Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!gatech!mcnc!ecsvax!hes
From: hes@ecsvax.UUCP (Henry Schaffer)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: cruelty to undergrads
Message-ID: <4845@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: 31 Mar 88 01:49:09 GMT
References: <18618@topaz.rutgers.edu> <8470@eleazar.Dartmouth.EDU>
Organization: NC State Univ.
Lines: 54
Summary: the teacher's and students responsibilities are not symmetrical

In article <8470@eleazar.Dartmouth.EDU>, roberta@eleazar.Dartmouth.EDU (Roberta Millstein) writes:
> In article <8803140104.AA08638@hoskin.csri.toronto.edu> clarke@csri.toronto.edu (Jim Clarke) writes:
> 
> >I always say this myself.  Can you explain why I should be blind to all
> >parts of the test except the ones the student asks me to look at?
> 
> You shouldn't be.  I guess my point was, though, that many professors say this
> with sort of a threatening tone of voice, as in, don't dare to question my
> grading or I may penalize you for it.  This may lead some students who have
> a legitimate gripe to not say anything about it for fear that they are wrong,
> or that the professor may be angry with them. I myself always try to judge
> whether any points I might gain would be worth making myself appear as a
> point-grubber.
> 
  As a teacher I think that I reacted to the way I was (mis)treated as a
student!  I had the threatening approach used on me too many times - in some
cases it was a matter of overt threats rather than just tone of voice.

  As a teacher I took the position that any grading mistake that cost the
student points should be corrected, and that the students should bring them
to me even if just 1 point.  I would not change a judgement call - I'm 
talking about a grading mistake.  My problem was students who were
afraid/embarrased to bring up a paper for a few points.

> >Actually, though I've often found reasons to lower a test grade rather than
> >raise it as asked, I don't think I've ever actually lowered the recorded
> >grade; instead, I point out that when I make a judgement call on whether
> >to take a mark off, the judgement doesn't always go against the student.
> >And most student queries turn out to be about judgement calls, not marking
> >mistakes.
> 
Right - but I believe that the marking mistakes should be corrected - and
without threats and/or penalties.  I still remember and resent some such
event from when I was an undergraduate (and that was quite a while ago.)

We expect that the student should be motivated to learn and to take pride
in mastering the subject.  The exam is supposed to *help* this process
by some combination of assessment/feedback and punishment/reward.  It is
exactly the motivated student who is turned off by any unfairness in the
exam situation (or a perception of unfairness.)  The teacher's
responsibility to assist the learning process then includes the
requirement to be fair.  This then requires restoring points unfairly
deducted - without threats/penalties.  I also claim that re-marking the
rest of the exam (why would this be done except as an attempt to threaten
or intimidate the student?) will be perceived as being unfair - and I
feel that it is in fact unfair.   (I'd be glad to hear from others on
this point.)
 
> Of course, there will always be questions where the grades are very much
> judgement calls.
> -- 
> Roberta Millstein                            roberta@eleazar.dartmouth.edu

--henry schaffer  n c state univ