Grades are Out – Now What?

Regardless of what grades you received, you must review your exams. This is one of the most valuable pieces of advice students receive in law school, yet many ignore it. Why? Students have lots of excuses, but none of them holds any water. Here are the most common excuses for not reviewing prior exams and rebuttal arguments to those excuses.

I'm happy with my grade.

Even if you got the highest grade in the class, there are lessons to be learned from reviewing your exam. There is always room for improvement. Reviewing your exam answer will help you pinpoint the areas where your analysis was strong and where it was not. You rarely remember what you wrote in an exam accurately, so it's necessary to go back and read what you actually wrote. Did your analysis sound strong? Was your answer as organized as you remembered it? Did you ramble?

I'm embarrassed about the grade I received, and I don't want the professor to know I did poorly.

Although grading is anonymous, after all the grades are in, professors get a list of their students' grades matched up with names, so your professor likely already knows how you did. Professors are impressed by students that are motivated to improve their performance. There is no shame in taking steps toward improving exam performance. Won't it be more embarrassing to continue making the same mistakes over and over again?

I don't have this professor next semester, so I don't need to know how to do better on his/her exam.

Regardless of whether you have this professor again, there is much to be learned from reviewing your exam. The lessons learned can be carried forward to all of your future exams, regardless of what professor you have. In addition, you may end up having this professor again when you're an upperclassman.

I know exactly what I did wrong on the exam; no point in reliving the nightmare.

Are you sure? You may be surprised by where you went wrong (or right) on an exam. The area where you think you totally bombed may not have been as bad as you thought. Remember, you're measured against how everyone else answered the same question – maybe no one had a stellar answer. There is no way to know exactly where you did well and where you didn't without looking at the exam. If you have misjudged your performance and where your strengths and weaknesses are, wouldn't you rather know that now, than after the next set of exams? This is the best way to start out a new semester on the right foot.

Questions Frequently Asked About Reviewing An Exam:

How do I arrange to review my exam?
Check with the professor or his/her assistant to determine the exam review policy. Many professors will allow you to review your exam in their assistant's office. Then, after you have reviewed the exam, the professor will schedule an appointment to meet with you to discuss the exam.

What should I look for when I review my exam?
If the professor marks points in the margins, pay attention to which paragraphs earned you points and which ones did not. This will show you where you were wasting your time and how you can better use that time elsewhere. Ask if the professor has a model answer. If there is a model answer, compare it, step-by-step, against your answer to see how your answer measured up. What issues did you get? Which did you totally miss? Which should you have given deeper treatment? Were there issues you discussed that were not in the model answer? Did you have problems with certain types of questions, such as multiple choice?

Should I meet with the professors?
Yes. It is often helpful to talk to the professors to get an idea of what they were looking for and what they thought was important. Most professors will agree to review your exam before you meet to give you specific feedback on your exam. This feedback is invaluable. Take notes on this meeting.

Can I challenge my grade?
Unless there is a mathematical error, all grades are final. Attempts to negotiate a higher grade will be futile. It is not unusual for students to feel angry with a professor or with the grading system in general if their months of hard work yielded an unsatisfying result. Just remember that the goal is to improve your grades in the spring, and feeling resentful may prevent you from understanding the changes you need to make.

Now that you've reviewed your exams and seen what you did well and what needs improvement, you can begin to make appropriate changes in the ways you study for class and prepare for exams.