In response to the April 4 editorial “Comprehensive finals get an F for effectiveness,” I would encourage the author of the editorial to dig deeper and consider research about the effectiveness of comprehensive exams. For instance, findings of two recent studies by Natalie Lawrence (2013) and Szpunar, McDermott, and Roediger (2007) indicate that simply preparing for cumulative finals results in improved retention of material, especially if students have already been tested on that material in a midterm examination earlier in the semester. Indeed, this “retesting” method discourages cramming for a one-time “brain dump” because the student knows that he or she will see the material again on a cumulative exam. Moreover, the repetition improves long-term retention.
I am writing to comment on “Comprehensive finals get an F for effectiveness,” published April 4, based on my 19 years of experience as a student and 43 years of experience as a professor of mechanical engineering. When I was a student, my most challenging study was done for comprehensive final exams, which most in engineering are. I am certain that my most significant learning took place putting the whole course together, and this capstone learning experience was when the concepts were finally tattooed onto my brain.
Throughout our short history, the trend for the U.S. government during times of war is to restrict constitutional freedoms while increasing the power of the government itself.
For example, the Patriot Act, signed by former President Bush in 2001, significantly loosened the restrictions on government agencies’ intelligence-gathering methods (i.e. wire tapping) as a response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the Jim Crow laws enacted between 1876 and 1965 that disenfranchised the country’s black population and perpetuated legal discrimination of all minorities.
Education is a right that many people take for granted, which is sad because people in other countries dream of that opportunity. As college students we should understand how valuable education is because it allows us to get ready for the real world.
I read with interest your editorial “Comprehensive finals get an F for effectiveness,” on April 4. I have no doubt you are right when you say students complain about them, and that many students consider college simply as a means to employment. You are also correct that some students do poorly on final exams because “students never learned the material in the first place.” You are exactly and completely wrong, however, in your conclusion that final exams contribute to this “instrumentalism.”
Lest it be said that all the Lariat does is complain about Baylor, today we would like to take some time to congratulate the university on what we see as an innovative and beneficial step — the registration wait-list.
April is National Sexual Abuse Awareness month, and it provides an opportunity to highlight sexual violence as a preventable problem.
Almost everyone has talked to someone who has been a victim of sexual abuse or sexual assault, whether you knew it at the time or not.
A bill that advanced through the state Capital yesterday would cut the amount of time necessary to earn a concealed handgun license by more than half.
The bill, proposed by New Braunfels Republican Sen. Donna Campbell, would reduce the class time necessary to get a CHL to a measly four hours because it’s apparently “long, redundant and boring” to spend the requisite ten hours learning how to properly and responsibly carry a potentially deadly weapon.
