The other day I was asked to cover a math class at a
reputable school. The system didn’t give the teacher’s name but when I got to
the school I realized I had worked for that teacher before, and he is the math
department head.
As in previous times, he left tests for each of his classes
with instructions how to sit the students and in what order to distribute the
tests, part A then part B.
I was alarmed, though, when I discovered in his instruction that
he wants me to grade the tests. Most of the tests were geometry, for sure
within my skills, but hey, I am a substitute teacher for that specific reason,
so I don’t have to grade 200 tests.
I decided to ignore it and just made sure students were
doing their job, answering their own tests (using their own brain), but when a
student came to me with what she claimed to be a completed part A, and it was
very easy to see that she didn’t bother to solve the equations, I told her she
needed to go back and complete it.
She did, but not before she told me it doesn’t matter, what
matter is that she showed some work. I rejected that notion and sent her back
to her seat.
Later that day I saw the teacher and he asked me if I graded
the tests. I asked him if he really meant that I give grades to his students. “Oh
no” he said, “all I want you to do is to count the number of problems done,
give 10 points for each problem, and write the total, so that my TA (usually a
student) can put down their grades…”
So here is my questions, does he also go back to check that
the answers were correct? Is it a separate grade or ‘my’ grade is THE grade?
Additional question is, of course, is it reasonable for a teacher
to check methodically 200 tests? Is it doable?
My personal challenge was what deserves 10 points. If
someone just puts a numeric answer without any proof of work, does that merit ten
points? If an equation is clearly incorrect, does that count? What about an
unsolved equation (correct or incorrect), does that deserve ten point?
I made my own decisions and I am so thankful not to be
accountable for them!
