FA25 Lecture Exam Results

Exam 03 (08Dec25, 100pts, plus up to 3pts EC). Here is a plot of scores for those who have taken the exam. This mean, 65%, is higher than the mean of Lec Exam 1 (60%), and lower than the mean of Lec Exam 2 (68%).

Exam 02 (27Oct25, 100pts, plus up to 4pts EC). Here is a plot of scores for those who have taken the exam. The mean is 8% points higher than on Exam 1, a good improvement!

Exam 01 (29Sep25, 100pts). Here is a Canvas-generated plot of scores for Lec Exam 01. The exam had 100pts, plus up to 4pts Extra Credit. N=24 took the exam, and the Mean was 60% and Range was 31% to 98%.

Often the first lecture exam has somewhat lower mean than later exams, at least in part because you don't really know quite what to expect (and because some of this material is challenging -- chemistry, respiration). Students tend to do better on subsequent lecture exams. If you did not get the grade you desired, I urge you to visit with me to discuss how we can insure that you can bring your grade up in the future. See also my suggestions in the syllabus and our Canvas site, and visit the tutorial center in the library.

A reminder that by Department policy, I do not post keys to exams, but you are welcome to come to office hours and look over your exam and we can discuss where you might need more work, etc. Come by during the 9:15-10:00am office hour, or we can stay after class and do it. Ideally, let me know by email that you'd like to come in, so I'm sure to be there on time.

FA24 Lecture Exam Results

(Posted here for reference only)

Exam 03 (04Dec24, 100pts, including 5pts EC)

Here is the histogram of the scores from the 27 people who took Lecture Exam 03 on 04Dec24. The 100pt (plus 5EC) exam had a mean of 64% and a range of 24-100%. This mean is lower than expected (but similar to prior exams).

Exam 02 (28Oct24, 100pts).

Here is the histogram of the scores from the 37 people who took Lecture Exam 02 on Monday, 28Oct24. The 100pt (plus 4EC) exam had a mean of 62.5% and a range of 29-102%. This mean is lower than expected (but about the same as on first exam).

One key reason for the lower mean is that 14 students submitted answers for only one of the two required Short Answer questions in the text box for Question 62, thereby potentially losing up to 5pts (another 4 did not answer the question at all). I had posted announcements explaining the layout of the exam, showed numerous relevant slides prior to the exam, and made the instructions very clear on the exam itself (There was even, just before question 62, an instruction to read the instructions!) .

An analysis of the scores, 2nd graph below, reveals that of the 14, two could have boosted their exam score to passing if they had received full credit (5pts) for the omitted question. For the rest, completing that question, even at full credit, would not have made a difference in their letter grade, though of course it would have affected the overall exam mean. The lesson is to READ instructions, especially those that are a part of the question.

Exam 01 (30Sep24, 100pts). Here is a plot of scores for Lec Exam 01, generated by Canvas Quiz tool. Mean = 63%, Range = 25% to 100%. These numbers include up to 4pts of Extra Credit.

Usually the first lecture exam has somewhat lower mean than later exams, at least in part because you don't really know quite what to expect (and because some of this material is challenging -- chemistry, respiration). Students tend to do better on subsequent lecture exams. If you did not get the grade you desired, I urge you to visit with me to discuss how we can insure that you can bring your grade up in the future. See also my suggestions in the syllabus and our Canvas site, and visit the tutorial center int the library.

A reminder that I do not post keys to exams, but you are welcome to come to office hours and look over your exam and we can discuss where you might need more work, etc. Come by during the 10-10:45am office hour, or we can stay after class and do it. Ideally, let me know by email that you'd like to come in, so I'm sure to be there on time.

PAST SEMESTER EXAM RESULTS

Exam 04 (Final) (13Dec23, 100pts). Here is a plot of scores for Lec Exam 04, created from the scores for N=33 taking exam. Mean = 69%, Range = 27% to 101%. These numbers include up to 6pts of Extra Credit. The mean and range for this exam are roughly in line with those data for our other lecture exams.

