Smith, Kent  

Erma is amazing. I love her. I'm a dude, and I'm not afraid of sounding fruity. She's the shit. Very straightforward with speeches, a few small writing assignments. And she tells you exactly what pages to know for the two written tests. The best part is how shes so goofy that you feel totally comfortable getting infront of the class. You won't be afraid of speech with Stauffer.

You really cant do too bad in his class if you do the homework. It is worth 15% and he drops the four lowest homework assignments. He also throws away your worst test grade if it is significantly lower then your other test scores. He tells you what to expect on the test and what homework problems to study. If you do his practice tests, it will help you a lot because atleast one of the practice problems resembles a test problem. He gives partial credit on problems if you show work, even if answer is wrong. He does not mark down significantly if you made a calculation error, as long as you show that you had the right equation. The test are straight forward and not tricky. As long as you are not lazy and you do the homework and study the basic concepts the night before the test, you will be fine. So dont stess like i did when i read all of these evaluations.

They should have a policy regarding senility amongst professors!! Gosh....most of em can't drive right, and teach right for that matter. I can't believe the insults that I've had to put up with for not being able to follow his crazy way of teaching stats. For a professor, I think he should work on his sensitivity and teaching skills. He knows his stuff. I don't think he cares whether you do or not. I put in my 110% for this class! this is STAT 218, so it should be pretty easy, right? nope. it's ALL about the teacher, baby. no matter what class...it's ALL ABOUT THE TEACHER. Smith should either practice some improvement on his teaching skills, or stop wasting our precious tuition $$$ and leave.

I'm a smart kid, I do my homework, go to office hours and do everything else good students do, but this guy cannot teach, je makes stats a lot harder then it is and I never want to see him again.

He wasn't hard if you just quit your whining and do what his class entails.

If you need to know Stats to help you with your academic career, then I would say stay away from this guy. He is a pretty nice guy, and I feel bad for saying this, but he was the worst teacher I have ever had in my life. Basically I just sat there confused for an hour every other day, just to say I tried. But seriously my class would laugh when he would ask a question. No joke I made up numbers and divided them by other numbers for my midterm and final, got about 60 out of 170, but with the curve I got a B. So I won't say it was hard, but I sure did not learn anything.

Dr. Smith is without comparison the worst teacher I have had so far at Cal Poly. He is extremely frustrating so try to avoid him at all costs.

Smith was the worst teacher i have ever had. his lectures are boring, confusing, and do not help you understand the material. i went to class everyday before the first midterm, and got a 54. i stopped going to class, read the book, and taught statistics myself for the second midterm, and got an 85. when my class recieved the final, everyone laughed outloud. it was impossible. i left 2/6 questions blank and bullshitted the rest to the best of my ability. one chick left ten minutes into it, and one cried about 30 minutes into it. avoid smith at all costs unless you want to teach statistics yourself, which is not easy.

Dr. Smith is by far the worst teacher I have ever had in any subject. His tests are nothing like the material in the supplement you get or the homework he assigns. His tests include vocab words with definitions that are purposely worded so that you pick the wrong answer. He definately should not be teaching anymore

I just got out of his third midterm that I studied all day on and still i did not understand one thing on the test. Before every midterm I feel like I have to teach myslef. He reads directly off his printed out notes and he is extremely boring. I'm surprised with how much people hate this teacher that this guy is still here. Just try and ask him a question and you'll become more confused. HE IS THE WORST TEACHER I'VE HAD IN MY LIFE. THIS MAN NEEDS TO GET FIRED!!

I did not understand how correct all his other reviews were until I personally had him as a teacher. There is no point in going to class because you have to teach yourself the material. On the first midterm I got 68 points out of 180. He curves the grades so much that I recieved a B on it. I did not learn a single thing in his class and even if you have to take stats 218 and he is the only instructor available, it is not worth taking at all. He is definately the worst teacher I have ever had. He, without a doubt, needs to be fired.

I cannot believe this guy is still teaching. I took a class from him two decades ago, and at the final exam, the remaining students (except one lone holdout) signed a petition to have him fired, which I personally delivered to the dean. The dean said, "I can empathize with your frustration, but he's a tenured instructor so there's not much I can do." I am now a college professor myself, and have to say this guy has given me a lifelong example of the worst teaching methods to avoid. When I hear of bad teachers, I still immediately think of him and wonder if anyone could be worse. I'm so sorry he's still fostered on y'all...

damn, nigga.... i studied my butt off for every test and earned a freakin A+++ but instead i got a B. His class lectures are soooooooooooo useless.....we dont learn anything....and he talks to you like your stupid........ If you go to his office hours..... he will ask you ... why dont you know this???? why do u think nigga??? cause you dont teach crap...and the book doesnt even have a glossary... trust me man....do not take this teacher.........

I have never had a professor make such easy material so difficult. To give you an idea: I would read the book before class, understand and do the homework, then go to class and leave totally confused! He wrote his own supplement to the course, and he requires every student have it. It costs $40 and is loaded with miscalculations and type errors. Everything I learned in this class was from the book (Not the supplement!). I am currently in an upper division Stats class and it is WAY more clear than this class was. If you have any other choice, do yourself a favor and DO NOT take a class with Kent Smith.

ALL I GOTTA SAY IS READ OTHER PEOPLES COMMENTS

Never have I seen anyone so mean to a student in class. Never have I seen anyone so demeaning to his students. His late policy is accecptable, and seems fair, but he wont allow you to get out on time so you can make it to your next class, and not be late for the next professor. I watched him take a simple question and turn it into a personal put down fest on another student becasue she didnt understand something. His methods are antiquated, and frankly offensive. In addition, his overall timming for the class demonstrates a poor level of planning, forcing a hurried cram session for the last 3 weeks of class, in order to get to the end of the book. In essence, we were force feed 3 times as much information in half the time as before, and much of the class wasnt doing well then either. Stay away...

Although I did well in this class, due to his curve, he can not answer any question in a positive manner. If you ask him a question that does not pertain to his Supplement you will not get a definite answer.

this guy licks nuts.

Dr. Smith is a hard teacher...no doubt about it. He works your hard and assigns a lot. He can have a bit of an attitude. However, he is an excellent teacher who knows a hell of a lot about STATS. You walk away from this class with a good stats understanding that will be helpful later on in your college career. I would DEFINITELY recommend him.

It is pretty safe to say this is the worst teacher at Cal Poly. This guy is a crackhead. This guy doesn't know a damn thing about teaching and should be teaching third grade, not college. He would begin his lectures and then fifteen minutes later start telling 'nam stories about the war when he fought. If you've got this guy drop the class immediately or don't go, the lectures are a waste of time.

It is pretty safe to say this is the worst teacher at Cal Poly. This guy doesn't know a damn thing about teaching and should be teaching third grade, not college. He would begin his lectures and then fifteen minutes later start telling 'nam stories about the war when he fought. If you've got this guy drop the class immediately or don't go, the lectures are a waste of time.

