Quizzes and Why They Come from Hell

I had the malignant experience today of entering a classroom, late, as usual, to find that a pop quiz was taking place.  First, I was struck somewhat curious by the silence of the room.  It was solemn, the professor looking down sternly at her students, trying to keep herself busy with all the quietness.  Then, I noticed the white papers lying shamelessly on each desk.  "Fuck," I thought, "It's a pop quiz."  Why is it that Murphy's Law always applies to quizzes?  And, before this question to the universe is answered, why must quizzes actually exist?  Why must they persist?

Quizzes are ways in which teacher and professors alike find out which of their students suck.  They are the mark of evil because if you have a job that does not allow you to do a specific reading, chances are that the next day you will probably have a pop quiz around the corner.  So don't go to class!  Skip!  Especially if you are one of those students, like me, who always read.  It is absolutely Murphy's Law:  you always do your homework, you always pay attention, you always read the material, but when a quiz comes along it is specifically dated and synchronized to the exact date when you were unable to be an exemplary student.

Another fact that I truly loathe about quizzes in general is their stature.  Let me make myself more clear:   if you get one wrong or you leave one blank, generally, you fail miserably.  Most quizzes I take have a value of ten points composed of five questions.  Get one of those wrong, and you already drop to a 90%.  Two, well now you have an 80%!  Clearly, quizzes come from hell.