16 Oct Midterm exams in the US

Right now for many of my classes we have midterm exams. Midterm exams in the US are quite different from exams in the Netherlands. In this blog post I’ll discuss some of these differences.

Study guides

Professors in the US post study guides in advance of the exam. These are comprised of the topics to study, the required literature, some tips and what the exam will look like. This is very convenient as you know exactly what to study. For exams in the Netherlands professors do not post study guides online, they usually just cover these topics in the class before the exam.

Online exams

For two out of my five classes, the midterm is online. For classes at my home university exams are always at school, never online.

Grading

At SFSU, the professors are very fast with posting the grades. In the Netherlands professors usually take two to three weeks before grading the exams and posting the grades.

Green books and other test forms

For exams in the US you often have to bring your own ‘Green Book’, scantron or other test form. In the Netherlands these are always supplied by the university.