Exam Autopsy

HOW TO CONDUCT AN EXAM AUTOPSY

If you studied hard for your last exam but came up short on the desired grade, conduct a post-mortem to identify what you missed and why. When you break your performance down, you begin to see how you could have produced a different result by preparing in a different way. This is the goal of evaluating any wrong answers. You are not just noting the right answer. You are identifying the process that would have produced the right answer. Dr. Linda Nilson, author of Creating Self-Regulated Learners, has designed an excellent template to help you with this process.

Posttest Analysis Directions:

  1. Complete the first chart. Be specific and honest; describe exactly how you did (or didn’t) study. 
  2. Understand the questions you missed. Write the question number in the “Question Missed” column—for example, #5. 
  3. Complete the chart for #5. How many points were taken off? What kind of question was it? Why do you think you got it wrong? 
  4. Look for patterns. Why was material unfamiliar? Did you miss reading an assignment or working assigned problems for homework? 
  5. What can you learn from your successes and failures?

 

Course Name

Percentage of Total Grade

Time Spent Studying

Predicted Grade

Actual Grade

Study Methods Used­­­­­­­­
Question Missed Points Lost   Type of Question Carelessness  Unfamiliar Material  Misinterpreted Did Not Complete How can I prepare differently?
               
               
               
               
               
               

 

Print an exam autopsy.
Watch this video on how to review your exam effectively.


“Learning from your Exam Performance - University of Connecticut.” Academic Achievement Center. Accessed October 14, 2015. http://achieve.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/391/2013/12/Learning-From-Your-Exam-Performance.pdf

Nilson, L. B. Creating self-regulated learners: Strategies to strengthen students' self-awareness and learning skills. 2015.