1. On a test/quiz, give a multiple choice question requiring a written
justification.
Example: -x a. is always negative or zero,
b. is always positive or zero
c. could be negative, positive, or zero.
2. On a test/quiz have students "find the mistake in the following
problem, mark the mistake and show how the step should be done." e.g.
--Give a common computational problem like simplify an expression involving
fractions and parentheses. Do the simplifications correctly then at the
end when the expression is "solved" for the variable.
3. Have students do substantial mathematical work--papers, projects, etc.
outside of class. On these I sometimes grade on a grid (a bit different
from a ruberick) where the written explanations are graded separately from
mathematical computations. A mistake on a mathematical computation yield
no credit for that part.
4. Give frequent computational quizzes with 2 tricky questions. If a
student makes a single mistake on a question, they get no credit for that
question and have to see me for a replacement question (with a different
trick.) I like this one a lot, but cannot do it often because of the time
it takes. I found, however from doing this that most "silly mistakes" are
not mistakes at all. Students did the problem wrong because they had the
misconception that what they were doing was correct. By having to retake
replacement questions they do learn from their mistakes otherwise they fail
--instead of make a B or C or even A riding on the back of partial credit.
5. To control academic integrity, as an overall grading system, a student
may have to do all of the following to get an "A" for example:
Make an average grade of 90% or higher on the tests/quizzes
Make an average grade of 90% or higher on the papers, projects and
reports,
Participate in 90% or more of the group activities.
That was my 2-cents worth. In my progression to get to where I am, I first
started redesigning tests/quizzes to be a mixture of computational and
conceptual question--including essay questions, MC/justify combinations,
and find the mistake questions. As a result, the fail rate almost doubled.
That is when I decided I had to have students work of concepts (that count
for points since that is our reward system) outside of the timed test
situation.
Martha
----------
> From: CoolMath2@AOL.COM
> To: mathedcc@archives.math.utk.edu
> Subject: [MATHEDCC] Partial Credit?
> Date: Friday, August 01, 1997 2:38 AM
>
> I've enjoyed the back-and-forth on the pros and cons of multiple choice
exams
> (which I think I somehow started!). 8-)
>
> So, here's another one to kick around. Let me play devil's advocate for
a
> minute.....
>
> You're driving over a bridge. It collapses. You find the engineer who
> designed it and ask him (from your wheelchair) how he could have made
such a
> mistake! His reply, "Well, I never did really get any answers right on
my
> exams.... But I got B's and C's on partial credit! The bridge *did* last
for
> 5 years!"
>
> Or....
>
> After being in that bridge/collapse accident, you wake up on an operating
> table. The Dr. who is about to open you up survived college on partial
> credit!! Do you want that Dr? "Let's see........ the appendix is on the
> left - no, right side!! How many points do I get for that?"
>
> Perhaps these have been exagerations. Perhaps they haven't.
>
> I have been fretting about the whole idea of partial credit. The
scariest
> part is that I worry that not many students would pass my classes without
it!
> The course that scares me the most is my Math for Elementary School
Teachers
> --- A student (who wants to teach *your* children) cannot complete a long
> division problem correctly, but asserts that she got it almost right, so
I
> need to give her more points!
>
> How many of your students have argued with you over the amount of partial
> credit that you have deemed appropriate for their partial solution? Or,
> better yet, they've somehow gotten the right answer..... but the work
breaks
> all the rules or doesn't match up and you don't give them full credit!
That
> brings about even more complaints.
>
> This will probably bother me for the next 27 years of my career........
What
> does everyone out there think?
>
> Karen
> Orange Coast College
> http://members.aol.com/coolmath2/coolmath.htm
>
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