Mar
25
Being confronted with a differential equations test this morning, I have come to a conclusion concerning partial credit. Partial credit should be a part of every test, of every procedure. I was confronted with one page of problems in which I was asked for short answers and some calculations to show from where my short answers came. It also stated that “partial credit will only be awarded in exceptional situations”. With only five minutes left to finish the test, I thought to myself, “What’s the point?” Why should I write something down if I’m not going to get any credit for it anyway? There is no incentive for me to write anything down, no incentive for me to even try the problem. I didn’t think I was going to get anything right on the head, so I thought it was useless to try something out.
Not giving partial credit, especially in math classes, is very demoralizing. One time last semester, I completed a problem using the wrong method and got the wrong answer. But the method was something that could be used for a situation similar to the one presented to me. Still, my professor gave me no credit. At all. All that work, that ten to fifteen minutes of my time. Wasted. I might as well have left it blank.
Sure, partial credit doesn’t always exist in life: if you build the bridge with the length of a part of it slightly off, it may fall down and lives may be lost. But I’m not building bridges right now. I’m answering questions about abstract mathematical concepts that won’t help me in life. Give me some credit for taking a stab at the problem, at least! I know that when I start teaching, I’ll give my students partial credit. Partial credit encourages students to try, to take a risk. With such credit, students will at least feel that if they write something like “I know this is this kind of problem and that this is the equation for it, but I’m a little confused about applying these numbers to it”, the teacher will respect their knowledge and give them some points.
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One Response to “On Partial Credit”
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I agree, only to an certain extent however.
I agree that partial credit should be awarded when a student starts out correctly, then a mathematical error may have occurred somewhere in the middle, hence getting the wrong answer. Partial credit in that sense says, “Good attempt, but you made a small error but I won’t dock you completely for it.”
On the flip side, if a student attempts a problem and obviously has no clue of the material, then no credit should be awarded whatsoever. Why should a student receive partial credit on a problem where it was completely lucid that the student had no idea what he or she was doing?