Test each week vs test once a month

[kiddodent2]

What was your preference? Did you all prefer having a test each week or do you think it is better to have a test once a month or every other month? For example, I know that midwestern has a test each week (this is what they said at their interview) or do you prefer having just finals and midterms for each course?

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[zToothinator]

Not all classes in my experience have just a final and midterm. Most also have quizzes or 3 exams so it’s not quite like a test a month. I think having one exam a week would be nice but I am not sure if it’s instead equivalent to 3 exams since the courses all combine to give one as opposed to 3 independent ones

 

[BasicG]

A test each week would be nice. There's plenty of material covered in 1-3 lectures to fill up a 30-50 question exam. Learning every detail in 10 powerpoints for a 50 question test every month is mentally draining, especially because the powerpoint topics dont relate to one another

 

[Blueshirts]

Are you guys saying 1 test per class per week? or literally 1 test?

 

[zToothinator]

Are you guys saying 1 test per class per week? or literally 1 test?

I interpreted it as literally 1 test per week. Meaning all of your class professors work together to make one test that covers everything

 

[Blueshirts]

I interpreted it as literally 1 test per week. Meaning all of your class professors work together to make one test that covers everything

Is that normal? I know at my school we are concurrently taking 7 classes, and it averages out test-wise to be at least 1-3 midterm type tests plus a practical every other week, in addition to daily quizzes. From what I understand, it is a lot of testing; I’m kind of shocked that other schools are able to find a way to reduce testing so that it is about 1 midterm a week, that is definitely more ideal then having to literally cram every single day in addition to practicing sim lab and keeping abreast of materials to know before lectures even occur.

 

[kiddodent2]

I'm not sure if it is one test per class per week as I have not started dental school yet, just curious as of right now. So at University of Michigan, they were saying that they have finals week where each course has a final at the end of each semester. At Midwestern AZ they were just saying that there is a test each Tuesday so it might be that Anatomy is this week and then next week its pharmacology.

 

[6schlitzes]

What was your preference? Did you all prefer having a test each week or do you think it is better to have a test once a month or every other month? For example, I know that midwestern has a test each week (this is what they said at their interview) or do you prefer having just finals and midterms for each course?

MWU D1 here, We have approx 12 lectures of BASI (basic sciences) each week, 1 hour each. We have an exam on that material every Tuesday. You still have other lectures, preventive medicine, oral health, etc. They each pretty much have a weekly quiz/ short exam. It’s really pretty nice, forces you to stay on top of things and not procrastinate. Plus we will be finished with BASI at the end of D1 year. Hope this helps, PM me if you have specific questions I’d be happy to answer.

 

[knewstance]

I think the general question is 1 or 2 exams per term or weekly exams. The weekly exams really only work in a curriculum that is more of a block setup rather than individual classes. Ex. 7 concurrent class and 7 weekly exams. That would be ridiculous.

I attend a school with weekly (or multiple per week) exams and in comparison to my undergrad (2 exams per term per class), I prefer my current system. It prevents me from studying 1000s of slides in preparation for one exam. It is nice to have a study schedule and stick to it each week whereas with the fewer exams I know that I wouldn't have the discipline to study for an exam that is 2 months away or something.

Also if there was a week or a subject that I was not as strong at, that lower score is diluted by having so many other exam scores to bring up the average.

 

[wetn00dle]

I prefer weekly/more frequent exams. Yes, it can be stressful but I think it's beneficial for my learning long term. Here's why:

It forces me to study consistently and makes studying for bigger exams a lot easier for me since I've already created condensed study guides that make sense for me.
It also dilutes your final grade more so there's not as much pressure to perform on bigger exams.
It reinforces actual comprehension vs memorization/regurgitation.

 

[deleted913442]

A test each week would be nice. There's plenty of material covered in 1-3 lectures to fill up a 30-50 question exam. Learning every detail in 10 powerpoints for a 50 question test every month is mentally draining, especially because the powerpoint topics dont relate to one another

Lol. We have 1 exam per week on 7-12 2-hr lectures

 

[TanMan]

Less tests, the better it is for you. It means that you only have to study once. I'd take a curriculum with finals only. Ours was Midterm/finals for the first 2 years, then finals only on the last 2. Best feeling ever. Weekly testing will require you to waste time every week to study when you could be doing other things.

 

[IdleKoala]

Our exams are in blocks. So we will have several exams in a period of a few days followed by a couple weeks with only quizzes and other smaller activities. Its definitely rough around exam time but is manageable if you prioritize studying.

 

[corgination]

Last year (D1), we had about 2 exams every week starting in early September going all the way until May. We would even occasionally have 3 exams a week, and this didn't count practicals for various classes (anatomy, perio, etc). It was rough on a lot of us and I burned out in January and basically just did the bare minimum effort until summer rolled around (and then had to kick myself into gear for boards lol).

Now a D2, we've had about 2 exams a month so far (so 4-5 total), and its beginning to ramp up again to ~2 exams a week for the next few weeks and it will also cool back down to ~2 exams a month when we close in on December. A majority of my classes right now are simply midterm/final, with pharm being the only course with more than 2 exams.

D1 was definitely tough with basically 2 exams a week, but it forced us to learn how to not fall behind and how to effectively study for the next exam. It also prepped us pretty well for jumping right into boards once the school year ended. BUT, I much prefer my current exam layout with exams few and far between, with occasional "ramp-ups" of multiple exams. I have considerably more time to study subjects in depth, complete lab projects, sleep, and basically just have more time to myself since I'm not freaking out about the next exam that's coming in 2-3 days.

 

[P7898]

A test each week would be nice. There's plenty of material covered in 1-3 lectures to fill up a 30-50 question exam. Learning every detail in 10 powerpoints for a 50 question test every month is mentally draining, especially because the powerpoint topics dont relate to one another

We have a test each week at my school the first year. They usually comprise of about 100 questions each week for a year. We do this because we are done with exams halfway through D2 year because we start seeing patients the middle of D2 year and in clinic almost full time. It is exhausting but you learn a lot. This is in addition to hand skills assessments and sim lab.