Ending the semester on an academic high note is the goal of many University students. However, the transparency that stems from teachers returning assignments throughout the semester often takes a complete nosedive during finals. At the end of a semester, University professors should be as transparent as possible with grades, allowing not only students to function as a necessary check on potential mistakes but also giving them the opportunity to learn from the most important assignments of the class.
Ever taken a final exam and never seen the grade — just your final grade? For many teachers, however, this practice has become widespread and somehow acceptable. I’ve had a class for instance where the central element of the course was a final policy paper. We spent weeks formulating our topics, completing mini-assignments and finally turning in our papers. But when the time came to see how I did on the crown jewel of the class — not to mention the final exam — there was nothing. Just a final grade. Absolutely no procedure was in place for students to review their work or learn new lessons for the future. The goal of final assignments or exams should not just be about the process of preparing and crafting a grade-acceptable conclusion. That misses the most important part. Rather, students should have the ability to learn from their mistakes. Even if teachers don’t believe their class should have to red-pen a final paper or exam, that’s fine. However, a base level of transparency necessitates a clear reporting of students’ grades.
Teachers are not conspiring to undermine students’ earned academic standing, but when an essential part of the check and balance system in the student-teacher contract breaks down, some students can fall victim to undeserved outcomes. Just think about the contrast between how a midterm drastically differs from a final (and in some cases is in fact equivalently weighted). The typical midterm for a class in the College is often hand or electronically returned to the student with a clearly defined final grade. Usually, the syllabus describes procedures for how grade corrections should be conducted. Not only do students receive clear demonstration of how they did, but crucially they have access to the work giving them the opportunity to improve their future performance.
However, final exams at the University are a completely different story. Hand-returned exams are infrequent and getting access to them is habitually undefined and incredibly difficult. Hectic student exam schedules and teacher or TA unavailability add chaos to a broken system with little to no accountability. Moreover, the learning mechanism so heavily emphasized during the midterm period is completely lost in the wind. The lack of checks to safeguard against exploitations — in this case, students being able to review a final exam or paper — does not imply they are purposefully done, but rather helps ensure that they are minimized.
It’s not grade-grubbing for students to ask for intrinsic standards of accountability. Many teachers do indeed go above and beyond this threshold. Often, however, some teachers can fall victim to subpar levels of transparency. Whether adding predetermined times for students to come view exams or at the very least ensuring all assignment and exam grades are posted on Collab, there are concrete steps to improve this solution. I strongly encourage teachers and students to clarify or change these policies in the classroom now. In a few months, it’ll spare everyone from unnecessary frustration.
Ben Yahnian is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at b.yahnian@cavalierdaily.com.
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