Retaining Players in the Portal Era

[4shotB]

To me, I like Pass/Fail classes, with a failing grade being a representation of what would be an acceptable reflection of what percentage of the knowledge should be retained. I'm also a HUGE fan of open book and take-home tests. No one should have to memorize equations. I've worked in engineering for 35 years and NOT ONCE in my career have I EVER had to create a solution without my library of resources.

I agree with this. I allowed a note sheet for my high school math students when applicable. Formulas only, no worked examples. I was the exception amongst my peers, probably bc I, like yourself, had practiced math/engineering outside of the classroom. At the start of the school year, the vast majority of my incoming students, thought that the class was going to be easy wwhen they heard this bc they had never been allowed to do that. The quickly found out that having the formulas made little or no difference if they didn't know how to use them. They also found out early in the year that a note sheet was not a substitute for preparation. I was not emphasizing their ability to memorize things..I wanted to test their understanding of the material.