She gives us tests on lessons we haven't learned!

College Life
1

<p>I’m taking a math course at community college. It’s a pre-algebra course. I am really bad at math, and always have been.
But in this class, my teacher is giving us homework and I have a test tomorrow on a lesson I’m pretty sure I never learned. Our homework is online, and by sections(2.3, 2.4, 3.1, etc) </p>

<p>I just don’t get how we have a test on something we never learned! We didn’t take our chapter 2 test yet! Last week she told us that there would be a practice chapter 2 test online, and then a few days ago, she told us that we were having our chapter 3 test tomorrow.
Ever since last night I have been doing the chapter 3 homeworks, and everything looks so unfamiliar to me. I’m sitting here trying not to pull my hair out.
Tomorrow I might just go to class and tell her that I’m not taking the test because she didn’t teach us anything on chapter 3. </p>

<p>What should I do?</p>

2

<p>dude, no offense but pre-algebra was in 7th grade…what did you do for all those years in HS? :confused:</p>

<p>but anyway, I don’t think you can refuse to take the test, because then you’d simply get an F, assuming everyone else in the class shows up to take it. Well, it could be possible she decided to not test you on Chapter 2, and decided the homework/ practice test was enough. Maybe she’ll test you on Chapter 2 in the midterm/final but it wasn’t important enough to get its own test? like I don’t know the grading procedures in the class, but did she just not teach you guys chapter 3 at all? my professors don’t always teach all the material in class, a lot of it is just reading as part of hw. that’s kind of unusual in a math class though. </p>

<p>if you’re having trouble, go see her in office hours or make a study group with some other people from the class, I doubt you’re the only one having trouble. good luck with everything :]</p>

3

<p>Are you positive the test is on Chapter 3 and not on Chapter 2? Perhaps it’s a typo. </p>

<p>If the test covers Chapter 3, you can refuse all you want to take the test, but she will most likely give you a big fat zero.</p>

4

<p>I would email the professor to clarify the test material, it really could be a typo. Don’t refuse to take the test. My online professors still had office hours, going to those might have been a good idea if they were available. Or tutoring if your college offered it like mine did. For now all you can do is study and hope for the best. </p>

<p>There is absolutely NO point in taking potshots at the OP’s math level, Alix. You have no idea what kind of background he has whatsoever, and it really doesn’t make you look cool to condescend. </p>

<p>OP-- I managed to get to the intermediate college level proficiency of algebra before moving to statistics, so if you need any help today you can send me a PM and I’ll see what I can do. I understand your frustration.</p>

5

<p>Thanks guys. I was really in a bad mood(I asked this question when I was attempting to do my math homework) but now I’m better.
There is a chance that my teacher will make the test a partner test. That’s what she did on the chapter 1 test.</p>

6

<p>

</p>

<p>Definitely agree on this. The OP came to this forum for sound, supportive advice, not cheap shots at his/her mathematical abilities.</p>

<p>To the OP:</p>

<p>I hope you resolve this issue the best way that you can. Remember, you can always talk to your professors about any misunderstandings or problems you encounter. Most are very reasonable and love to talk to their students during office hours.</p>

7

<p>Here’s my advice. First, take the test. You never know how you’ll do. Maybe you’ll do well. If you end up doing horrible, THEN round up your friends in that class and make it a group effort to tell your teacher that it was not fair for her to give the chapter 3 test without having taught anything. If you try to do something about it by yourself even before the test happens, it might seem as though you are trying to avoid it. But, the main point is, get support from people who feel the same way. More people = more credence.</p>

8

<p>you know twistedkiss, I really was just wondering, it’s not like i was calling him dumb or like I’m some brilliant math major over here.</p>

<p>@CheshireCat - the thing about partner tests is, what if your partner also doesn’t understand the material? If what you said is true, the teacher didn’t teach what’s on the test, then chances are your classmates might be struggling too. </p>

<p>if everyone does horribly, maybe the teacher will just curve it. but definitely go find a math teacher or student who you can ask for help. Math is about understanding concepts rather than memorizing stuff, so you might just need someone to walk you through the steps. A lot of colleges offer free tutoring too.</p>

9

<p>If the teacher is skipping around she is assuming you know the fundamentals to do the work. Maybe your weakness is not having learned the basics well enough in past math courses to do this work easily.</p>

10

<p>Cheshire,</p>

<p>If math is hard for you, make a beeline to the math tutoring office on your campus and go regularly…it will really help reinforce what you are doing in class.</p>

