Attrition in these biology courses is awful. After the second test, we lost a third of the students. The day after, another four dropped. I was surprised and saddened to see some go, because they had succeeded in the previous class, and I even knew some names. Dropping means they either have to take it over or else change major. I would be appalled to have to drop a class, but I guess if ya gotta, ya gotta. I did not think I did well on the tests myself, prior to receiving my grades, but discovered that I made straight-A's. In fact, due to bonus points, I have a triple-digit average for the moment.
The tests weren't easy. I am tempted to suspect they were easy, because my grades were high, but I struggled with them. They were tricky. Some questions had multiple technically correct answers, but only one was considered correct. One had to select between them based upon what was particularly emphasized during the lecture. Other times, concepts had to be reinterpreted in a different context than the one we had studied in our notes, which made rote memorization inadequate. Long hours of studying were required as well. Those students that did not prepare adequately were exposed. I studied about eight hours per test.
My career as a computer programmer helped me in the test-taking department. When I think back to the cryptic user specifications I received as work orders and the cryptic languages I used, it makes me smile.
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