Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site cucca.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!think!harvard!seismo!columbia!cucca!cck
From: cck@cucca.UUCP (Charlie C. Kim)
Newsgroups: net.cse
Subject: Re: students editing output
Message-ID: <149@cucca.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 14-Sep-85 15:28:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: cucca.149
Posted: Sat Sep 14 15:28:58 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 16-Sep-85 00:16:13 EDT
References: <433@uvm-cs.UUCP> <1500@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Reply-To: cck@cucca.UUCP (Charlie C. Kim)
Organization: Columbia University Center for Computing Activities
Lines: 25

In any programming oriented computer science class, I think the
emphasis should be on the program itself--not the output.  People can
always edit output to make it look correct (it is certainly feasible
in a batch oriented system).

The output of a program is only one indication of how well a person
programs--face it, he might have found the program in a book
somewhere.  Grading the program is much more productive.  I realise
that it take more time, but the time is well spent.  By grading the
program, I mean examining the person's programming style, the logic,
the comments (which will usually indicate the student's grasp of the
problem, and if well done of the solution as well), etc.  You get a
feel for what the student's capabilites and it often clear if the
person has copied or has been copying programs from a book or another
person.

Let's force the student to concentrate on the important issues.  The
best of this method is that editing the "output" is legal (since the
output is program).

However, this only works well in classes where the emphasis is on the
programming and not the output.  I also realize that sometimes this is
next to impossible--one grader and 100 people, but it's a thought...

Charlie C. Kim


Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com