Midterm exam retakes

Overview

If you got less than 87% on the exam you can retake it. You self-administer the retake at a time and place of your choosing. Then you grade the exam yourself. Repeat multiple times if you want a better result. Then take your graded answers to the instructor during office hours, where you might be quizzed orally. Assuming you score 100% on the retake (and most people do, since you can do it multiple times), your new score will be the average of your original score and 87%. All parts of the process must be completed within 14 days after the exams are first returned to students.

Retake thresholds

The retake threshold for exam 1 is 87%. This is explained further below. Other exams may have a different threshold.

Deadline

You must complete all parts of the retake process, including oral confirmation, within 14 days of the original exam being returned to students.

Which exams can be retaken?

You can retake any written midterm exam, but not the final exam.

Who can do retakes?

If your curved percentage was below the retake threshold, you can retake the exam. If your curved percentage was greater than or equal to the retake threshold, you cannot retake the exam.

Scoring

After retaking an exam, your official score for the exam will be computed as the average of (i) your original curved score and (ii) your retake score multiplied by the retake threshold.

• Example: Suppose
  • your original curved score was 70%;
  • your retake score was 100%;
  • the retake threshold is 87%.

  Then your official score will be the average of 70% and (100% * 87%), which is (70 + 87) / 2 = 78.5%.

Retake procedure

The retake is self-administered and self-graded, but requires oral confirmation with the instructor.

Step 1. Self-administered retake

• When you retake the exam, you must do it with the same time limit and under the same exam conditions as the original exam.
• You must retake the whole exam, not just the questions that you missed.
• You can retake the exam at a time and place of your choosing. Note the date, start time, end time, and location on your exam paper.

Step 2. Self-grading

• After completing step 1, grade the exam yourself using the solutions provided, and compute your new total score. Write your retake score clearly on the front of your answer sheet.

You can repeat steps 1 and 2 until you are happy with the result.

Step 3. Oral confirmation

• Bring the answer sheet of your retake exam and the answer sheet of your original exam to the instructor during office hours or at another time by appointment.
• At that time the instructor may quiz you orally on the exam content for up to 15 minutes.
• If your oral responses don’t justify the new grade, your exam score is reset to the original score.
• If the instructor perceives evidence that you violated the exam conditions during the retake, you will be referred to the student conduct system; the sanctions from that system can be very serious.