Exam 03 (27Nov23, 100pts). Here is a plot of scores for Lec Exam 03, created from the scores for N=36 taking exam. Mean = 68%, Range = 28% to 102%. These numbers include up to 5pts of Extra Credit. The mean and range for this exam are roughly in line with those data for our other lecture exams.

Histogram of Scores - Lec Exam 03 (FA23).jpg

Exam 02 (23Oct23, 100pts). Here is a plot of scores for Lec Exam 02, created from the scores for N=39 taking exam. Mean = 69%, Range = 35% to 101%. These numbers include up to 4pts of Extra Credit. The mean and range for this exam is slightly higher than on Lec Exam 01.

Lec Exam 02 Grade Dist Chart (CPG) (FA23).jpg

A reminder that I do not post keys to exams, but you are welcome to come to office hours and look over your exam and we can discuss where you might need more work, etc. Come by during the 11-11:45am office hour, or we can stay after class and do it. Ideally, let me know by email that you'd like to come in, so I'm sure to be there on time.

Exam 01 (18Sep23, 100pts). Here is a plot of scores for Lec Exam 01, generated by Canvas Quiz tool. Mean = 68%, Range = 30% to 98%. These numbers include up to 4pts of Extra Credit.

Usually the first lecture exam has somewhat lower mean than later exams, at least in part because you don't really know quite what to expect (and because some of this material is challenging -- chemistry, respiration). Students tend to do better on subsequent lecture exams. If you did not get the grade you desired, I urge you to visit with me to discuss how we can insure that you can bring your grade up in the future.

A reminder that I do not post keys to exams, but you are welcome to come to office hours and look over your exam and we can discuss where you might need more work, etc. Come by during the 11-11:45am office hour, or we can stay after class and do it. Ideally, let me know by email that you'd like to come in, so I'm sure to be there on time.

Canvas Quiz Summary (FA23) - Mean 68, Range 30-98 - For Canvas .jpg

Below are lecture exam results from prior semesters:

Exam 04 (Final) (24May23). Here is a plot of scores for Lec Exam 04, generated by me Canvas Quiz tool. Mean was 68%, range was 42% - 93%, including 5pts EC (N=35).

Histogram Final Exam (SP23).jpg

Exam 03 (08May23). Here is a plot of scores for Lec Exam 03, generated by me Canvas Quiz tool. Mean = 71%, Range = 44% to 96%. These numbers include up to 4pts of Extra Credit.

Exam 02 (03Apr23, 100pts). Here is a plot of scores for Lec Exam 02, generated by me Canvas Quiz tool. Mean = 71%, Range = 36% to 95.5%. These numbers include up to 4pts of Extra Credit. Scores were a bit higher than for Exam 01 (see below), and some of you improved your grade substantially. The mean for this exam was also higher than for Exam 02 in other recent semesters. A reminder that I do not post keys to exams, but you are welcome to come to office hours and look over your exam and we can discuss where you might need more work, etc. Come by during the 11-11:45am office hour, or we can stay after class and do it. Ideally, let me know by email that you'd like to come in, so i'm sure to be there on time.

Here's the graph (Canvas failed to produce its usual plot, so i did this one):

Lec Exam 02 Grade Dist Chart (CPG) (SP23).jpg

Exam 01 (27Feb23, 100pts). Here is a plot of scores for Lec Exam 01, generated by Canvas Quiz tool. Mean = 69%, Range = 42% to 99%. These numbers include up to 3.5 pts of Extra Credit.

Usually the first lecture exam has somewhat lower mean than later exams, at least in part because you don't really know quite what to expect (and because some of this material is challenging -- chemistry, respiration). Students tend to do better on subsequent lecture exams. If you did not get the grade you desired, I urge you to visit with me to discuss how we can insure that you can bring your grade up in the future.

A reminder that I do not post keys to exams, but you are welcome to come to office hours and look over your exam and we can discuss where you might need more work, etc. Come by during the 11-11:45am office hour, or we can stay after class and do it. Ideally, let me know by email that you'd like to come in, so i'm sure to be there on time.