I did not fail this test but I feel that I probally should have because his tests are so hard that no one passes which causes him to curve it. By about 20 percent. And that of course is to the smart persons grade you know the one that always ruins the curve. His test are 3 questions long and they are usually worth about 350 points. He gives you practice tests in the back of a supplement you have to buy and don't bother with the tests they are nothing alike. He loses you in his class lectures and often loses himself along the way. So overall I would have to say stay as far away from this teacher as you can...

I wish I had never taken this jerk of a teacher. He is such a bastard. He did nothing to teach the students or make sure they understod the concepts. His main strength is insulting the class. I think he is bitter at the world because he realizes that his subject is useless and that being a teacher of such a useless subject is about the equivalent of being a pile of dog crap. However, the curve was nice and I was pleased with my grade.

This man is an a-hole. He once compared our whole class to first graders, stating that he could teach it better to them than us. I think he received a lot of complaints after making two female students cry in his office and for failing half of his two sections. If you want to take an extremely boring and useless class with a teacher that tries to insult his students for taking no interest in his stupid subject, go for it!

This is my 2nd quater with this teacher. For 251 tests were immposible leading everystudent in 3 sections to miss a problem but resulting in a curve adding 18% to scores. Stat 252- has changed his ways now and is a far far better teacher than he used to be

Dr. Smith is very intelligent but does not have the patience to teach students who's only desire is to learn enough to pass. His tests were consistently horrible. He puts out sample tests but they have absolutely nothing todo with what is on the actual exam. His opinion of us was so low that he wouldn't even have us fill out an end of the term evaluation, or as he put it, "I already know how you feel about me..." He is not approachable and tends to belittle students who don't "get it".

Normally, I wouldnt rate any of my teachers as bad, but this case calls for an exception. I found it hard dealing with this teacher, during office hours or after class and i consistenly felt as if I was being talked down upon. Even though I got an A in this course, I feel that I didnt learn that much and I worked WAY WAY TO DAMN HARD!!!!!

NIGGA CANT TEACH WORTH SHIET!!!!!!!!!!!

You people might be like me and read the other comments on this jerk and figure that you can handle it, 'cause it's just one quarter. DON'T!!! You couldn't pay me to take this guy again, or even look at his face again. He is the most bitter man I have ever met, always looking to take out his frustrations of still being alive on an unsuspecting student. You may think I'm just angry at him for recieving a C, but I was damn happy about getting that C. His tests are nearly impossible. Don't be fooled by the first test, which is pretty easy, because it all goes to hell from there. The tests cover completely different material than what he teaches in class, and his practice tests are completely worthless. I think they are for a different class. You need to memorize three sets of symbols. One from the book, one from his supplement, and one from his equation sheet you can use on the test, which is the same sheet for every stats class he has ever taught. I am warning you now... don't take this teacher. He will make the quarter the worst three months of your life.

This is by far the worst teacher I've ever had. I thought he would be a good teacher at first. he had his notes all printed out and he clearly defined all the goals of the class. After that introduction, all was lost. He is completely unable to teach the material to people. If you can learn extremely quickly with only one examply problem, you'll do fine. The rest of the class did not. Thinking of asking questions? Think again. He will simply make you feel stupid for even being in the class in the first place. He won't even answer your question. He'll just skirt the issue. His tests are impossible. The homework questions are doable, but his test questions are at three times the conceptual level. He's not even explicit on what methods you should be using or what he wants you to do. Bottom line, DO NOT TAKE THIS TEACHER.

This is by far the worst instructor I have ever have and possibly will ever have. This man should not teach or be in education at all. I had to learn every thing I know in stats from the textbook because his notes were so confusing. His tests are not at all clearly laid out. He loves the words: "interpolate" and "interpret", which really means he doesn't clearly tell you what to do in class or on a test. What shocked me most is the last class meeting he was so behind on the homework schedule that there were still ten homework assignments not covered in class and he assigned them anyways, only five days before the final!! Half of the final was on material not covered in class; this is completely ridiculous. Oh yeah, he will not answer questions in class without a total bitter attitude in addition he will avoid directly answering your specific question. This instructor unfortunately has a tenure which means he's here to stay folks despite the numerous complaints issued to the stats department. So let's do this, boycott his classes! Maybe the university will get the clue to get rid of this useless instuctor.

This guy SUCKS. I'd pay money to kick this guys ass and I would do a damn good job of it. Fuck him, I will break this piece of shit. I'm outta here

DAMN, THE HOMEWORK REAALY SCREWED ME UP. IF YOURE LAZY AND ALL YOU DO IS CHEAT, DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. MY FRIEND (A 4.0 STUDENT) LET ME CHEAT OFF OF HIM, AND BOY DID HE WORK. HE SAID THIS WAS ONE OF THE TOUGHER CLASSES HE TOOK, BUT FRANKLY I WOULDNT KNOW. I SUGGEST IF YOU TAKE THIS CLASS, YOU EITHER FIND A SMART PERSON TO CHEAT OFF OF, OR TEAM UP WITH A FEW GUYS TO STUDY ONE PROBLEM EACH, AND THEN CHEAT OFF OF EACH OTHER. THEN AGAIN, YOU STILL WILL HAVE TO DO YOUR HW TOO, SO YOURE SCREWED IN THE END. DAMN... I CANT BELIEVE I GOT A B- IN THIS CLASS. I DESERVED BETTER!!!!

Wow, I can't believe this guy is still teaching! I had him 13 years ago when I was an undergrad at Cal Poly and he was bad enough then. I teach at Cuesta College now, and Kent Smith almost turned me off math for the rest of my life back then. On the day of our final, 12 out of the 13 students brave enough to remain in his class signed a petition saying he was a horrendous teacher and should be fired. It is to Cal Poly's shame that they have allowed this miscreant to remain. It's bad enough that he can't teach his way out of a paper bag. It is far worse that he covers up this fact with abuse toward his students. He was only one of two poor teachers I had at CP in the late 80s, all others were terrific. As a college professor now, I see him as a blight on Cal Poly's record. Note to administrators down the street: either get rid of Smith or convince students to take other professors!!!! Whew, that felt good!!

well....i had an "A" going into the final and the final ripped me a new one and i ended up with a B minus, so i was pissed. i thought he was a nice guy but he really wasnt. his tests are really hard and his final was terrible. i know i had a good grasp on the material he just decided to make the final impossible besause i think he got tired of being so lenient with our grades. hes mean and decieving, avoid for sure

Professor Smith was not as bad as everybody made him out to be. I rarely went to class and I got a B+. He was a farely easy grader and though he gave homework, it was the reason I got a B. I took him for Stat 252 and that class was much harder. If you can get smith for 251, I would recommend it because it was soooooooo easy. In 252, I dont think I passed a single exam but still passed the class. So his grading is rather nice.

