It feels like every year we have a professor decide to reuse an old exam setting off a firestorm when students realize that some of the class had prior access to the exam — and sometimes the grading rubric — and others didn’t.
In any event, there’s no way to please everyone here which is why it’s so essential to never put the class in this position. Why do professors ever think this will work out? It’s just a profound failure to appreciate the gumption of your gunners. If this is a professor’s first exam ever, a couple of students are still going to find her 1L class notes to dig for clues. The great game of the legal academy is forever professors against gunners in a constant struggle to keep the exam predictable enough to be fair but fresh enough that it’s not rite regurgitation. With the internet giving everyone access to everything, this is harder than ever. But when professors underestimate the students, this is what you get.
Professors probably should write new exams every time out of the fate, but if you HAVE to skimp for some reason, consider trading exams with some other professor. Use your next academic conference to build relationships with folks working out of the same casebook and throw your exams into a mutual google drive or something. Just don’t tell people your plan.
Earlier: A Note For Law School Professors That We Regrettably Have To Repeat: There Is Never A Good Remedy To Reusing An Exam Question
In any event, there’s no way to please everyone here which is why it’s so essential to never put the class in this position. Why do professors ever think this will work out? It’s just a profound failure to appreciate the gumption of your gunners. If this is a professor’s first exam ever, a couple of students are still going to find her 1L class notes to dig for clues. The great game of the legal academy is forever professors against gunners in a constant struggle to keep the exam predictable enough to be fair but fresh enough that it’s not rite regurgitation. With the internet giving everyone access to everything, this is harder than ever. But when professors underestimate the students, this is what you get.
Professors probably should write new exams every time out of the fate, but if you HAVE to skimp for some reason, consider trading exams with some other professor. Use your next academic conference to build relationships with folks working out of the same casebook and throw your exams into a mutual google drive or something. Just don’t tell people your plan.
Earlier: A Note For Law School Professors That We Regrettably Have To Repeat: There Is Never A Good Remedy To Reusing An Exam Question
