I just finished writing my exam for this semester. Writing a good exam takes time, but it is time well spent. The alternative involves working out problems during grading, and that is no fun.
Recalling my law school experience, my exams most closely resemble Frank Easterbrook's. Judge Easterbrook told our antitrust class that he wasn't interested in a discussion of all of the wrong ways to approach the facts. He wanted us to solve the problem. Fully but concisely.
My ideal law school exam presents the "next case." The questions are focused. No rambling, multi-page travelogues. But the facts are challenging. Very challenging. When I achieve the ideal, the best answers are succinct, but full of little nuggets of insight. I generally despise grading, but I love reading exam answers like that. In a class of 70 students, I will find two or three.
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1. Posted by Anon on May 10, 2007 @ 8:44 | Permalink
Out of curiosity, how long does it take to write an exam? It seems like mistakes are common, either in not using consistent party names or in putting in the wrong year. Are they typically proofed by other profs?
2. Posted by Gordon Smith on May 10, 2007 @ 9:32 | Permalink
I collect ideas for questions throughout the semester, but I don't write the exam until the course and review session are complete. I start writing several days before it's due to be copied. I research the questions and do multiple drafts. I have never tracked the time, but I would estimate roughly 10 hours per exam.
I typically don't show my exam to other professors, but I have reviewed exams for others. As you would expect, the requests usually come from new profs.
3. Posted by Anon on May 15, 2007 @ 12:45 | Permalink
Not to perseverate, but 2 out of 2 exams I've taken this semester have contained such mistakes as I mentioned. Maybe the 3d one will be perfect. Any chance we could mandate peer review for exams?
4. Posted by Gordon Smith on May 15, 2007 @ 13:02 | Permalink
That is frustrating. It happened to me when I was a student, and I know that I have made mistakes on exams as a professor. I doubt that there would be much support for mandated peer review, but you are making me reconsider my own reluctance to request another set of eyes.
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