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Grading Codes For HW and Tests

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Saved by apeel@...
on December 10, 2014 at 7:48:02 pm
 

When a group of students takes a test, they will predictably make categorical mistakes. Even in an learning situation where the questions are challenging, often unique (compared to, say, standard 20th century physics instruction), or downright open-ended, student mistakes are often predictable. This presents an opportunity to speed up the grading process by a large factor. This may even be useful during homework grading.

 

For instance, if a student trips over units, the grader can just write "U" on the side, deduct whatever points she feels reflect the severity of the mistake and move on. The grader does not need to waste time writing "your units are off here" or "units wrong" or even "units." It is UP TO THE STUDENT to interpret the code and find the error (though obviously the graders and instructors can help in office hours if the student is still stumped). The student can then look on this table (if they've never gotten a "U" before such as our example) to translate the  code and figure out how to improve next time. Or, to challenge the grader later in the case that the grader has made a mistake. This prevents, "Why did I get two points off?" type questions and at least reduces the volume of confusion down to the occasional, "But I didn't make the mistake you claimed I made!" which, of course, due to human error, will happen once in a while.

 

In order for this to work, a relatively universal code should be used and accessible to the graders and the students alike. One can even generate unique codes for specific assignments, but beware code proliferation (which starts to waste everyone's time) and avoid "symbolosis": using the same letter for two totally different kinds of mistakes. Sometimes it is worth a grader using multiple codes when more than one kind of mistake has been made. However, once the quality of the student's effort has suffered with three or more mistakes, sometimes an "X" makes more sense than specifying every kind of mistake.

 

Here, then, is a list of "Universal Grading Codes" which can be used right away. We expect the list may morph and grow.

 

Universal Grading Codes
The most common codes
A All correct (you should still look over it carefully)
B Blank - always worth  0 points
X Off-the-wall or random answer, grasping at straws, etc.; sometimes worth points for trying
Other common codes
E Explanation weak - missing key elements
Cf Error carried forward from previous part (but otherwise correct)*
Ex
Missing requested example(s) - typically for a definition question
L diagram or graph poorly labeled (e.g., missing an axis title and units)
L+ diagram or graph very poorly labeled (multiple forces mislabeled or missing labels)
M minor arithmetic error
M+ major arithmetic error
N# Newton's laws (e.g., N1 is an error regarding the first law)
P Mostly right, but incorrect extraneous piece added**
Q Not answering the entire question (often because you didn't read the entire question)
Sf Significant figures too few or too many
U something wrong with the units

 

*People should not be penalized twice for Cf; presumably they lost points in the previous section. Also, Cf should ONLY be used if the subsequent answer is otherwise correct.

**If the extraneous part(s) contradict(s) the correct part, an "X" may make more sense than a P!

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