Cumulative Exams – Everything You Need To Know

Cumulative exams are an excellent way of making sure that students have studied the materials provided in the class throughout the semester or school year. However, facing cumulative tests can be hard on some students, especially students that struggle with long-term memories.

In this guide, let’s find out everything a student has to know about cumulative final exams and how to beat them.

What is a Cumulative Exam?

A cumulative exam is a test that covers study materials during a study period to measure the student’s academic performance. They test the student’s ability to study the given materials and their long-term memory.

College Finals

Yes, college final exams are cumulative exams that test students’ memory about the study materials given in a course for a semester. Exams could last from 1-3 hours depending on the credits of the offered course.

Non-Cumulative Exams

A non-cumulative exam is a test that does not cover all the materials but to some extent, it tests the student’s short-term memory. For example, midterms are non-cumulative exams that cover content from a few months into the semester.

Cumulative VS Comprehensive Exams

Cumulative exams are given as written papers to students to measure their academic performance of the students at the end of the semester or school year. They are mostly given to high school and college students.

Unlike cumulative tests, comprehensive exams are given at both masters and doctorate programs. In master’s programs, students sometimes can get comps instead of thesis projects. However, at doctorate comps are unavoidable as they are the first step to starting the dissertations.

What to Expect

1. Checks Past Knowledge

Most cumulative tests check the student has good knowledge of the current study materials taught in the class – but also check the knowledge from prerequisites as well. This is done to assess the student’s long-term memory and critical thinking skills.

2. Takes Time

Comps can last around an hour or two – but a cumulative test can go long from one hour to four hours or more. This time can depend on the credits the course is offering or the coursework included in the course.

3. Tests Long-Term Memory

Cumulative tests given in college finals week are designed to test the student’s long-term memory. So they will cover a wide area of subject matter. The tests can include multiple-choice questions and essay-type questions.

Edgenuity Cumulative Test

On Edgenuity you have to pass the cumulative test – and students are given two chances to pass the tests. You need to obtain at least 60% marks on the cumulative test on Edgenuity to get a credit score on the test.

Edgenuity Exam Duration

Cumulative test length can vary on the type of test on Edgenuity. For example, a quiz on Edgenuity can run around 60 minutes, a test for 120 minutes, and final cumulative tests can run around 180 minutes. To pass the cumulative tests you need to score at least 60% marks.

Failed Edgenuity Cumulative Test

If you somehow did not pass the test at the second attempt then a review test will be given before the third cumulative test attempt. Retaking the test would require no additional cost and the teacher would guide you to the retesting.

How to Study for Cumulative Tests

1. Take Notes

Start taking notes as the course begins and do not wait for midterms to start taking notes. Use a working note-taking strategy for you and a good spiral notebook or a note-taking app like Evernote to take notes.

2. Study

Taking notes won’t help you in exams if you didn’t study and revise them properly. Create a good study plan that works and stick to it. This alone will help you face the exam without much hassle and get your grade up.

3. Read

If the course is proven to be difficult then start referring to extra study materials as well such as textbooks, e-textbooks, and quizzes on platforms like Quizlet. This will help you get more grasp on the subject and improve your knowledge.

4. Revise

A couple of weeks before the exam, start revising your notes and revisit topics that you forgot or were hard to understand. Take a practice test if available – otherwise, answer the quizzes and tests online or in textbooks.

The Conclusion

Cumulative exams are usually there to measure academic performance and the student’s long-term memory. It can last around one to three hours or more depending on the credits that course or module is offering.