Exam or Coarsework

[RaBind]

I had an exam today and got another one the day after tomorrow and as the title suggests I want to hear from you which one you are in favor of.

I don't like exams and I have asked several friends, they also think alike. One reason is that exams only test a person for a short duration of time, where as if there was an assessment that went on for a month or two weeks the assessment would be more accurate and valid (carried out in a natural field).

Academic studies it seems relies heavily on exams.

 

[Dapper Dan]

If by coursework you mean a practical application-type project, then I'll take that. But if you're talking about typical coursework, then I'll go with the exam all day, every day.

 

[Meer]

Exams are fine work. See what I did there?

 

[speiss]

"coarsework".

The work was coarse, huh?
Just how coarse was it? :3

 

[Vrecknidj]

If you know the material on the exam, you do fine.

If the exam has lots of questions like "What's 2+3?" you'll get them all right.

I don't see the problem. An exam helps the instructor assess which students have mastered material.

 

[lord methous]

exams. Only if its something interesting will I say coursework. Like a lab in chemistry is usually good though its not normal coursework.

 

[Oedipus]

I never get coursework in on time. I can bullshit my way through an exam pretty easily, though.

 

[RaBind]

Haha some great answers in there.

If by coursework you mean a practical application-type project

I donno, I was kinda just thinking about anything that isn't confined to such a short amount of time actually. Maybe like an assessment where the examiner identifies the skills that you've learnt in the coarse.

I expected more people to prefer coursework, do INTPs usually attend classes? because the reason for preferring exams would be apparent if they didn't.

 

[EditorOne]

Far be it from any of us to nitpick, but why do you keep saying coarse when you mean course?

Exams are the easy route.

 

[dickmojo]

I never get coursework in on time. I can bullshit my way through an exam pretty easily, though.

Exactly my experience. I can ace almost any exam with a bare minimum of study. But writing big long assignments requires a lot of effort that I could seldom be fucked to exert unless the topic is of salient interest to me at the time.

 

[Pride]

Take home essay exams. All other types are fucking annoying. I had one of the most insanely difficult professors but since all of his exams were take home essays with 1-2 weeks of time, I managed to ace his class while most people did terribly.

Recently got a B in a class I should have aced easily but I didn't study for my fucking final, which was an in-class essay exam. It's so retarded. What does the ability to bullshit for two hours have to do with our comprehension and ability to comprehend the material?

 

[Dapper Dan]

I donno, I was kinda just thinking about anything that isn't confined to such a short amount of time actually. Maybe like an assessment where the examiner identifies the skills that you've learnt in the coarse.

Err... can I get an example? I don't really follow.

I expected more people to prefer coursework, do INTPs usually attend classes? because the reason for preferring exams would be apparent if they didn't.

My attendance in high school was good since I didn't have much choice in the matter. College was not as good, although I still attended more often than not.

Really, I think INTPs are just good at exams. I know all I had to do was listen to the lectures (no notes, preferably) and do whatever work was assigned (usually during class). Studying was always a rarity.

 

[dickmojo]

Really, I think INTPs are just good at exams. I know all I had to do was listen to the lectures (no notes, preferably) and do whatever work was assigned (usually during class). Studying was always a rarity.

Yep, same here. If I get to just sit in the class and listen to whatever is said, and then get a chance to give the textbook a quick read, I'm confident I could get ~85% or higher final exam score on any subject in any university in the world.

For example, during my last semester at uni I didn't even do the assignments that were assigned. I just couldn't bring myself around to doing them. I lost 40% of the marks for the subjects right then and there by not doing the assignments, but I still managed to pass both my subjects (economics and finance) by blitzing the final exams. I didn't even do a lot of revision for them either, just read the text book chapters and did some of the problems at the end of the chapter.

I'm doing a summer school subject as well, and I have an assignment due today, in 23 minutes time. Haven't even started, I just don't care about it enough to work on it. But in the final exam, I'll get excellent marks. I think this is a fairly normal situation for a typical INTP.

 

[RaBind]

Far be it from any of us to nitpick, but why do you keep saying coarse when you mean course?

Hahaha I seem to have just ignored that. Now I know what speiss was referring to.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oedipus
I never get coursework in on time. I can bullshit my way through an exam pretty easily, though.
Exactly my experience. I can ace almost any exam with a bare minimum of study. But writing big long assignments requires a lot of effort that I could seldom be fucked to exert unless the topic is of salient interest to me at the time.

I want your brain!!!! Damn I thought most INTPs were smart because they read and get involved into things that interest them but you guys give me a different expression.

Err... can I get an example? I don't really follow.

I meant like not as dependent on your performance over such a small period. Most exams aren't longer that 2 hours 30 minutes, how the hell is that suppose to ACCURATELY represent how much work you did over the year?

I try to bullshit my way through exams too, but I usually just get a C with that. I am doing psychology and sociology so I kinda have to remember statistics, research and concepts (no bullshitting my way through this one).

Err... can I get an example? I don't really follow.

I meant like not as dependent on your performance over such a small period. Most exams aren't longer that 2 hours 30 minutes, how the hell is that suppose to ACCURATELY represent how much work you did over the year?

I try to bullshit my way through exams too, but I usually just get a C with that. I am doing psychology and sociology so I kinda have to remember statistics, research and concepts (no bullshitting my way through this one).

 

[Dapper Dan]

I want your brain!!!! Damn I thought most INTPs were smart because they read and get involved into things that interest them but you guys give me a different expression.

I think it's mostly that we're able/willing to sit down and absorb what's being presented. And once you understand the "big picture" principles at work, it's easy to remember.

I meant like not as dependent on your performance over such a small period. Most exams aren't longer that 2 hours 30 minutes, how the hell is that suppose to ACCURATELY represent how much work you did over the year?

The amount of work has nothing to do with it. That's what homework is for. Tests are supposed to assess how much of that knowledge you've actually understood and retained.

I try to bullshit my way through exams too, but I usually just get a C with that. I am doing psychology and sociology so I kinda have to remember statistics, research and concepts (no bullshitting my way through this one).

Bullshitting works better on papers than tests. Statistics you just have to remember, but if you understand the concepts at work, then most of the exam is covered, no?

 

[RaBind]

Bullshitting works better on papers than tests. Statistics you just have to remember, but if you understand the concepts at work, then most of the exam is covered, no?

Damn, you make it sound so easy. What kind of grades did you get in A levels and how did you revise?

The amount of work has nothing to do with it. That's what homework is for. Tests are supposed to assess how much of that knowledge you've actually understood and retained.

Fair point. Not related to this but in most exams the students have to do an exam against the clock, this is also another really annoying thing about exams, you have to time yourself so it kinda affects the focus your putting on answering the questions and also not being able to finish the test in time even though you know the answers.

 

[Dapper Dan]

Damn, you make it sound so easy. What kind of grades did you get in A levels and how did you revise?

I don't know what A levels are, but my gpa in high school was 3.44. SAT 2070, ACT 29. In college I studied Computer Science and got a 3.127 gpa.

Fair point. Not related to this but in most exams the students have to do an exam against the clock, this is also another really annoying thing about exams, you have to time yourself so it kinda affects the focus your putting on answering the questions and also not being able to finish the test in time even though you know the answers.

This is true. I'm a very deliberate test-taker, and it wasn't uncommon for me to be the last to finish. In fact, the main reason my SAT score is better than my ACT is that the ACT was much more crunched for time.

That being said, many of my professors in college didn't bother trying to make long tests. My major may have had something to do with that, but my non-major classes didn't feel that much different.