If someone finishes an exam in a ridiculously short amount of time, doesn't that just about always mean he or she failed

[Random Variable]

Unless, of course, you're Chris Knight in the 1985 movie Real Genius.

 

[dug777]

I've finished a three hour exam in half that and done very well.

No real rule there I guess, I know engineering mates who've done better than that and did very well...

 

[Lonyo]

No. It means nothing of the sort.
A lot however depends on what sort of exam it is. One that requires essay answers is less easy to finish quickly than one which is multiple choice.

 

[Q]

If everyone else finishes in the same amount of time, then no.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

Not always. Really good exams are like really good sex - a couple of strokes of the pen and bam! those moments of brilliance are rendered immortal, splattered on those sheets in record time.

 

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: Random Variable
Unless, of course, you're Chris Knight in the 1985 movie Real Genius.

No. In my experience, its always been the opposite, especially in law school. Some people read and write faster than others, and I think I'm one of them. If I come in having studied well and luck kicks in (luck being the questions asked raise issues in your strongest areas of knowledge), I can pound out a 3 hr exam in 90 mins just because it flows well from brain to paper.

Same if its multiple choice. I've learned not to second-guess myself, since when I change answers, I tend to be wrong, so I get through that fast too.

I mean, it could be the person just gave up, but I couldn't imagine doing that. If I were doing poorly, and I've been there, I'd be working til the "drop".

 

[Random Variable]

exclude multiple choice tests

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: Random Variable
exclude multiple choice tests

Excluding.

Particularly maths & eng stuff.

 

[sjwaste]

In my first paragraph I was talking about essay tests.

 

[jjzelinski]

Originally posted by: sjwaste

Originally posted by: Random Variable
Unless, of course, you're Chris Knight in the 1985 movie Real Genius.

No. In my experience, its always been the opposite, especially in law school. Some people read and write faster than others, and I think I'm one of them. If I come in having studied well and luck kicks in (luck being the questions asked raise issues in your strongest areas of knowledge), I can pound out a 3 hr exam in 90 mins just because it flows well from brain to paper.

Same if its multiple choice. I've learned not to second-guess myself, since when I change answers, I tend to be wrong, so I get through that fast too.

I mean, it could be the person just gave up, but I couldn't imagine doing that. If I were doing poorly, and I've been there, I'd be working til the "drop".

I'm the same way. I find the faster I go through a test (not recklessly so however) the better the results since I don't second guess myself. The ones I know very well I jot down and ignore the rest, then I'll back through once more for the rest. Sometimes, depending on the subject matter, I'll go through a third time just to ensure I haven't made any silly mistakes like misreading a question.

Long story short, I either know it or I don't and when i do I don't take very long.

 

[Juno]

last thursday, i finished a two hour final exam in less than half hour.

teacher went berserk but i wasn't the first one to finish.

 

[BoomerD]

No, it doesn't necessarily mean the person failed. Sure, it could have meant the person either didn't know their stuff, or blanked out and just blew off the exam, but it could mean they do know their subject well and are able to write quickly, efficiently, and cognizantly. I tend to be one of the first ones done in all my exams, EXCEPT essay exams. Not because I don't know the material, but because I tend to be overly wordy when I write...(can you tell?)

 

[Kabrinski]

Nope. I regularly finish tests before everyone else and have never failed, and usually one of the top grades in the class. I just recently handed a finished test back to the instructor just as he was passing a copy out to the last student. Got a perfect score. It was a multiple choice, matching, fill in the blank, T/F mix. Everyone else took at least 10 minutes.

It depends on the person, what subject, and their familiarity with it.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: sjwaste

Originally posted by: Random Variable
Unless, of course, you're Chris Knight in the 1985 movie Real Genius.

No. In my experience, its always been the opposite, especially in law school. Some people read and write faster than others, and I think I'm one of them. If I come in having studied well and luck kicks in (luck being the questions asked raise issues in your strongest areas of knowledge), I can pound out a 3 hr exam in 90 mins just because it flows well from brain to paper.