FA22 Lecture Exam Results

Exam 03 (28Nov22, 100pts). Here histogram of scores for Lec Exam 03. Mean = 67%, Range = 27% to 101%. These numbers include up to 4 pts of Extra Credit. This mean (average) of 67% is lower than in most years but comparable to some.

Exam 01 (26Sep22, 100pts). Here are the Canvas Statistics results from Lec Exam 01. Mean = 68%, Range = 34% to 103%. These numbers include up to 3.5 pts of Extra Credit. This mean (average) of 67% is lower than in most years but comparable to some.

Canvas Quiz Summary (FA22) - Mean 67, Range 34-102.jpg

SP22 Lecture Exam Results

Exam 04 (Final) (25May22, 100pts). Mean was 80% and range was 21-102%, including 5pts of EC.

Exam 03 (09May22, 100pts). Mean of 78% and range of 21% to 100%. Here is the Canvas-generated exam statistics. These numbers include up to 4 pts of Extra Credit. This mean is slightly higher than the mean for Lec Exam 1 (76%) and substantially higher than the mean for Lec Exam 02 (67%).

Exam 02 (04Apr22, 100pts). Canvas was unable to produce the usual exam statistics for this exam, so here is a histogram showing score distribution for Lec Exam 02. Mean = 67%, Range = 27% to 101%. These numbers include up to 5 pts of Extra Credit. The mean was substantially lower for this exam (67%) than for Lec Exam 1 (76%, graph below), and this pattern has been seen in other semesters.

Exam 01 (28Feb22, 100pts). Here are the Canvas Statistics results from Lec Exam 01. Mean = 76%, Range = 37% to 103%. These numbers include up to 4.1 pts of Extra Credit. (Questions 47, 48 were both marked 2pts, but they earned 1pt each).

FA21 Lecture Exam Results (for reference only)

Exam 03 (29Nov21, 100 pts): Mean 69%, Range 32-94% (Including 4pts extra credit).

Exam 02 (25 Oct 21, 100pts). Mean 68%, Range 27 - 96% (including 4pts extra credit). This mean is 4pts lower than the mean of 72% on Lec Exam 1.

Exam 01 (20Sep2021, 100pts). Here are the Canvas Statistics results from Lec Exam 01. Mean = 72%, Range = 44% to 99%.

SP21 Lecture Exam Results

Exam 03 (10May2021, 100pts). Here are the Canvas Statistics results from Lec Exam 03. Mean = 69%, Range = 28% to 98% (N=23 taking exam). This mean is considerably lower than the 82% mean recorded for Lec Exam 01, but is comparable to the mean of 70% for Exam 2.

Exam 02 (05Apr2021, 100pts). Here are the Canvas Statistics results from Lec Exam 02. Mean = 70%, Range = 39% to 99% (N=25 taking exam). This mean is considerably lower than the 82% mean recorded for Lec Exam 01. This could have something to do with the fact that several of you answered only one of the short answer choices for Question 53. The instructions (and my announcement prior to exam, and the 'details' for the exam) clearly stated that you were to answer your choice of TWO of the four questions provided.

Exam 01 (01Mar2021, 100pts). Here are the Canvas Statistics results from Lec Exam 01. Mean = 82%, Range = 55 to 104%

FA20 Lecture Exam Results

Exam 03 (30Nov20, 100pts). Here are the Canvas Statistics results from Lec Exam 03. Mean = 68%, Range = 31 to 92%

Exam 02 (26Oct20, 100pts). Here are the Canvas Statistics results from Lec Exam 02. Mean = 65%, Range = 34 to 94%

Exam 01 (21Sep20, 100pts). Here are the Canvas Statistics results from Lec Exam 01. Mean = 73%, Range = 39 to 94%

Results from past semesters, for reference only

Lec Exam 4 (SP20, 20May20) (Canvas-Zoom exam)

Mean: 75%, range 34-96% (100-pt comprehensive exam)

Unfortunately, Canvas does not generate quiz statistics (like the graph and data below for Exam 3) when the exam exceeds 100 questions, as ours did, with 107 questions. Phooey.

