Many felt that genuine student collaboration on more difficult problems should be encouraged as this connects the homework to learning objectives. When asked what means of evaluation besides multiple choice exams they are using, some said they give essay exams. One instructor estimated that 80 TA hours are needed to evaluate 360 essay exams. To streamline the process, essay exams should have clearly delineated questions, and all responses to one question should be evaluated by the same TA for fairness. Of course, if no TA support is available, essays are not a practical means of evaluating the largest classes.
Some instructors also have students work in groups.
The same grade can be assigned to all members of the group, or the grades can be assigned to individuals on the basis of some combination of anonymous self-evaluation of individual contributions and instructor evaluation of the group product. The watchword related to giving make-up exams was inflexibility. Some instructors give no make-up exams but weight the final more heavily to make up the difference for those who have missed a big test. In some departments, only one day in the semester is scheduled for all make-ups. Generally, instructors are less tolerant of students who miss make-ups, and very few offer students a third opportunity to take an exam.