Midterms. So much fun. 

I was grading my last class set yesterday and came across one girl who usually pulls  B or so in my class. For her second short-answer question, she was supposed to read a suspenseful short story I provided and then explain what its setting symbolized. The directions clearly said that I would be grading based on supportive details. Well, her answer went something like this: 

Her first sentence clearly stated that she believed it symbolized fear. 

The rest of the paragraph described, in splendid detail, the cafeteria's lunch offerings for the day. 

Yes, that's right. Lunch. 

Was she assuming I wasn't actually going to read the entire paragraph? Was she unsure (or tired after an hour of test-taking) of how to explain her claim, but still wanted to show me she could write well?

I have no idea. I gave her one point for stating her initial claim, and one for the well-demonstrated command of various grammatical structures and stylistic "flair" we've been practicing. I mean come on, the kid even tossed in two recent vocabulary words. 

This amounted to 2/8 points. I realize many of my colleagues would have given her NO points, but I'm less grumpy than that.

And the semester grade calculation goes on... 

Comments

[busyteacheramy]

I do that too. Especially when my students are suppose to write 5 sentences (which for many is a life struggle) and only write 1, I try to take into account how well they wrote 1 sentence. If I have a ELS student write a complete sentence with correct grammar, then I do a happy dance:o) Thank goodness we don't have midterms at our school.