I've plowed straight ahead and managed to grade all the final exams. Whew. The results are quite interesting. When I add up the numbers the average grade on the exam between the two classes (a total of 49 students) is a 74 or 75. A good old-fashioned C. Nothing wrong with that, right in the middle, where one might expect it to be. But it's a deceptive number. Those students who failed the test did so in true Kamikaze fashion, flaming out in spectacular style and taking the whole class average down with them. Nine students failed the test (18.3%). On the other hand fourteen students earned an A. That's a fairly high percentage (28.5), but not in these days of ridiculous grade inflation. Overall 22 students earned either an A or a B.
What seems to have happened is this: the poor students stayed true to form but performed worse because the exam was comprehensive and covered a semester's worth of material. The best students also maintained the status quo. But there were a few, neither the best nor the worst, who realized that this was their last chance and worked tenaciously to try and get that good grade. Imagine what they might have done had they applied that effort consistently throughout the semester. Excellence is rare but so is real determination reinforced with effort.
I have learned far more as a teacher than I ever did as a student.
