Makeup exam when a student already took it

[Thesneezyone]

Hi all--

In yet another case of "how could I possibly plan for this in my syllabus", I have a student who took an exam shortly after being in an accident that caused a concussion. Student wants to take a makeup exam. Student has already seen the entire exam so a new one would have to be created. Student did not do well on the exam, about a 52, though the class score is fairly low so they should expect a decent bump from the scaling.

It is clear in my syllabus that if a student is to miss an exam, they have to go through the Dean of Students to have their excuse validated. This is so I don't have to read medical records or decide what is the truth or a lie. But I have never thought about a student taking an exam and then deciding after the fact that they shouldn't have taken it, given a potentially valid medical reason.

What to do?
Sneezy

[nescafe]

I'd follow the procedure on your syllabus, and connect the student to the Dean of Students. Beyond that, I'd be inclined to allow the makeup exam in this case, giving the student a different, modified exam

[marshwiggle]

I'd follow the procedure on your syllabus, and connect the student to the Dean of Students. Beyond that, I'd be inclined to allow the makeup exam in this case, giving the student a different, modified exam

Keep in my mind that if the student wrote multiple exams in that state, there may be other courses affected and so the Dean's office may want to coordinate some sort of response.

[Biologist_]

How much work is it to create a new exam? For me, it usually takes 6 hours or more to write a new batch of high-quality multiple choice questions as well as some free-response questions. I do this on a regular basis because I generally return midterm exams to students and have to create new exams the next time I teach the class. However, I would probably try to avoid taking that much time to write an exam for one student. Instead, I would offer the student an alternative grading formula. For instance, if there are two midterm exams that add up to 30% of the course grade and a final exam worth 25%, I might suggest that the other midterm and final could count in place of both midterms and the final if the substitution ends up benefiting the student.

If I were to write a new exam for one student, I might allow the student to view the graded exam but not take it (normally I give exams back to the class) so that I could use it the next time I teach the class.

[RatGuy]

I would allow for a retake, I think -- usually because the students always have doctor's notes for concussions. I've said on another thread that this is concussion season for my students, and currently three students are getting an extension on their major project because of concussions.

In the case of an exam, I tell students that "I can give you a makeup or a resit, but since it'll be a brand-new set of essay questions (opposed to the MC/short answer on the exam), it'll likely be harder. Sometimes that makes them reconsider.

[clean]

In my syllabus, I do not give make up exams.  If someone needs to miss an exam, then the final exam replaces the missed exam.

I usually extend this in the end of the term by giving students a chance to replace their low grade with the score on the comprehensive final exam. (note that it is 'replace' so IF the final score is lower, it still replaces the original score).

anyway, the bottom line is that I dont have to give make up exams. 

In situations where athletes need to miss the exams, I either give the exam before they leave, or fax it to the person that is supposed to proctor exams while they are gone. (our online classes are proctored by Examity, so that covers that )

SO, if you are asking for a syllabus suggestion that is it!  When you discuss the syllabus on the first day, explain that you do not require any documentation, that IF they are sick or they have a family crisis that their first job is to take care of their health and family.  Besides, if there was a death in the family, for instance, would they really be able to study now anyway?

[Golazo]

Clean's example is a good one of something that makes life easy for you, which is an important goal. I often offer oral exams for a make-up in subjects that are suitable for this. I can generally tell in about 15 minutes if the student knows anything. The word gets out that these are terrifying for the unprepared, so people don't ask for an oral exam just because, but good students tend to do reasonably well, and the only outlay is the 15-20 minutes. 

Concussions are serious, and I can see a student thinking he/she could push through and then realizing it was a bad idea.

[aside]

Hi Sneezy,

A concussion can make one Dopey and Sleepy.  Your student was not Bashful and went to the Doc, so I would be Happy, not Grumpy, to make up the exam.

Aside

[kiana]

I would not give a makeup under these circumstances. I would offer to weight the final more generously assuming that they do better, but not write another test.

I just don't think you get to give it a shot and then get another shot based on how you did. I understand that the student was ill, but in my class/syllabus, once you sit down to take it, you're there (barring, obviously, stuff like going into labor/having a seizure mid-class).

[Thesneezyone]

Hi Sneezy,

A concussion can make one Dopey and Sleepy.  Your student was not Bashful and went to the Doc, so I would be Happy, not Grumpy, to make up the exam.

Aside

DINGDINGDING!! We have a winner!