But the mean of 75%, in line with the means of our prior Exams 1 (77%) and 3 (76%), was quite good, considering that this was a comprehensive exam covering the entire semester. You did well, overall!

Here is a histogram of class scores and, below it, stats for all four lecture exams AND the final class grade %:

========================================================================

Lec Exam 3 (SP20, 04May2020) (Canvas-Zoom exam)

Mean: 76%, range 35-100% (75-pt exam)

Lec Exam 2 (SP20, 06Apr2020)

Mean 83%, Range 44%-104%

Lec Exam 1 (SP20, 19Feb2020)

75 points possible, plus 2 pts EC (50 MC points plus 25 SASE points, plus 2 SASE EC points built into the two tables)
Exam Mean: 57 of 75 = 76%
- MC Mean: 38 of 50 = 75%
- SA Mean: 19 of 25 = 76%
Exam Range: 31 to 77 (of 75) = 41-103%
- MC Range: 23 to 50 (of 50), or 46-100%
- SASE Range: 5 to 27 (of 25) or 20-108% (with 2 EC)
Because the exam had 75 points possible, it's a bit hard to evaluate. Here are the % scores and grade breakdown: 68-75 =A, 60-67 =B, 53-59 =C, 45-52 =D, 0-44 =F

Comments:

Usually the first lecture exam has somewhat lower mean than later exams, at least in part because you don't really know quite what to expect (and because some of this material is challenging -- chemistry, respiration). This mean, 76%, was solid, though lower than the lab exam mean (85%). For several of you, there is reason for concern, and if your exam score was low, I urge you to talk with me about it. Congratulations to all who did well. We'll talk a bit about the exam on Monday, when I return them to you.
I do note that only a small number of you (3+) got full credit on the two tables, even though you were virtually guaranteed of their presence on the exam. It appears that many of you haven't taken my exam suggestions seriously. Pay heed to such advance notice in future!
Good job by many of you, keep up the good work, and for those who didn't do as well as they'd hoped, please do visit me to discuss how we can work together to get your future grades up to the level you desire.
Below is a table that shows data for the entire exam (left, 75 point basis) and then broken down by parts (MC, SASE, on right), and a histogram of the total scores, expressed as % of 75pts possible

Lec Exam 3 (FA19, 03Dec19)

75 points possible, plus 3 pts EC (50 MC points plus 25 SASE points, plus 3 SASE EC points built into three questions that were worth 6pts)
I'll just post below the means/other data for all three exams, both for the raw scores (MC and SASE separately) and for the final total score, 75pts possible. The mean on this exam was almost exactly same as other two. By the way, you will find that means for Exams 1 and 2 here are higher than the means from earlier postings of those exams (below); that's because I no longer include scores for those students (n=4) who have dropped the class. So the means for all 3 exams here are based on scores of the 21 students still in the class.

----------------------------------

Lec Exam 2 (FA19, 22Oct19)

75 points possible, plus 3 pts EC (50 MC points plus 25 SASE points, plus 3 SASE EC points built into the two tables)
Exam Mean: 49 of 75 = 65%
- MC Mean: 32 of 50 = 64%
- SA Mean: 17 of 25 = 69%
Exam Range: 19 to 77 (of 75) = 25-103%
- MC Range: 16 to 49 (of 50), or 32-98%
- SASE Range: 0 to 28 (of 25) or 0-112% (with 2 EC)
Because the exam had 75 points possible, it's a bit hard to evaluate. Here are the % scores and grade breakdown: 68-75 =A, 60-67 =B, 53-59 =C, 45-52 =D, 0-44 =F

------------------------------------------

Lec Exam 1 (FA19, 24Sep19)