I took this class freshmen year and almost everyone I know either passed with a C or failed. Do not take him! He made me dislike Stats only to find in 252 that it is not rocket science like he makes it out to be. He is really rude to his students, and if he doesn't have tenure I would have filed a complaint, but it does no good with tenure since he should be fired! Two years later everyone from that class I met are still talking about how hellish that class was. Do not take him, wait, take a priority, crash, do anything but take this horrible teacher.

I have never worked so hard in a math class in my entire life....I got nearly a perfect math score on the SAT's, and I struggled to get a C in this class. Dr. Smith also has the tendency to blame it on YOU when you can't understand his horribly organized and badly worded lectures. Take my advice and avoid this professor if you can!

Hmmm...Where should I start? At first, the class seems easy. You have all the notes pretty much right in front of you. Heck, you might even do well on the first quiz. After that though...You're pretty much screwed. I'd study 10+ hours for each quiz, and get B's on them. Most of the class, however, failed the quizes. Then when Dr. Smith handed back the quizes, he'd bad mouth the class saying how we're lazy and not studying. Basically, he'll teach you the matieral in a simplistic manner. When it comes to tests/quizes, he'll ask you something you're never really seen. If I can give a piece of advice, it'd be to understand the concepts inside and out, not just a few problems. I found his class to be VERY unfair. He encourages you to ask questions, but when you do, you're just made fun of for asking him to clarify a concept. The final was absolutely brutal. I studied about 20+ hours, did the (Uncollected) homework, reviewed his notes many times, and I was still clueless on parts of the final. I had a "B+" going into it and ended up with a "B". Whatever you have to do, DON'T take this teacher. He's a horrible man with that deserves a swift kick in the ass.

This professor is an insult to professor's everywhere. The apitomy of bad teaching and ignoring students. If you make the mistake to ask a question, be prepared for some half-assed explanation that dances around the real question asked, but never answers it. Avoid this teacher (if you can even call him that) at all costs. I can't believe I made it through...pure luck.

This class was boring, dry and very straight forwasd. Smith isn't in any way entertaining in his lectures. Most information is just presented, without much else. He teaches from overheads and from a supplemental book in which you fill in one or 2 blank spsces per page...that ammounts to learning in his mind. Try to avoid this class if possible.

I will probably salvage a B or C in this class because he has a weird grading situation but ooooooooooooooooooohhhh myyyy this guy is harrible! Lecture makes you want to put a 12-gauge to your head and his new 4 quizzes instead of 2 midterms policy is harrible as well because the quizzes take the whole class period anyways so why not just have two damn midterms?! Everyone I know was very successful in their stats classes and said it ws easy but this guy sucks balls we all hate him.

This man is the epitimizizes the word boring he hes one of the most rude, piece of shit teacher i have ever had. He looks like he is swallowing cock 24 7 and he is the ugliest piece of shit what an asshole oh and the final cover mostly from the last two weeks of class which he failed to mention, mother fucker.

Wow. This guy is a piece of work. Whether it's the fact the guy has taught this forever and figures his students know what he's talking about, or the fact he just plain can't deliver a lecture worth learning from, this teacher makes a subject that shouldn't be hard an extremely difficult course. Funny thing is, I think these bad ratings empower him. He isn't helpful, puts obscene problems on the test in a manner that you have never seen before, and then expects you to do well. This guy is crazy. I'm not kidding avoid him. The only way to get him to retire is to NOT register for his class. Nothing else works. Avoid this teacher at all costs.

This man is a horrible man. Please listen to these comments on him! He is not worth taking! Please get out of his class! He has a horrible way of presenting the lecture notes, he is bad at answering questions, and his tests have nothing to do with what was on the homework and notes.

do not take this professor- he is very boring and very tough- you can survive only if you do all his teaching for him

I missed one day of class, did nearly all of the homework, and got a B- in the class. He majorly curves all the grades, but that's because he tests are sooo wacked. I strongly suggest doing all the homework and studying the exam questions in advance. He assigns a shitload of homework and always put a question on the test that is the exact problem, but with different numbers. There are only 3 or 4 problems on the exam so make sure to do the homework, study the supplement, go to class for his random reviews, and dont ask questions. He is extremely condescending and makes you feel like shit for asking questions. He is rude and unhelpful. The final is a bitch. 10 times harder than any of his midterms. People walked out early because they couldn't even do half the problems. Good luck. He's shitty.

ok i had this guy at 8 in the morning i went maybe once a week if that to his very boring class and when i did go i felt like i should have just slept in. Some helpful advice would be to get the supplement from someone who had the class the quarter before you and filled it all in if you can do that then you shouldnt even bother going to a single class except for the days when theres a midterm. Dont bother to read the book its really boring and wont help you at all. The problems are right off the homework and the supplement so its a complete waste of your time to do anything else. The final was really hard but he curves like crazy so even if you get staight f's or d's you still get a c in the class which is sweet.

well first of all, stat 251 sucks. he definitely does not help the situation though. he is like 200 years old and he wrote his own workbook (he thinks it hepls, but it does nothing). the only cool thing is that he understands that the material is hard so he curves his class tremendously. let me put it this way, i have to take stat 252 and i am NOT taking him again.

This class is not hard but quite boring. Prof. Smith is extremely monotone during his lectures. The HW is not collected but i'd reccomend doing it because if you dont you will be lost in class. There are 4 or 5 quizzes which are pretty straightforward in addition to 2 midterms and the final. The best thing about the class is that Prof. Smith curves quite a bit. Not the best teacher but not the worst.

Smith is the worst professor ever!!! He explains everything is his own way, and if you find another easier way, it is not acceptable. He doesn't help any in his office hours because he still teaches the same way, and looks at you like your retarded if you don't understand. Also, he needs to stop sucking so much dick before class, because all that cum on his lips is fuckin gross. He a real piece of work, thats all I can tell you. Take someoneelse for the love of God!!!

this guy is a terrible professor. i would study for 8 hours for a quiz and get to class and the material would be stuff he hardly covered in class. the problems he wrote would be ok if you were in maybe your third year of stats, but were way to complex for an entry level stats course. don't forget the boring as shit lectures and completely scatterbrained supplement that will leave more confused than helped. the only good thing about him is his curve, but i suspect its because without the curve no one would pass and he'd get the boot.

worst professor i've ever had, and this includes grade school. if you take Mister Smith prepare to fall into the abyss of impossibility. his homework is poorly prepared. his self-written suppliment is horrid, loaded with errors, typos, miscalculations and re-writes. He's a total prick about tardiness. DO NOT SHOW UP LATE. his teaching style is hardly enthusiastic, it's so esotaric at times that you and the rest of the class is lost in his little world of example/counter example. to put it shortly, the course had started with 20 students. by the time it ended, 8 of us students were left. you've been warned.

don't do it

Stay as far away you can from this horrible teacher. Don't take him unless you want to spend the whole quarter doing stat homework. THIS TEACHER IS THE WORST ONE I HAVE EVER HAD.