Same if its multiple choice. I've learned not to second-guess myself, since when I change answers, I tend to be wrong, so I get through that fast too.

I mean, it could be the person just gave up, but I couldn't imagine doing that. If I were doing poorly, and I've been there, I'd be working til the "drop".

I'd argue (being a law grad myself) that anyone who says they can bust out a decent law paper in 90 mins out of three hours is full of sh1t.

Even if you've got it all lined up perfectly, there's more than 90 mins writing waiting in the wings to do well...

 

[Kabrinski]

Originally posted by: Kabrinski
Nope. I regularly finish tests before everyone else and have never failed, and usually one of the top grades in the class. I just recently handed a finished test back to the instructor just as he was passing a copy out to the last student. Got a perfect score. It was a multiple choice, matching, fill in the blank, T/F mix. Everyone else took at least 10 minutes.

It depends on the person, what subject, and their familiarity with it.

Also finished the mid-term in about 5 minutes when everyone else took 25+ minutes. Got a 95 on it, I think the highest grade in the class (avg score in class was 70.64).

Quoted myself instead of editing by accident.

 

[senseamp]

I usually finish early, then force myself to double and triple check my exam until time runs out.

 

[imported_wicka]

If it's an essay, some people actually take the time to plan and outline before they actually start writing (I just dive straight in). Some people need structure and some people can just flow.

 

[MotionMan]

I finished every section (six of them at three hours each) of the California Bar with 30 to 60 minutes left.

It freaked out my friends every time I left the test center early - especially the two times I left with an hour left! They thought I had given up (which happens all the time with the Bar).

I passed.

MotionMan

 

[Leros]

Completely depends on the class. I finish computer science exams way faster than most people do and I usually get some of the highest grades in the class. I usually finish my engineering exams on average time.

 

[Eeezee]

A professor once told me (I was grading for him for this class) that the first person to turn in the exam usually fails, and the second usually does really well. This was an intro to physics course for non-majors.

I once finished a final exam in 30 minutes, it took everyone else 2 hours. I got a B on it, which was above the average.

When I was in high school we had typing tests, the average WPM for the class was less than 30 but I was sitting at 140, so I'd blaze through and neff on the internet

Just recently in my graduate-level quantum mechanics course we had a midterm that I finished in 30 minutes (out of an hour and 15 min). I checked over my work in 10 minutes and handed it in. A few other people did the same. I got a perfect score The test was just that easy (but of course the average was in the mid-60s out of 100)

How quickly you finish a test never necessarily determines how well you did. The test could be easy, the rest of your peers could have missed some trick to finishing the problems quickly, etc.

 

[archiloco]

yeah quickness does not imply you failed...most of the really bad grades are people who sit there the entire time...i am usually the first one out the door (no matter if i did good or bad), but on an accounting test last semester i finished it in 12 minutes out of 3hrs. alloted. the prof. looked at me funny like i just turned it in, but looked and saw that i had answered all of it. i got an 87.....i just wanted out of that classroom. (this was not multiple choice)

 

[compman25]

Yes, they really are smarter than you and no, they didn't fail.

 

[gorcorps]

No set rule here... depends on the class and school. In most of my classes the first one to get done is usually the one who knew exactly what he/she was doing and didn't have to waste time thinking like the rest of us.

 

[ucdbiendog]

Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
Not always. Really good exams are like really good sex - a couple of strokes of the pen and bam! those moments of brilliance are rendered immortal, splattered on those sheets in record time.

hahahahaah comedy. To respond to the OP, I don;t think it matters, it could go either way if you think about it. Either the person really knows their shit and hauled ass, or the person doesnt know shit and just did what they could. I almost always finished before everyone in my classes exams. I wasn't the best, but I did well enough to get to grad school

 

[TuxDave]

If someone finished an exam before I finished an exam, that's usually a good indication that they failed. If someone turned in an exam before I did, that's just an indication that I was dicking around because I didn't want to be the first person to hand in my exam.