75 points possible, plus 2 pts EC (50 MC points plus 25 SASE points, plus 2 SASE EC points built into the two tables)
Exam Mean: 48 of 75 = 65%
- MC Mean: 33 of 50 = 66
- SA Mean: 16 of 25 = 64%
Exam Range: 23 to 77 (of 75) = 30-103%
- MC Range: 18 to 50 (of 50), or 36-100%
- SASE Range: 1 to 27 (of 25) or 4-108% (with 2 EC)
Because the exam had 75 points possible, it's a bit hard to evaluate. Here are the % scores and grade breakdown: 68-75 =A, 60-67 =B, 53-59 =C, 45-52 =D, 0-44 =F

Comments:

Usually the first lecture exam has somewhat lower mean than later exams, at least in part because you don't really know quite what to expect (and because some of this material is challenging -- chemistry, respiration). This mean, 65%, was somewhat lower than usual. For several of you, there is reason for concern, and if your exam score was low, I urge you to talk with me about it. Congratulations to all who did well. We'll talk a bit about the exam on Thursday, when I return them to you.
I do note that only a small number of you got full credit on the two tables, even though you were virtually guaranteed of their presence on the exam. It appears that many of you haven't taken my exam suggestions seriously. Pay heed to such advance notice in future!
Good job by many of you, keep up the good work, and for those who didn't do as well as they'd hoped, please do visit me to discuss how we can work together to get your future grades up to the level you desire.
Below is a table that shows data for the entire exam (left, 75 point basis) and then broken down by parts (MC, SASE, on right):

=========================================================================

Past Exam Results (for comparison only; can ignore)

=========================================================================

Lec Exam 1 (SP19)

===============================================================

Lec Exam 2 (SP19, 2Apr19)

Here are tables showing means and ranges for entire exam (75 pts possible, including 5 EC) and the two parts (MC, 50pts and SASE 25pts):

75 points possible, plus 5 pts EC (52 MC points plus 28 SASE points)
Because the exam had 75 points possible, it's a bit hard to evaluate your score in terms of the usual grade scale. Here are the % scores and grade breakdown: 68-75 =A, 60-67 =B, 53-59 =C, 45-52 =D, 0-44 =F
Comments: The performance on this second exam was lower than on the first, due in large measure to much poorer performance by some on the SASE part. However, there were again several commendably high scores. For some, though, there is reason for concern, and if your exam score was low, I urge you to talk with me about it. I have already met with 2-3 of you and I encourage others to visit.

----------------------------------------

Lec Exam 1 (FA18, 27Sep18)

75 points possible, plus 2 pts EC (50 MC points plus 25 SASE points, plus 2 SASE EC points)
Exam Mean: 52 of 75 = 69%
- MC Mean: 34 of 50 = 68%
- SA Mean: 17 of 25 = 70%
Exam Range: 14 to 73 (of 75) = 19-100%
- MC Range: 13 to 47 (of 50), or 26-94%
- SASE Range: 1.5 to 26 (of 25) or 6-104% (with 2 EC)
Comments: Usually the first lecture exam has somewhat lower mean than later exams, at least in part because you don't really know quite what to expect (and because some of this material is challenging -- chemistry, respiration). However, for some of you, there is reason for concern, and if your exam score was low, I urge you to talk with me about it.
Another point is that very few of you did very well on the two tables (macromolecules and cellular respiration, SASE questions 1 & 2), despite the fact that I guaranteed you would see one or more such tables on the exam, including almost certainly the Macromolecule table. It appears that many of you haven't taken my exam suggestions seriously.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lec Exam 2 (FA18, 30Oct18)

75 points possible, plus 3 pts EC (50 MC points plus 25 SASE points, plus 3 SASE EC points)
Exam Mean: 48 of 75 = 64% (vs. 69% on Lec Exam 1, later raised to 72%)
- MC Mean: 31 of 50 = 62% (vs. 68% on Lec Exam 1)
- SA Mean: 17 of 25 = 68% (vs. 72% on Lec Exam 1)
Exam Range: 12 to 71 (of 75) = 16-95%
- MC Range: 12 to 45 (of 50), or 24-90%
- SASE Range: 0 to 26 (of 25) or 0-104% (with 3 EC)