Prof Smith is far from the worst professor at Cal Poly. in fact, i enjoyed his dry humor and teaching approach. the people that are responding to Polyratings concerning this teacher are just mad b/c they are too stupid to ask questions in class. Professor Smith is a great teacher if you ask questions about the material. he loves to teach stats and i think is quite good at it. Polyratings is misleading; Prof Smith is a solid teacher and his polyrating is f'n ridiculous. stat maybe be hard for some people but don't hate on the teacher hate on the fact that you probably didn't try hard enough or simply disliked Prof Smith b/c he is a yankees fan.

This man should not be a teacher at Cal Poly. He is by far the worst. If you don't find the solution the way he does it then he marks the whole thing wrong. He also doesn't explain ANYTHING well at all. He gives you this supplement that is of no use because all he has you do is fill in the blanks with no or little further explanation. The homework load was easy and helped out my grade but the tests are hard and you don't get a cheat sheet, just a poor excuse of a formula sheet.

this guy is terrible...i had him at 8 am four days a week and probably went twice a week bc it was the biggest waste of time. i only went in to turn my hwk and woul turn in two days worth at a time to avoid him during the week. all his notes are in his supplement and all he does is give you like two words a day to fill in the blanks so if you have a friend in the class just trade off going and gettin the notes and turn in each others hwk. he cant teach and you have to teach yourself everything anyway so you might as well not even waste your time. there are no pop quizzes or anything that you need to worry about so dont worry about missing class. the grading is hard on his midterms, partial mistakes and hell take off a gazillion points.

Just don't take this teacher. Doesn't teach anything, you have to teach all the material to yourself. When people ask questions in the class, he got very confused and just started saying what he said ten minutes before. Get ready to do lots of pointless homework each night. Hands down the WORST teacher I have had at Poly.

This guy is not that bad, i got a B+ and didn't do much, just do the homework and read the notes over and its fine.

Dont listent to anthing these people are saying. They are just mad cuz they didnt do the homework which is an easy 15% of your grade. Hes a nice guy that takes time during lecture to make sure everyone is on the same page before moving to another topic. All these people hating on K-Smith were the people that didnt raise their hands and ask questions or go into his VERY helpful office hours. Take Him.

THis guys class is structured very well. You buy a supplement that has all his notes and examples so you dont have to worry about all your loose notes when it comes time to study. He even has practice midterms and a final in teh damn thing! Do your homework and go to his lectures. You will do fine. DOnt listen to these other peopel who are probably on AP.

This guys a pretty good teacher. Takes time to do in class problems, and makes sure the material is understood. Also is very helpful in office hours.

Basically, Kent Smith just doesn't know how to teach. He is smart when it comes to Stats, but when it comes down to presenting the material to people who don't know the subject, he just can't do it. For instance, his supplement is a joke. It has the "notes" with blanks for the most important words which students are supposed to fill in during class. But the thing about the supplement, is that it rarely explains what to do, why to do it, and often fails to relate to the homework. Additionally, if you ask him a question in class, like how to do a homework problem, he will proceed to scribble the answer on the board and not explain exactly what he did or why he did it. If you notice, the recurring theme here is that Smith just can't explain what, why, or how he does things. In fact, he is so bad, that I am paying $60 an hour for a Stat tutor. I have a cumulative 3.4 gpa, and I have never needed a tutor in my life, that should tell you how bad he is. If I had to guess, I'd say I'm going to get a C or a B- in the class. TAKE MY ADVICE AND FIND A BETTER TEACHER

This guy is nice enough, even though I think he got too shaken up during the Vietnam War and has never been able to raise his voice even again. The homework want bad, about a half hour every two days, but the final is fucking rediculous. I sat and stared at the last 4 problems until I just got up and left. It is an incredibly boring class, he has a weird fetish with frog jokes, and you don't learn anything. just dont do it.

Wow, I must say hands down the WORST teacher known to man. Everyone that doesn't agree with me must have spent hours at his office hours kissing ass. I have to say (before you judge) I love math, statistics, calculus and its the reason why I am doing finance/accounting/economics but this man just cannot teach to save his life. Not only that but he is the most demeaning, self-absorbed person I have ever met. The final exam you walk in and it doesn't matter what grade you have, you will fall a full letter grade. I admire hard work and persistence so I studied all the practice exams and did all the homeworks for five days before the final and after I was turning it in I felt bad because I felt I would have done no better if I had studied the night before. I ended up with a B-, and learned nothing.

This professor was a total joke. His explanation of material was horrible at best, he often refused to answer students questions about previous material, and for some odd reason he always told a joke about frogs. I cruised through the beginning of his class by not paying attention and reading the book/remembering AP Stat. I got 100% on one midterm and 98% on the other, but when final time came, it was so rediculous that I answered one question, bullshitted one, and then left with the other 4 blank. That final honestly brought my grade down 15-17%, and that seemed to happen to everyone else in the class too.

He smells horrible.

Mr. Smith is the worst teacher I have ever had!! If you wish to be treated like a five-year-old and somebody speak to you like you're an idiot, then take Mr. Smith.

Even though I did fairly well in class, I would not recomend Kent Smith to anyone. His lack of patience coupled with his unwillingness to meet anyone outside of his strict office hours left a lot of questions unanswered. He would be better off teaching graduate stats students who completely understand statistics.

This was the worst class I have ever taken!! We worked on the same problem from day 1 until the last week of class!! I knew he was going to be a hard-ass when the first page of the syllabus gives instructions on where to go and what to do in case of a bomb threat "Class will be held, tests will be given." (even if a bomb is suspected!!!). Do not take Kent Smith, transfer, take it at Cuesta, do anything else!!

I got a B cuz i had his tests before the test.... but i never went to class and i never did the homework.... its pretty easy to cheat.. but the homeowrk will screw u up...

The material in this course is not extremely difficult but Smith makes it impossible to understand. His supplement does a very poor job in explaining the material. HW is assigned and collected everyday but it is not helpfull at all when it comes to taking his tests. It seems like he loves to see his students struggle. The midterms are extremely difficult and you never have enough time to finish. He puts his students down by making comments like "you should have known that already, its elementary material" when it seems like nobody in the class has a clue to what he's talking about. If you come to him for help during office hours you leave feeling dumb; while talking to you he has this attitude like he's annoyed at your stupidity. Truely, this has been the worst teacher of my whole college experince. If you can, avoid taking him because it is a 5 unit class and he has a 50% failure rate.

Dr. Smith is a good teacher who gets a bad rap. I heard all the stuff about how he was impossible and rude. Well he gives 2 midterms worth 25% each and 1 final worth 35% and is extremely generous with his curving. He also gives homework thats due 2 days afetr its assigned and its hard not to get all the credit. Homework is worth 15% of your grade and he drops your 2 lowest scores. He also gives extra credit for showing up on those days when the whole class it not there. He explains the material very well and doesn't skip any steps by assuming you know something you don't. He is always there at his office hours to help. If a student rips on him its because they didn't put any effort into the class. I recommend Dr. Smith for Stat 252.

