2019: Sixty-Seven

Last exam, thank God.

I will now present multiple arguments about why mid-semesters ought to be scrapped at my University:

1. They take one week of teaching time away, therefore reducing course that can possibly be covered by faculty during that time period. Arguably, 4 classes is not much, but it can see, some critical concepts explained in a skeleton manner. An example of this is the Specific Relief Act, which can be taught instead of being left out of course material for a particular batch.
2. This extra week will also reduce burden on faculty to take extra classes in order to hit the minimum lecture requirement that is demanded of them. It also means that faculty will not schedule these extra classes one week before the examinations: teaching critical content, and reducing independent study and extra-curricular time, which is crucial to both students’ happiness, and students’ examination performance during end-term examinations.
3. The learning outcome that arises out of mid-semesters for students – which is that you are able to understand faculty demands better, or are able to study half your course, is not one that is actually accomplished. In practice, what occurs is that several students do not consult with faculty to understand demands better, nor do faculty discuss the mid-semester paper in class. Moreover, the learning of half the course material is irrelevant because several faculty do not cut the pre mid-semester portion out of the end-semester portion, meaning that although significant time is not spent on learning it for the end-semester, time is spent on it nonetheless.
4. Having papers one after the other, without any break, whatsoever, is cumbersome to students themselves and does not aid their learning in any manner whatsoever. Several students cram the material and forget it instantly after the exam finishes which should not be the goal of testing.
5. Testing, on principle, must allow for improvement. A mid-semester exam does not account or allow for any improvement because it does not provide the opportunity to write a special exam in case of poor performance. This is onerous to students who need to write end-semesters with a very high minimal pass grade. By this, I mean that a student who scores a 7/30 in the mid-semester, and a 5/10 in the end-semester, needs to score a 38/50 to merely pass the course – a burden that is far too high to place on students on one exam. If not scrapping the mid-semester, it’s perhaps arguable that results need to be declared earlier.
6. No. This is my final argument. Nobody needs to go through this at all.