<p>This is the second time I have had a problem with a professor's syllabus. It is stated on the syllabus that "If you miss one exam, the final exam grade will replace that test grade. If you miss 2 exams, you will receive a grade of zero for the 2nd missed exam".</p>
<p>So in essence, you can miss one exam, do great on the final, and still get a high grade.</p>
<p>The thing that has been bugging me is whether the final exam grade will replace the lowest exam grade. So I e-mailed my professor if that is the case and he said the final exam will not replace your lowest exam grade.</p>
<p>Do this make any sense? So you will do better if you don't show up for the test than taking the test?</p>
<p>I had lots of profs who made the final exam optional. That's essentially what this is. If you have a good grade, it makes no sense to take the final. If you have a poor grade, taking the final, assuming you do well can only help you. If you bombed one test, then taking the final will dilute the effect that one grade has.</p>
<p>It's a good set up for the student. The only thing better would be, if as you suggest, taking the final would replace the lowest grade (but only if higher). However, in that situation though, there's no reason NOT to take the final. </p>
<p>It sounds as if the prof is trying to get as few as people as possible to take the exam. If he's giving essay/short answer exams, then it's less work for him.</p>
<p>You never know how your going to do on the final. WOuldn't you feel dumb if you missed a test so your final would replace it, and then you got 2 bad grades instead of one?</p>
<p>Teachers don't have to replace any scores. They are doing you a favor by allowing a zero to be replaced. A 0% is a lot worse than a 40%.</p>
<p>It depends on how well you do in the final, how poorly you'd do on the exam if you took it, and whether you had a problem on the day of a subsequent exam. It's a gamble.</p>
<p>The point of things like that is that the professor doesn't have to deal with makeups. Giving a makeup requires them to write an entirely new exam that is supposed to be exactly as hard as the original, and in some disciplines that's a big task.</p>
<p>Also, the first exam should give you a sense of how you're likely to perform on this professor's exams. I'd hate for the final to be the first experience with an exam in any course.</p>
<p>The professor's clear. You are allowed to miss ONE exam- either any of his midterms or the final. You can skip the final providing that you take all the exams during the semester. If I were you, I'd try to take all the ones in the class UNLESS I bombed one of them and need the final to bring up the grade. Skip a midterm ONLY if you really didn't have the time prepare for it which of course means a little more work for you for the final if it's cumulative.</p>
<p>By skipping the final, you are doing the professor a favor by having him to grade one less exam (Professors really hate doing the grading at the end of the semester as much as we hate studying). It's a win-win situation for both of you as long you use it wisely.</p>
<p>its always best to try your very hardest until the end, because you really don't know what to expect. take the exam, study for it hard, and then you will be able to coast through the final.</p>
<p>As others have said, this sounds fine. My interpretation of this policy is that it's just the prof's protocol for handling a poorly timed absence. I don't think it's meant to encourage exam skipping or grade manipulation.</p>
<p>A word of caution: Don't assume that this policy applies to the final.</p>
<p>Some posters are assuming that one of the exams you can miss is the final. This may be true, but it hasn't been explicitly stated, and finals aren't always lumped in as "just another exam." In some courses, the final is just "the last exam"--not cumulative, not heavily weighted, whatever--but more often, it's a breed unto itself. So don't-don't-don't assume that you can skip it if you take all the other tests.</p>
<p>My advice to you is to stop nit-picking syllabi. Yes, of course you should pay attention to special policies + clarify whenever necessary, but if something isn't clearly intended to help students boost their grades, I don't recommend trying to "beat the system." It could backfire, and it could also give you a poor reputation.</p>