Comments and stats: The mean on this exam was about 6% lower than on our first Lecture Exam (64% vs. 70%, which I then raised by about 2%). The greatest drop was on the MC part of the exam (6%)

Table comparing overall exam scores (and %) for Lec Exams 1 & 2:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Table comparing MC and SASE scores separately for Lec Exams 1 & 2:

This table just above shows that while SASE mean did drop on Lec Exam 2 (by about 3%) the greatest drop was for MC part (6%), which accounted for most of the over drop in mean exam score, since the MC part has greater than the SASE part. I will consider whether to scale this exam upward a bit.

-------------------------------------

Lec Exam 3 (FA18, 06Dec18)

75 points possible, plus 3 pts EC (50 MC points plus 25 SASE points, plus 3 SASE EC points)
Exam Mean: 53 of 75 = 71% (lower than Exam 1 at 75% but higher than Exam 2 at 66%)
- MC Mean: 34.4 of 50 = 68.8%
- SA Mean: 18.5 of 25 = 73.9%
Exam Range: 1 to 68.5 (of 75) = 20-91%
- MC Range: 14 to 44 (of 50), or 28-88%
- SASE Range: 1 to 24.5 (of 25) or 4-98% (with 3 EC)
Comments: This exam mean (71%) was higher than Exam 2 (66%) but lower than (Up-scaled) Exam 1 (75%). Here are the stats:

------------------

Lec Exam 1 (SP18, 27Feb18)

75 points possible, plus 2 pts EC (50 MC points plus 25 SASE points, plus 2 SASE EC points)
Exam Mean: 58.3 of 75 = 77.7%
- MC Mean: 38 of 50 = 76%
- SASE Mean: 20 of 25 = 80%
Exam Range: 40 to 75 (of 75) = 53-100%
- MC Range: 26 to 49 (of 50), or 52-98%
- SASE Range: 10 to 27 (of 25) or 40-108% (with 2 EC)
Comments: Usually the first lecture exam has somewhat lower mean than later exams, at least in part because you don't really know quite what to expect (and because some of this material is challenging -- chemistry, respiration). Students tend to do better on subsequent lecture exams. However, this mean was on the high side, and considerably higher than last semester, so you are to be congratulated.
Another point is that very few of you did very well on the two tables (macromolecules and cellular respiration, SASE questions 1 & 2), despite the fact that I guaranteed you would see one or more such tables on the exam. The good side is that I don't have to pay off extra credit points I promised if all got it right. The bad side is you don't seem to be taking my exam suggestions seriously.
Because of an error in my key, many of your scantron sheets were incorrectly marked for Questions 26,27,28. I have gone through them all by hand and made necessary corrections. This will explain why some of you have +1, -1 notations in the margin and corrected final scores on the Scantron sheet.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lec Exam 1 (FA17, 26Sep17)

75 points possible, plus 2 pts EC (50 MC points plus 25 SASE points, plus 2 SASE EC points)
Exam Mean: 51 of 75 = 68%
- MC Mean: 33.6 of 50 = 67.1%
- SASE Mean: 17.4 of 25 = 69.8%
Exam Range: 26.5 to 76 (of 75) = 35-101%
- MC Range: 19 to 50 (of 50), or 38-100%
- SASE Range: 5.5 to 27 (of 25) (with 2 EC), or 22-108%
Comments: Usually the first lecture exam has somewhat lower mean than later exams, at least in part because you don't really know quite what to expect (and because some of this material is challenging -- chemistry, respiration). Students tend to do better on subsequent lecture exams. However, this mean was lower than usual. If you did not get the grade you desired, I urge you to visit with me to discuss how we can insure that you can bring your grade up in the future.
Another point is that very few of you did very well on the two tables (macromolecules and cellular respiration, SASE questions 1 & 2), despite the fact that I guaranteed you would see one or more such tables on the exam.
We can spend a bit of time on Thursday discussing how we can work together to bring these scores up on the next exams.