<p>Also start going to your professor on a regular basis to ensure that you are understanding the expectations of the class.</p>

<p>Even though it is less common in math classes than in some other subject areas, in college it is quite common to be tested on material that is not covered in class at all. For example, a professor may assign reading in one or two texts, as well as a bunch or related articles or other readings. He will assume that, as a college student, you are quite capable of understanding the readings on your own…and in class talk about something different, or related, or using the readings as a jumping off point or as points of comparison…but never actually adddress or discuss the readings in his lectures. The assumption is that in college you are perfectly capable of understanding the readings without the professor regurgitating it for you, and that if you have questions about them or there are some points you do not understand, you will come to his office hours to get the help you need.</p>

11

<p>why would you take pre-algebra at a community college… it’s taught in most middle schools.</p>

12

<p>^^ apparently they didn’t teach common sense at yours</p>

13

<p>I don’t get what you’re trying to say.</p>

14

<p>OP: Glad you’re feeling better, but the next time something like this comes up, ask! And ask someone who would actually know the answer (for example, the math teacher as opposed to a message board). Getting clarification and asking questions is a valuable life-skill. Saves alot of stress and prevents alot of misunderstandings.</p>

15

<p>Don’t ever go to class and announce that you aren’t taking a test on material because you haven’t learned it. You’ll get a 0 that way, and your instructor won’t respect you for it. The test is designed to find out whether or not you’ve learned the material, not something that happens after everyone is satisfied that you have learned it.</p>

<p>Instead, do the reading in the text <em>before</em> the same material comes up in class. Do your absolute best to understand it, and if you don’t understand it, find another textbook that explains it in a way you understand, or go to office hours, or find a tutor – or all three! If it’s a skill class like math, do as many problems as you need to until you are consistently getting them right. Go to the library and find other textbooks with problems (with solutions, but don’t check the solutions until you’re sure – I usually leave my problem sets overnight before I start checking, and often the next morning I realize I’ve done something wrong and can fix it on my own rather than just trying to see how someone else would fix it), because most textbooks don’t include enough problems. Or make your own problems by changing the values in the problems you’re already being given.</p>

<p>When material from the reading is covered in class, if you already understand the reading, you’ll be prepared to get the most out of the lecture that you possibly can. If the instructor covers everything that’s in the book, you’ll be able to appreciate any nuances she can offer. If the instructor doesn’t cover everything that’s in the book (or doesn’t cover anything that’s in the book), you’ll be able to connect what is done in the lecture with what you’ve been reading.</p>

<p>And, as other people said, college doesn’t work the way high school does. My favorite summary of the difference is “Grade 13 at Ishkabibble Community College” at the blog “The Mind of Dr. Pion.” The blogger teaches at a community college, but the same issues arise at 4-year colleges and at universities. If you continue to expect to be walked through the material the way you were in high school, you’re not going to be as successful as you will if you approach your classes as college classes.</p>

<p>Good luck. Students in developmental courses often haven’t found a system of study that works for them when they were in secondary education, and when they’re given less support in college it can be a hard adjustment. (And everybody, especially your instructor, understands that. But it’s still an adjustment that you have to make.) But if you work hard, get help when you need it, and above all work in a way that reflects the way college courses are taught, you can learn an awful lot about how you learn and use that knowledge to be successful all through college.</p>

<p>I hope you do better on your test than you are expecting.</p>

16

<p>Good luck to the OP and I don’t want to derail this thread, but what the heck is a “partner test”? And how common are they?</p>

17

<p>I’ve never had one in college, I had them occasionally in high school. Maybe once or twice in community college. It’s a group effort on a test between two classmates. Sometimes, in high school, teachers would allow a partner if a test was particularly hard. I never quite understood the point but sure liked them when I had them!</p>

18

<p>OP-The first few chapters of a math book is usually a review of the previous math course and fundamentals needed to proceed in the course. In college, some professors completely skip the first 3 chapters because they assume you already know how to do the math. It is your mistake to assume the prof will go over every detail needed to pass the class. You have to fill in the gaps of your math knowledge yourself.</p>

19

<p>

I have never had one… It doesn’t seem quite fair to me to be graded on how hardworking or interested or smart of a partner I have.</p>

20

<p>UPDATE.
I took the test today. It wasn’t a partner test. I tried my best, but I’ll be surprised if I do good. The good thing is, my professor said that if we show our work, we can get partial credit for the problem, and I showed work on every problem. I even attempted the 2 bonus questions.
On the bright side, I got a B+ on my comp/english essay.</p>