Most instructors in colleges with traditional grading systems deplore the emphasis students place upon getting a good grade. Usually instructors attempt to minimize this aspect of the course by stating that the important thing is what the students learn, no what grade they make. While such words may be accepted intellectually, motivationally the grade remains the most important aspect of the course for most students. Since grades in large courses are determined to a great degree by test scores, tests are among the most frustrating aspects of the course to many students, and arouse a great deal of overt and covert aggression. If teachers attempt to go beyond the usual practice of asking simply for memory of information from the textbook or lectures, they are immediately deluged with the complaint; "These are the most ambiguous tests I have ever taken!"

-Teaching Tips. By Wilbert McKeachie

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This website was last updated on Thursday, August 16, 2001 10:43 AM.  This is version 1.1.  If you have any questions about this site, please email ddavies@ag.arizona.edu.  If you have any questions about the course, please email Dr. James Knight at jknight@ag.arizona.edu.