Run for your life!!! I was an incoming transfer student and was told too take STAT 252, so I did. Nobody told me about polyratings, but work your schedules around certain teachers. This class was crazy, he was a nice guy, but a little out of touch will the students and life in general. I think he had way too many years of invested STAT's. He definitely knows his stuff, but if your okay or think your good at math, don't take him. His test are 2 midterms 25% each, 15% homework, and 35% final. I got a 62% on my first mid term, 69% on the second, a C on the final, with a B on the homework. I worked my butt off to get a hard earned C. My friend who took another teacher at the same time got an easy B. So, don't do it!!!!

Do Not Take this Class. Dr Smith is a nice guy deep down inside, but has lost touch with people in general. He is and always has been a book worm, which seems evident by his appearence. He was a social misfit and an excellent student and from the way he teaches he expects everyone to follow the academic route he followed in college. The Homework is fairly easy, the test are ridiculous in nature. He Picks obscure questions, and concepts. You will learn, but it will be a frustrating quarter. He needs to read poly ratings.

okay, dr. smith - THE HARDEST TEACHER I EVER HAD AT POLY. now, when i read his evaluations before i took this class i really should have known what i was getting into. but PLEASE, LISTEN TO ME - SAVE YOURSELF, DON'T TAKE SMITH!!! STAT 252 is hard enough but how about a guy who thinks he should have written the textbook because he disagrees with everything and makes you do stuff his way. HIS TESTS ARE IMPOSSIBLE! he will give you test questions that you have never seen and won't tell you what approuch to use for them, like how the book does in homework problems. i got 20 out of 20 on every homework but failed the first midterm, got a C on the second (big curve) and studied my ass off to get a B on the final. THIS WAS THE HARDEST B- I HAVE EVER WORKED FOR. BOTTOM LINE, HE'S A NICE GUY BUT LET'S BE REALISTIC- THIS GUY BLOWS!

Dr. Smith is by far the worst teacher I have ever had in my life. He is ruthless!!! I am not exaggerating--believe me. He is extremely mean, he assigns a lot of homework (although somewhat easy), and his tests are impossible. I have never had to teach myself so much; I don't even know why I went to class at all. If you can learn by quickly doing one problem and fully understanding it, you'll be fine. Also, don't plan on asking questions in class without him making you feel like a complete fool. This guy obviously has no soul, hates life, and should not be teaching at Cal Poly. I wish death upon this motherfucker.

First of all don't take this loser. His tests are impossible, he is an ass hole to any one who asks a question, and he gets this white shit that builds up in the corners of his lips when he talks. I recieved a B- for the class and never worked so hard. If ever see this guy on the street down town I am going to beat his ass.

I came into Stats 252 a little bit concerned because of all the bad ratings Dr. Smith got. BUT looking back, i survived his class and it wasn't all too bad. Just make sure you come to class everyday and turn in homework. One thing is true though, his exams are nothing like the text book examples. I basically learned the whole course by reading the text book and doing practice problems. Use the sample problems in his supplement as practice for his exams, his exam questions are like those. He gives a pretty big curve and is a fair grader. I would recommend Dr. Smith because he knows his material and the class is usually small so you get more attention.

Unless you are a math person (engineering mind) that wants to teach yourself stats, and can succeed under those conditions, I

I recommend you NOT take Dr. Smith. He's this really old guy that's not very enthusiatic about statistics. He uses the overprojector and transparencies everyday. You have a supplement with all the stat problems and formulas in it. He talks about each page in the supplement, but i never understood it. I rathered had read the book rather than listen to him talk. Homework is worth more than the midterms so i suggest you do your homework everyday! he gives you 3 or 4 homework problems and he picks a homework problem and grades you on that one problem. He then gives you the rest of the points to see if you did your work or not. Homework are worth 20 pts and there's about 25 homework assignments. There's 2 midterms and a Final. The midterms are hard!!! 4 problems worth 25 pts each and you must show your formulas and the correct steps on how you arrived to that problem. That final was the hardest math test i have ever took in my life!! i'm glad i don't have to take any more math classes.

Smith answered every question i ever had. His course notes covered everything in the class. He was always willing to help me things i didnt know. i think he is a great teacher.

I love the course packet for this course. Smith had all the information i needed for every test. His teaching stlye is great. He is open to help anyone. All his inclass lectures followed his tests perfectly. I recommend him as a teacher.

I wish I would have found out about polyratings before I signed up for this class. If you get stuck taking stats with this guy you will find yourself laughing at his pathetic teaching approach. At first the material is straight forward, but only because it is review from the stats course you have already taken. Once you get into new material, you get locked into a negative g spin, have you seen Top Gun? Thats what will happen, unless you have no life and nothing better than to spend 3+ hours a night on this class alone. He does things that will confuse you. Whether or not it is on purpose I don't know, but I can guarantee that you will not feel comfortable asking questions. He does give ridiculous curves, but you yourself do not get graded on what you really know. The practice questions and practice quizzes that he swears by are no indication of what will be on the test. So basically you will bomb the test, he will give you a ridiculous curve, and you will probably end up with a C on the test. No matter what you won't feel good about the effort you've put in. If he is the only one teaching the class, put it off for a quarter, it will be worth that wait, trust me!

DO NOT TAKE THIS TEACHER! The homework was not too bad for this class, but when it came time for tests they were practically impossible. He will try to help you out if you go to office hours, but to understand his lectures one would have to go to office hours every single day. This was by far the worst teacher I have EVER had, do not take him.

I have had this teacher twice, for 321 and for 252 and he is an absolute A-hole. He cannot reach his students on any level. He honestly should have quite like 30 years ago but enjoys punishing Cal Poly Students. His tests are nothing like the HW, or the practice tests he puts in his lecture notes. Stay away from him. He will destroy your GPA, and view of Cal Poly.

please, please, please for your OWN good... avoid this professor. I don't even know where to begin. Prof. Smith is terrible at lecturing, he basically just reads (or should I say mumbles) his course catalog every day in class, which is no help. Basically you are on your own to learn the material. His office hours are no help either!! He frequently doesn't show up to them and when he does he is rather unwilling to help you learn. He makes no genuine effort to reach out to his students help/understand them. He lacks organization. He would go to fast thru some material then realize he has been going to fast then slooow down and then a week before the final he speeded up again. His tests are really unpredictable. He gives no study guide, just practice tests which are not worth your time! Nothing like them is ever on the test! Luckily the man does curve quite generously becuase he has no other choice. But still it does not make taking his class worth it! AVOID HIM!!!!!!!!

This professor is not as bad as he sounds. His lectures are very boring but hey it stats. You need to have at least a few hours a week to go over the material you learned that week. Homework is an absolute must and you actually have to do decent on it because it counts quite a bit. His practice tests are somewhat helpful but you need to study the course booklet before everytest in depth. He has a good curve so that your grade is often bumped up quite a bit. Take this guy if you have enough time to spend a few extra hours every week studying the material.

