Re: [MATHEDCC] Partial Credit?

Rob Kimball (rlkimbal@WTCC-GW.WAKE.TEC.NC.US)
Wed, 6 Aug 1997 08:46:12 -0400 (EDT)

A substrand of the partial credit issue caught my attention. I have
never liked "giving" credit to students who take their test home and
bring it back corrected. I see from my children's friends evidence
that we have long been promoting "team work" by using this technique
and is especially prevalent in high school.
But, when you consider what most students do with old tests and the
work we put into grading using partial credit, it may be worth a try
(ala Murphy's statement below). Indeed, our tests should be learning
experiences as well as assessment tools.
I wonder who else has had positive experiences with "redoing" tests
without getting someone else's work.
-----------------------------------------
On Tue, 5 Aug 1997, Murphy Waggoner wrote:

> >Gregg Longanecker wrote:
> >I believe partial credit can be used to help the student learn. I tell
> >all my classes I will award partial credit for their work. All work must
> >be included with the test. However when I grade the paper I mark every
> >problem which has an incorrect answer wrong. I will place a ? on any
> >answer that may be partially correct. The student must then argue their
> >case why their work is correct.
>
> I like this idea and will give it a try in the fall in one of my classes.
> One of the problems I have with making changes like this is that I was
> taught to "correct" papers instead to "check" papers. When I am reading a
> paper (homework, exam, whatever) and I see something wrong, my first
> instinct it to write the correct answer to the side. I used to think that
> by giving the student that type of feedback they would learn. Although a
> few students analyze their papers upon return, most students never pick up
> a "corrected" paper again. Analysis of work (student analysis of student
> work) needs to be an important part of our courses. Gregg's suggestion and
> the test corrections mentioned by Kathy Acks are a couple of ways to do
> that.
>
> Murphy
>
>
> ---------------------
> M. E. "Murphy" Waggoner
> Assistant Professor of Mathematics
> Simpson College
> 701 North C Street
> Indianola, IA 50125
> waggoner@storm.simpson.edu
> www.simpson.edu/~math
> ---------------------
>
>
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Robert L Kimball 919-662-3602 (Office)
Chair, Mathematics and Physics Dept 919-266-0850 (Home)
Wake Technical Community College Raleigh, NC 27603-5696

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