This is an online class and no cumulative final (per prior to me being here decision that is complicated) otherwise this is what I would do. I have old versions of the exams so re-creating a new exam is not a huge issue. I have a feeling the student is going to want to keep the original score though.

Thanks all!
Sneezy

[geoteo]

Since the exam has already been given, I see two possibilities:

1. The student feels that the results of the exam do not accurately reflect his/her understanding of the subject.

2. The student feels that he/she can get a better score now that the evaluated exams have been returned.

You can solve this by offering the same exam with the questions reordered or with the questions reversed: "Hamlet was the prince of _______" becomes "_________ was the prince of Denmark," to put it simply.  If the student has memorized the answers to the given questions, or the order in which they were asked originally, the results will not be good.  If the student now feels better, and can concentrate on the answers, the score will improve (maybe--but it shouldn't be significantly worse).

The student was injured, so if you have any kind of an exam makeup policy, it's time to implement it. 

[fishbrains]

I would take clean's idea and modifiy it for this situation. I would offer the entire class the opportunity to replace one exam grade with the comprehensive final grade.

If you allow this one person to retake an exam because they don't like their grade, what is to stop other students from making similar claims based on other scenarios? In other words, making this student an exception to your syllabus policy could end up becomming a complete nightmare. Give the entire class a chance at the opportunity, and then remember to change your syllabus for next semester.

My two cents. 

[Caracal]

I would take clean's idea and modifiy it for this situation. I would offer the entire class the opportunity to replace one exam grade with the comprehensive final grade.

If you allow this one person to retake an exam because they don't like their grade, what is to stop other students from making similar claims based on other scenarios? In other words, making this student an exception to your syllabus policy could end up becomming a complete nightmare. Give the entire class a chance at the opportunity, and then remember to change your syllabus for next semester.

My two cents.

I don't think of the syllabus as a legal document. You don't have to include every possible scenario that might cause you to make an exception to the normal rules. It is true that having some built in flexibility in the syllabus can help when dealing with something like this, but only to an extent. If we follow the logic here, all classes would have to have some sort of option where a low grade could be dropped, or the instructor would never be able to make an exception for some unforeseen issue where someone might take an exam but be impaired in some manner outside their control. There's nothing wrong with dropping a lowest grade, and if you had such a policy, that would be convenient in this scenario, but a policy like that isn't appropriate for every class.

We get to use our judgement. It would be unfair if you allowed this student a retake, but then wouldn't allow it for another student in a very similar situation. It doesn't follow that because you allow this student a retake based on a brain injury they were unaware of, you would need to allow another student to retake an exam because of a bad cold.

[clean]

I don't think of the syllabus as a legal document. You don't have to include every possible scenario that might cause you to make an exception to the normal rules. It is true that having some built in flexibility in the syllabus can help when dealing with something like this, but only to an extent

We get to use our judgement. It would be unfair if you allowed this student a retake, but then wouldn't allow it for another student in a very similar situation. It doesn't follow that because you allow this student a retake based on a brain injury they were unaware of, you would need to allow another student to retake an exam because of a bad cold.

I disagree. The syllabus is in essence a contract outlining what grades will be awarded for outcomes completed. It shows what is expected of the faculty and student.

As for make up exams, you either give them or you do not.  Once you start down the slippery slope of deciding what qualifies for a make up, then at some point there will be a student that believes that he/she should qualify when you do not, and the conflict invites grade appeals and additional drama that no faculty member needs in their life. 

As I have outlined above, I do not give make up exams, using the comprehensive final to replace the missed exam.  I provide the option (they sign a short statement at the start of the final exam) stating that they desire to replace their low grade with the score on the final.  IF someone took the test when they were sick, which I discourage for public health reasons, and the student didnt do well, they can replace their score. Otherwise, I do not have to make another test, I dont have to schedule make up times or places, and I dont have to grade them either! 

Of course, if I were teaching only a handful of students, I may have developed other policies, but I have had semesters with multiple classes of 100.  When you have hundreds of students, the probability that someone is sick or just convinces themselves that they are too unwell to take the test are quite high and the more convenient you make putting off a test for students, the more students will take advantage of that convenience. 

[Dismal]

It is time consuming to come up with a long list of MC questions unless you have previous exams sitting around, so just type up a few short essay questions assuming that the student has some medical documentation.  My kid's concussion clinic provided a letter for high school teachers suggesting accommodations.    When I have a cumulative final, the final exam grade often tends to be lower and so I don't mind offering to weight the final more although I suggest to the student that it might not be to their advantage.