Exams IV: Administration

Again, I’m sure that there are many ways to organize exam administration for large groups. I’ll share the way we administer and grade 100-500 exams in about 3-4 hours. This style is what we have worked out over quite a few years.

We reserve large rooms for 90 minutes (5:00 to 6:30 PM) for the days of exams. We request enough seating so that students can sit in alternate chairs. We do give two versions of the exam as well. This takes care of inadvertent cheating. In order for students to do their best, a good testing atmosphere is essential. Space between students minimizes distractions during the exam.

As the students enter the room, they must sit in alternate chairs directly behind another student. The TAs direct students for the first exam. For other exams, the students know the system and sit as we want.

We reserve a small section in the room (I call it the First Base Line, baseball fans will know what I mean) for latecomers or others that have special testing needs…like a class that meets at 6:30. See below for students with disabilities.

To begin the exam, we pass out the pre-counted papers. We always have a cover sheet that contains reference material such as the Periodic Table and certain equations. We ask for students to count the pages in their exam and TAs check for defective copies. When we are ready, we say “Tear off the first page and begin.” At the same time we write the exact time on an overhead where everyone can see. We also write the time that papers will be collected: Example: Start: 5:12 Stop: 6:12.

We project clocks during the exam, but only give an oral time check once, usually with 5 minutes left. When the exam is finished, we stop everyone and collect the papers. We do use an ID check as they turn in their papers.

Students with disabilities do not attend the combined section exams. They go to a special place (Office of Institutional Equity) where their needs can be met. In our experience, it is best for all concerned to have these students tested at the center. We just cannot fairly give extra time to anyone.

Next post will address grading sessions with 4 professors and 12 graduate students!

As usual, I’m interested in the way others handle these types of exam situations.