<p>Hey guys, I would appreciate your input on this very much:</p>
<p>Is it normal for any course to base 40% of its grade on the final, 35% on the midterm, and small quizzes that take up the remaining 25%? </p>
<p>I enrolled in an Archaeology course, an initially the listed percentages were 25% for midterm and 35% for final, which I guess were tolerable -- but the prof didn't add up the percentages correctly to 100% on the syllabus, and after a couple of days he posted an updated version with the hiked up 35 and 40 percent changes.</p>
<p>The most I've seen a final worth is 20% of a semester grade, so double the amount seems a bit disturbing to me. Is this normal? Is an A doable? Should I take this class?</p>
<p>Well, I’m older than you, so maybe things have been changing and I haven’t noticed. But that sounds normal to me, and I’m not sure why it upsets you so much.</p>
<p>I’ve been in courses where the final (or the term paper) counted for more than 50% and there was only one midterm (or midterm paper), and no quizzes or smaller assignments. Quizzes and smaller assignments have often, in my experience, been used by faculty who believe that students will not do the reading and try to solve problems or answer questions raised by the material unless there was a penalty for not doing the work. Therefore they’re more common in lower-division courses aimed at less experienced students.</p>
<p>But no matter why it upsets you, if you are concerned about your ability to do well on the final maybe you should shop around for something that seems easier to you.</p>