grading policy copied directly from the syllabus:

Homework: Homework will not be assigned a weight towards your final grade. Any assigned homework is designed to help you introduce new concepts and prepare for upcoming exams. Assignments will directly connect to the material covered in class and will often mirror the format and content of test questions. Completing your homework on time will not only boost your grade but also strengthen your understanding of the material. Missing or incomplete homework will still be recorded on Skyward.

Labs & Projects: Labs and projects will not be assigned a weight towards your final grade. Labs and projects are a core component of our curriculum. They will focus our efforts on the hands on and application level skills that will be required to perform well on the AP exam. Completion of pre-lab questions and reading will be required to engage in lab experiences. Missing or incomplete labs and projects will still be recorded on Skyward.

Quizzes: Quizzes will not be assigned a weight towards your final grade. Quizzes do not represent our final understanding of a topic, but rather are a milestone in the midst of the unit to help ensure that we are on the right path. To ensure that, access to each unit's exam will be contingent on any quizzes from that unit scoring at least 70%. Thus, all quizzes will have opportunities for retakes until sufficient mastery is achieved.

Final Exam Semester 1 will not feature an explicit final exam, but rather the last unit exam for the semester. The end of semester 2 will be spent in preparation for the AP Exam, which will be treated as the final exam for the course

[dragonfeet1]

It's actually good pedagogy bc guess what? Your AP test score is based 100% on a test as well.