I feel bad saying this, because he is a super nice old man, but he's a horrible teacher. I was reading this comments and knodding my head to all the comments on his teaching.. I too had to hire a Stat tutor, where I've never needed a tutor before. So far, I picked random numbers and divided it by other random numbers and recieved a B after a HUGE curve.. but I have no idea how to apply Stats to any sort of situation, nor do I feel I have learned a thing although I am very eager to learn. The hardest class I've taken when it shouldn't be. Also, the only Stats 252 teacher that doesn't use a compuer. While other teachers use Minitab in the classroom, we spent the first half of the quarter doing problems by hand, and now have occasional Minitab problems that we must do at home, but weren't demonstrated in class -- very frustrating.. And he will put problems on the test that require us to work problems out in hand that we were never asked to do in hand before... basically.. get another teacher, though he does plan to retire soon.

Dr Smith is a nice goofy guy. He wrote the book and is very knowledgeable but cant get that knowledge across to the students. If you ask him a question he will start talking about something but god knows what. His grades his tests really hard but then curves the crap out of them so I dont really get it but it evens out. Very boring class. Try to find another teacher.

There are four tests plus a cumulative final at the end of the year. However he curves everything majorly, I think I got D's and F's on most of the tests, but with his curve I got A's and B's and ended up with an A in the class. Each test is really hard and come more from the book than the lectures. He is terrible at explaining things and answering questions for the most part. If you already know everything about statistics, then you would probably do fine, but if your first stat class was not very comprehensive, don't take this guy, you will learn nothing. READ THE BOOK! it helps!

By far the worst teacher that have ever had. I got a 38% on the 1st and his curve raised it to a 68%. he went through the material so fast that we didnt even have class the last 2 weeks which was cool at the time but really fucked everyone over for the final. the only good thing about this teacher is that he makes every other teacher at the school look like Jesus Christ. avoid this teacher at all costs.

lol.... I had this douche 5 years ago before I took time off from school... Now that i am back, i am stunned to see he is still around.... Horrible, horrible teacher..... The only satisfaction I get from the memory of this class, is the first midterm.... Nobody finished, and most barely made it halfway through the test..... He curved everyone on an average of about a 20-30% boost in grade, but how does that help if you only made it halfway through the test?!? When he went to explain his curving system, I kid you not, he took up an entire dry erase board with this convoluted formula that a Harvard professor wouldn't be able to follow... There was no way to understand why you got the grade that you got... It was laughable, the entire class was chuckling in disbelief... That is the ONLY satisfaction I got out of his class, that students were openly laughing at their own helpless demise. Totally ri-dick.....

IM ATEING A SANDWIETCH...MMMMMMMMMMM... I LIKE YAMS ITSA YAMWICH IF THIS GUY LIEKS YAMMS HE ROKOS

THIS GUYS SUCKS!!! I havent even finshed the quarter out and I had to get on here and let yall know that he is by far the worst prof ive ever had. He makes you feel stupid when you ask questions. He simply refuses to listen to the class. Assigns way to much damn homeowrk for a support course! And the midterms.....good luck!! Ive never wanted to get up and beat the shit out of a teacher more then smith! DO NOT TAKE HIM!!!!!

I dont get why so many people hate this guy; he's really not that harsh and better than a lot of teachers at this institution. I went into this class expecting a total prick of a teacher but he's a fair grader and tries to keep the subject interesting (thats as good as you can get for a stat course in my opinion). To be honest, the course covers a lot of material, and at a glance, its overwhelming. He gives you sample tests for the first two midterms, but the final is kind of "anything goes." If you do the homework and study an hour or two for the midterms you should get a B easily. Be careful though, he doesnt give a study guide for the final, so you do have to know whats been going on in the course.

This has really been the worst professor that i have ever had. He basically just reads out of his note supplement (which you will have right in front of you) the whole class. On top of that he is probably the most mono-tone and boring teacher ever. You have to take at least 2 red bulls just to stay awake in the class. The material is pretty complicated, the only reason why i am doing alright is because i can teach myself the material and i have already taken statistics before. Honestly, if it is at all possible to avoid this teacher, i advise that you do so.

Just say NO. 1) He teaches the material too fast for someone without any stats experience to understand. 2) Homework is relatively easy, but you'll have to teach yourself how to do most of it. 3) Study as much as you want for midterms, and you'll be lucky to pass with a B on them (with curve). His graders take out a million points for minor mistakes. 4) The final will hit you like a train hitting a celery stick. You will most likely have no idea what's it on, or how to prepare for it. Go with other teachers if you can. *note: A lot of ppl here say his age is a problem (senility, etc). He isn't senile, and his age has nothing to do with it. These are just bitter cheapshots by ppl who suck at life.

this guy is one of the worst teachers at this school. hes slow, cant teach, and he is the most boring prof i've ever had. i usually dont have trouble sleeping in class, but neither i nor anyone else in the class could force our eyes open. this guy wrote out the entire course in ascii (try reading exponents and long equations) then forces you to buy a 400 page copy of it with key parts blank so you'll come to class. when you come, he reads the entire thing on a projector for the entirety of 4 days a week. by the time the blanks come, you're so out of it you dont even realize they're blank spots. the homework is dumb, you do all of it, and he'll slash 30% off for some minor wording or something. the midterms are poorly graded. the first midterm was on averages and stuff (c'mon), he gave me a a C. i had a nice chat with him about it, and he was like, well, you answered repeated stem and leaf not repeated STEM stem and leaf, so 0 points. no big deal if it happens just once, but every problem, on every midterm, every homework, and the final. DONT TAKE THIS GUY. IF YOU HAVE TO TAKE HIM BECAUSE OF YOUR PRIORITY AND CANT WAIT TILL NEXT QUARTER, WAIT TILL NEXT QUARTER. even if you gotta stay at this school longer, its worth it if you skip him.

The only reason to take this guy is because he curves his tests really hard and I managed to get a B+ while barely learning anything. Other than that, this guy is not a very good teacher. When he graded my final exam, he input the raw number of points taken off instead of the points correct, which gave me a 53/300 instead of 247. This made my final grade in the class a C- instead of the B+ I deserved. Good thing I went to his office hours the next quarter and took a look at the test. I couldn't believe he did that.

Dr. Smith is the reason "PhD" stands for "piled higher and deeper." You do not ask a student to ask questions and then berate them in front of a class of 40 people. You do not demand that adults take their hats off or turn them backward while taking a test. You do not have a contingency plan for where tests will betaken in the event of a bomb threat (real or not). You don't do any of these things if you want to be respected by your students. Now let's talk about his teaching ability....he sucks. His lectures do not represent the material at hand and do not help prepare you for a test. His tests are about twice the length they should be for the time alloted and he grades like he has a pinecone buried up his butt. His Stat 321 class was ten weeks of my life that I want back. Roll back your graduation date if it means not taking him.

