An exam so nice, some do it twice... or the low-down on the at-home version of the in-class exam...

[Subbarao Kambhampati <rao@asu.edu>]

folks:
 
I understand that the exam went without too many hitches. Just in case
you are wondering whether or not to do the exam again at home, here is
my standard FAQ. 

Rao (shivering in Philly)

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The at-home-version-of-the-in-class exam is a pedagogical innovation
next only to the socket-open-socket-close-homework-assignments (and
are apparently just as confusing ;-)

So, here is the standard FAQ on ahvotic


0. What are the ground rules for doing this--

Only that (a) you have not talked to anyone about the exam and (b) you
have to submit it at the beginning of the class
on Tuesday 10/31


1. Do I lose anything if I don't do it at home?

No (okay--you do lose the satisfaction of doing it twice;-). Your
grade in in-class will stand.

2. How is the effective midterm grade computed?

 Eff = max( in-class;  w*in-class+(1-w)*at-home )

3. What is the range of w? 

 0.5 < w <1 

(typical values in the past ranged between .6 and .666)

4. But if everyone else does it at home and improves their grade, and
   I decide to watch Seinfeld reruns, don't I lose out?

No. First of all, *nobody* ever loses out by watching Seinfeld reruns
(Channel 10; week nights 10:30 and again at 11:30; also Channel 14 on
Rao's TV). 

The difference between  your inclass score and the Eff score will be 
considered as your _extra credit_ on the mid term (and thus those
points wont affect grade cutoffs).


5. How do you device these ludicrously complex schemes?

This is the only way of making Xcel do some real work.


------------------------
Rao