If I miss an exam, can I drop my lowest exam score? Only one exam score can be dropped. If you miss an exam, regardless of the reason, you will receive a zero for that exam - and, since this will be your lowest exam score of the five exams, you must drop this exam score.
What if I miss two exams? A zero will be recorded for each missed exam. One of the exam scores will be dropped as your lowest exam score. However, one of the exams will be recorded as a zero on the exam and will be used to calculate your final grade.
What if I have a good reason to miss an exam, can I take a make up exam so that I can drop the lowest score from my other exams? No. Since you are allowed to drop your lowest exam score, you will be allowed to drop the missed exam only. It is not fair to your classmates for me to allow some students to drop multiple exams or take make up exams when others in the class are allowed to only drop one exam.
What if I have a good reason to miss two exams, can I take a make up exam? It is not fair to others in our class for some students to be allowed to drop more than one exam, or be allowed to take make up exams for missed exams, when others don't have the same opportunity.
Why do I have to drop my missed exam if I have a good excuse? That doesn't seem fair for me not to be able to take a make up exam if I have a good reason. This policy seems to force me to drop an exam that I had a legitimate reason to miss. Sorry. The line has to be drawn at some point. I allow everyone to drop one exam score. Some students make a special effort to be in class on exam day for each of the first four exams so that they will have the opportunity to skip the final exam. I feel these students have earned the privilege to skip the final exam. Others have something unexpected that occurs that causes them to miss an exam. These students also have the opportunity to drop their missed exam. It is not fair to let some students take make up exams and not allow others to do the same. For these reasons, I allow everyone to drop one exam, but, I only allow students to drop one exam. Some might argue that it would be better to allow students to drop two exams, or maybe even three exams. Some might think it is better to allow students to drop all exams. I don't agree. I think that anyone taking this class should be able to take 4 of the 5 exams. The exam dates dates are set by the end of the 2nd week of class and will not be changed during the semester. Everyone should plan to attend on exam days.