Exams
There is one midterm exam (term test) worth 25%, and a final exam worth 50%.
Ideally, a midterm exam should serve a diagnostic purpose, to alert students to potential weaknesses in understanding in advance of a final assessment. However, final exams are limited to 2.5 hours in length, which is not much time in which to make a proper assessment. Besides, as with assignments, if midterms did not contribute to the final grade, some students would not take them seriously.
Exams are highly imperfect instruments of diagnosis and assessment, but they are the best ones we have. More accurate and fair methods would likely raise your tuition costs substantially.
Midterm
The midterm exam for CS 146 (Winter 2024) is scheduled to be in-person on Monday, March 4 at 7:00—8:50 PM.