This guy is THE worst teacher I've ever had in my life and believe me, I've had some bad ones. He encourages you to ask questions, then when you do, he either gets mad at you for not knowing, or basically tells you you're stupid. His tests are EXTREMELY unfair, he makes you do problems that he never showed in class, he had to curve the second midterm by like 20% if that tells you anything. I'm taking my C and running, never to look back. NEVER EVER take this teacher, he's bad.

Although Smith does present the material clearly to the students, he has a very difficult time clearifying certain concepts to individual students. Students are afraid to ask him questions in class because they think Smith assumes you should know it already. He is very strict on how he likes things done. If you turn in homework a minutes late, he will dock points off it. He will only speak to you during office hours and will tell you to go away if you come any other time. The midterms and final are TOUGH. If your looking for an easy A, don't take Smith....my two cents.

Homework, midterms and grading policies seemed fair. He just always seemed mad at the class and his lectures were not very helpful. He basically just wrote a couple example problems on the board as fast as he could, without really explaining what he was doing.

I am not talking bad bout this professor just cause he gave me a C but he is THE teacher to avoid. He encourages the whole class to ask questions but makes you feel stupid when you do ask them, thus making the students not want to ask ?s. He then gets mad and gives you a long lecture about how important asking questions are. What a bunch of bs! His supplement, like everyone says, is totally useless. His practice exams are nothing like it and his final exam are nothing like what he says it is. Unless you know stats forwards and backwards...avoid this teacher like the plague!!!

Dr Smith...well how can I put this nicely...is a bad teacher. He encourages you to ask questions, but when you do, he tends to try and tear you down. He is a man of rules and won't change them for the world. For example, if you need help outside of office hours, well, he would rather die than help you. His midterms have nothing to do with his practice exams from his supplement. He grades on a curve, but you still feel dumb when you walk out of his class. Speaking of the supplement - don't buy it...it is worthless. All you need to do if photocopy the assignment and grading sheets, the rest of it is B.S. Some Advice - DON'T TAKE HIM!

After three years at Cal Poly, I cannot say that I was ever more apalled at the way an instructor treated me than Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith is one of those guys that decided to become a college professor because he couldn't survive in the real world. He thinks that Statistics is the only "honorable" profession, and that HE is the Statistics god. Talk about a boring subject, this guy actually ENCOURAGED us to go home and get our roommates excited about the subject matter. What the? But here's the best part, after I honestly and profesionally gave my effort in this class, I approached Dr. Smith to see if I might possibly take my final early to avoid missing an important event. Dr. Smith replied that "I can't believe you would ask me that." He then went on to state that he had "noticed" that I had been giving him a "hard time" all quarter long, as if it was some kind of game I played. I was then accused(insulted) of "snickering at him" in class. He then asked me if this was how I would treat an employer. Basically, this guy wouldn't know anything about how an employer should be treated, seeing as he's never done an ounce of "real" work in his life. Overall a good teacher? You be the judge.

Do not take a class from Kent Smith. His lectures are copied off of paper, and are extreamly boreing. Homework is assigned every night, but isn't too bad. The tests are hard, but he curves so it's OK. The worst part of the class was keeping myself from giveing the guy a lesson in manners and common decency. He encourages questions, makes fun of the questions that you ask, makes you not want to ask questions, and then rips on everybody for not asking questions. One guy came into class a couple minutes late one day only to have Dr. Smith tear into him hoping to make him an example. Anyways what I am trying to say is STAY out of his class room at all costs. No Joke!

Dr. Smith is very dedicated to his field, but recognizes that his students may not be. He has examples in class that illustrate major concepts. The pratice tests that come in his supplement are a major asset in the exams. However, the $10 supplement was a guide that said "you don't know how to study." There were a today of maybe 10 useful pages in it. He is more helpful on a 1 to 1 basis than in class. Tests are fair, and so is the grading. Every now and then he rips on his students because they may fail to take what he considers "proper" notes, and says how he is not blind and can see what we do. He expects us to have the behavior and study skills of graduate students. He is a nice man, but a very strict instructor. If you want an easy A don't take him. His test only pass those who understand the material fully. Don't be fooled by the simplicity of the course in the begining. It gets very much harder after the first midterm. No don't need to memorize most formular, because he supplies a formula sheet. There is homework every day, but being due two days later, those you off a bit. He doesn't like some of the notation the book uses, and uses his own (even though the book was written by a Cal poly instructor). Overall an okay professor.

In my five years as a college student, I have never had a WORSE instructor! Not only is he insensitive and degrading, he is incredibly inflexible in terms of office hours. He doesn't explain concepts in class very clearly. His tests are fairly difficult. I definitely did not appreciate the lecture on the last day of class about how we were all horrible students. Maybe he should look in the mirror to figure out why he thinks ALL of his classes are this way. I also did not appreciate the total lack of trust - example: during a test, you must remove or turn your baseball cap around; he also makes you pass forward your blue book and then redistributes them; he also checks your calculator for cheat sheets. My advice, AVOID him like the plague!

Dr. Kent Smith is the single most degrating, horrible excuse for a proffessor I have ever seen. He starts off the quarter by telling insulting anyone who is late and trying to embarass them. He continues by making you buy a $10 supplement which basically tells you "You don't know how to study". This is a point he reinforces in the class. Dr. Smith, in general, makes his students feel like it is their fault for not understanding something and makes the classroom a horrible learning environment. On the bright site, his lectures are not too shabby (if you can learn by seeing one example and never need to ask questions. Tests are hard. The grading policy sounds fair at first but he is a very strict grader. Advice: watch out for definitions on tests. He will ask you to match a term and its definition where often times the word you need to use (correct answer) is a verb and the blank is in place of an adjective. Best Advice: avoid at all costs.

It seems that Dr. Smith has some emotional problems. He doesn't give a rat's ass about his students, his tests are not entirely relevant to the course material, he is far from helpful on an individual basis, and he does not ever give a student the benefit of the doubt. He is unclear about his grading policies as stated in class and in the syllabus, but at the end of the quarter he will gladly define them for you clearly and explictly (and much to your surprise). My advice? Don't take him. Just don't. You'll thank me later.

Clear and fair grading policies. A little homework required almost every night, should keep you on par with the new material. The material goes from easy to really hard in a matter of days. Work hard and you should be ok.

Dr. Smith knows his material, and if he were teaching a class full of senior level Stat majors, he'd be fine as a teacher. But he was teaching a class full of people who'd never seen the material before. He can integrate unbelievable equations in his head, and do all this stuff with no problems, but instead of inspiring his students to doing the same things as him, it just makes it look impossibly difficult. Homework wasn't easy, but he gave you enough time to look at it and ask questions, which he would answer well, so homework wasn't a problem. Tests seemed to be on material that shouldn't have been brought into a stats course, (one problem was easy statistically, but a very nasty algebra problem -- of course, very little credit for getting the STATS part right). Lectures are sleep inducing, office hours can be helpful. If you've got a very solid background in math and/or stats, this class shouldn't be tough. If you're a normal student looking to not damage your GPA -- put this off for a quarter.

