Exam Corrections

Due: May 1, 2026

Overview

Exam corrections are offered when class performance falls below a certain benchmark, or when the class average and class median performance on an exam significantly diverge. This divergence suggests a disproportionate negative effect on students who were already struggling, often due to time constraints, but potentially also due to unclear expectations, poorly written problems, or insufficient test preparation. If you are going to do exam corrections, follow the below link to generate a repository where you can upload all your materials back to.

Generate Corrections Repository

Requirements

When exam corrections are offered, you are eligible to receive up to 50% of the points you missed on any given problem. Extra credit problems are not eligible. If making up the extra points would cause you to go over a 100%, you will be capped at a 100%.

To receive those points, you must complete the following requirements for each problem you wish to earn points back on:

  1. Construct a “Trilogy” Portfolio. The portfolio serves to connect the missed problem points to the foundational work we have covered already in the course. It should include:

    • Learning Objectives: Provide a list of all learning objectives (LOs) from the exam’s study materials that applied to the problem. Organize these LOs in descending order of importance, with the most central objectives listed first.
    • An In-Class Example: Include a relevant artifact from our course materials (e.g., lecture notes, demonstrations, section content). This must be a snippet of code or a screenshot that directly showcases the objectives used in the problem. Clearly state where the artifact was taken from.
    • A Practice Example: Include a snippet of code from your own past work (e.g., problem sets or projects) where you previously applied an objective essential to the problem successfully. Again, clearly state where the snippet was taken from.
    • A Synthesis Statement: Write a paragraph explaining where the disconnect occurred between the foundational work showcased above and your exam answer. Address specific practical improvements that you could utilize in the future. For example, this might include, but is not limited, considering such things as:
      • If it was a speed issue, how will you streamline your approach to this type of question in the future?
      • If it was a conceptual flaw, how can you prepare differently for the next exam to ensure this connection is made?

  2. Construct and Solve a New Problem It is hard creating problems, and to do so you need to really understand the material and the learning objectives at play. That is the goal here.

    • New Problem Statement: Construct a brand-new problem of your own devising that showcases the same learning objectives listed in your Trilogy portfolio. This new problem must address at least 80% (round up) of the listed LOs. While the problem may be inspired by course work, it must be at least 50% different in scope or execution from anything you’ve already done.
    • Solution and Design Rationale:
      • Provide a fully worked out solution to your new problem.
      • Write a “design rationale” paragraph explaining your key implementation decisions in your solution (e.g., “Why did I choose a dictionary over a list?” or “Why was a for loop better than a while loop here?”). Discuss at least one alternative design choice that you considered and clearly explain why you you decided to stick with your final solution instead.

All told, this is a non-trivial amount of work and effort, and that is by design. Students who missed the most points on the exam stand to gain the most from these corrections, and by proxy they are the same students who could most benefit from this extra practice and systematic approach to critiquing and designing problems. Three files must be uploaded to the accepted GitHub repository for each problem you want points back on. They should be formatted as below:

File name Contents Format
[Problem#]_Trilogy.pdf The Trilogy Portfolio (LOs, In-Class, Practice, Synthesis) PDF
[Problem#]_NewProblem.pdf The new problem statement and design rationale for your solution PDF
[Problem#]_Solution.py The fully worked out solution to your new problem .py

For example, you might upload 01_Trilogy.pdf, 01_NewProblem.pdf, and 01_Solution.py if you wanted to get points back on problem 1 from the exam.

You have until the end of the day on the last study day (May 1) to have these files uploaded. You can not use late days on these, and no submissions past midnight will be accepted.