Is it just me, or does this guy have the worst polyrating? Take the hint,

In short "stay away from him". The way he presents the material is not too bad, a little boring at times but after all it is statistical analysis. The homework load also is not that bad, there were about 30 assignments each one consisted of about 3 to 4 problems and if you had the student solution manual you usually only had to do one. But tests, you know how some professors give really hard tests, not to be assholes, but because they have high expectations of you and they want you to do well. That's not this guy. Smith is out to get you. He has declared war on every single one of his students. Every Monday thru Thursday in room 221 I stepped into combat. He shots questions at you the entire time class time, and if you don't respond exactly the way he wants, he rips you apart.

ok hey so, i got an A- in the class and I'm still putting one of these things on here. Do not take this guy, avoid at all costs. He thinks hes being helpful by giving you his lecture notes and by giving you practice exams, but beware, they are NOTHING like his real tests, which are extremely confusing and its just plain hard to even know what he is asking. he also doesn't ever really answer the question you ask. he answers a different question and then gets frustrated when you ask the same question. he seems very bitter. i have heard he is ok in office hours but i never went.

OMG in nearly three years at Cal Poly, this was the first B I recieved. This guy is terrible. Its not just that he's a boring lecturer, or that he is a terrible grader, but that above all else he hates his students, not just me, but everyone. I'm really not a bad critic, with every terrible teacher I have had, there has been at least one redeeming quality, every teacher except Smith. Honestly, I think the two people below me were paid to write him a good review. No matter what you do at Cal Poly, don't ever Smith, period.

heres my plan. if everyone in the school refuses to take this guy, maybe the university will review and eventually fire him. help your fellow students and boycott kent smith

Pity points to a terrible man.

Okay...look at this first: I think this guy made some MAJOR changes this last quarter, all to benefit the students. This is still a tough class, and he gives tough tests, but he put a HUGE curve on everything to make it so people could get good grades. I felt he was a fair teacher; he didn't test on anything he didn't assign or go over. I think he understood student difficulties well also. He'd spend as much class time as necessary answering questions. He seemed to be a nice guy too, not the crotchety old man many of these reviews made him out to be. So anyway, take this review to heart (if you trust in changes), study hard, and your time in Smith's classes will be quite bearable.

I was quite surprised to see Dr. Smith have such a low rating. While he\'s not exactly entertainment incarnate, considering how stupid of a subject Statistics really is (don\'t argue that point with me, you\'ll lose...statistically), Dr. Smith not only provides the class with his own notes (rather than making you buy another expensive-as-holy-hell math book...congratulations Differential Equations, we all hate you) and is absurdly lenient with curve. Seriously, I\'m talking about 45 point curves. 45. So what if he\'s an old man? So what if his teaching speed rivals that of a frozen nudibranch? So what if your girlfriend leaves you? You\'re probably unhappy at the fact that you chose a major that involves statistics, and NOT unhappy with Dr. Smith. It\'s not his fault. Stats sucks.

Easily the worst teacher I\'ve ever had - he is often unclear, doesn\'t answer questions fully, has an ineffective curve that rewards failure (e.g. a 45% becomes a C, but an 80% does not become an A), and is unbearable monotone is more inducing of sleep than most pharmaceutical drugs. I highly caution against him.

Holy shit.... this guy. Ok well I really tried to care about this class for the first few weeks. Dr K has probably the most monotone voice you will ever hear. He reads his notes straight off of overhead slides, and often gets confused/bewildered during lectures. Got a 34% on midterm 1 but it got curved to a 69... LOL. Didn't attend class for two weeks, got pretty much the same grade on midterm 2 and the final. Ended with a C-. Oh and he says you take 3 quizzes throughout the quarter -- quiz 1: dr k gave it to another section but forgot to give it to us == everyone got an A. quiz 2: i didnt attend class, but friends of mine received deeply failing grades. quiz 3: he got injured i guess during dead week so we never took it. this guy.....

I'm not sure why he is rated so low on here. Yes, his class isn't super easy, but he makes it really easy to pass. For our quarter, he literally have you about 50% for free. His curve is hard to understand, but I'm pretty sure he basically gives you a certain percent of your test grade then has your actual test determine the rest. For example, we had a test where he gave us 50% of the grade, and left the other 50% up to our test grade, and then the grades still weren't great so he gave everyone another 5%. I had about an 80% and ended up with an A on the test, which is incredibly generous. And you have to get below a 65% in the class to get a D, so you're almost guaranteed to pass. His pop quizzes make it so you can get a free 20% of your overall grade, and the two midterms are also 20% each. He isn't the most entertaining teacher, but he's not too bad.

Kent Smith.. where do I start? The man is quite senile and as entertaining as a rock. You are required to buy an expensive textbook and a course supplement created by Smith. The supplement is identical to the slides in his lecture but has fill in the blanks to make sure you go to class or else you miss "important" things. The textbook is quite instructive but even if you are competent in statistics, his tests and quizzes are so challenging that he has to give huge curves of about 50% back. I averaged a B+ on both midterms and due to rather odd circumstances (he forgot one, injured for a second, drops your 3rd lowest) got 100% on quizzes. That left the final. He consistently promised a 40% back as a curve on all tests and the class on the whole was not prepared for this test. I did pretty well but am sure he gave me 0 curve. My grade went from an 85 or so to a 65-68. (Still a C-). Mustve gotten about a 20%.. He is highly inconsistent. He is old. He is boring. He cannot teach. Kent Smith should take a long break from teaching statistics.

All the venom you read about Dr. Smith on this web site isn't just from lazy, disgruntled students. He really is pretty insufferable. I had to drop the class because of a serious family medical problem, and Dr. Smith was as unsympathetic as possible, like Ebenezer Scrooge on a bad day. He really is in the wrong profession. He knows his subject, but he should be in a cubicle somewhere pounding out statistical data with minimal human interaction. I don't know what made this man so exceedingly bitter, but I can only hope he retires soon or finds a job more suited to his temperament.

If you want to learn statistics, he is the guy to go to. Lectures are clear and examples reflect the material. This is good for Stat 322 since the textbook is very formula based. His tests are tough, but if you know the concepts you should be ok. Very fair grader.

This professor is VERY good at explaining the information and giving examples. We typically had a homework assignment due every day, but they were all easy to do because he gave good examples in class. This teacher actually knows everything he is teaching about and will answer any question. Good teacher!!

My theory from reading these other ratings is that he likes us stat majors and hates everyone else. I was dreading taking this class from him, but he ended up being a pretty nice guy. He was always asking us to come to his office hours if we had questions, had a huge curve, and taught us how to count cards in blackjack. I had no problem with him for 323.