Grading Math ?

[elegantlion]

I'm working on my grading plan for math for next year. Do you give credit for neatness and showing work? I have a child who is NOT neat and can often get the right answer without showing his work. What sort of percentage would you deduct from a sloppy paper without all the correct steps to a problem?

[regentrude]

Depends on how long the problems actually are. If they are long multistep problems, and you have made your expectations clear, you can assign points to each of the important steps and give credit for them, as well as for the final answer.

Problems with no work shown at all would not get any credit.

 

My college students don't get credit if they just write down the answer without documenting how they arrived at it - I also want to know that their reasoning is sound and logical, that they did not make several sign mistakes that end up canceling each other, and that they did not just have a lucky guess. So my kids had it drummed into them to show their work on every single problem - I have made them redo their math practice if they did not show steps. Until it becomes automatic. So we do not have that issue on tests.

 

What kind of math is your student doing that he can work everything in his head? You need more complicated problems.:)

 

I don't give points for neatness, but I can not give points for things I can't read.

Edited April 9, 2011 by regentrude

[elegantlion]

Depends on how long the problems actually are. If they are long multistep problems, and you have made your expectations clear, you can assign points to each of the important steps and give credit for them, as well as for the final answer.

Problems with no work shown at all would not get any credit.

 

My college students don't get credit if they just write down the answer without documenting how they arrived at it - I also want to know that their reasoning is sound and logical, that they did not make several sign mistakes that end up canceling each other, and that they did not just have a lucky guess. So my kids had it drummed into them to show their work on every single problem - I have made them redo their math practice if they did not show steps. Until it becomes automatic. So we do not have that issue on tests.

 

What kind of math is your student doing that he can work everything in his head? You need more complicated problems.:)

 

I don't give points for neatness, but I can not give points for things I can't read.

 

Thank you, that is helpful.

 

He's about halfway through algebra I, maybe a little less than halfway. He'll write down portions of a problem, then finish in his head. We've been going over his work together, so I see his line of thinking.

 

I do want clear expectations before we begin next fall. If I don't set the expectation beforehand, he'll try to use his superpower skill of negotiation to get out of more work.

[regentrude]

I do want clear expectations before we begin next fall. If I don't set the expectation beforehand, he'll try to use his superpower skill of negotiation to get out of more work.

 

I think the amount of work to show must depend on the kind of problem that is assigned. I (or DH) sit with DS when he begins on a new topic and see what he writes down for the practice problems - we may demand that he does more steps, show specific things, etc. So, at exam time, he has done so many problems and has heard our expectations so often, it is not a problem.

It also depends on where in the learning curve he is on a topic. For instance, when he just began quadratic equations by factoring, we made him go very slowly and write out a lot more steps than we will expect him to show once he has mastered this particular topic.

DS sometimes does simple arithmetic steps in his head, that's fine with me. If, however, he messes up, I remind him that this is because he did not write down all his work. If he gets things wrong, the first thing he needs to do is write everything.

 

I only grade the exam which is at the end of the semester. I do not give grades for daily work; that is just discussed and corrected.

[kiana]

When I'm grading, if it's something that could be done in the head (factoring a quadratic), I (personally) don't take points off for no work, but I do give zero partial credit if it's wrong without work shown, whereas correct work with an arithmetic error would garner some partial credit.

 

With sloppiness, if I can't read it, it's defined as wrong. In a one-on-one situation, I'd probably offer the option of rewriting it so that it was legible.

[elegantlion]

I only grade the exam which is at the end of the semester. I do not give grades for daily work; that is just discussed and corrected.

 

Thank you for the additional comments, I will only be grading the chapter tests. I will work with him on the daily assignments.

 

When I'm grading, if it's something that could be done in the head (factoring a quadratic), I (personally) don't take points off for no work, but I do give zero partial credit if it's wrong without work shown, whereas correct work with an arithmetic error would garner some partial credit.

 

With sloppiness, if I can't read it, it's defined as wrong. In a one-on-one situation, I'd probably offer the option of rewriting it so that it was legible.

 

Thank you. I like the partial credit idea. A rewrite option is also a good idea.

[LoriM]

I try to reward diligence, orderliness, and accuracy as well as argumentation when I grade. So, my students know that 50% credit comes from "the right answer" while 20% comes from diligence (turned in on time, following proper procedures), 10% orderliness (neat, legible) and 20% what I call "argumentation"...that is, they give sufficient substance or proof to verify their answer. That doesn't mean showing *every* step, but it does mean that I can follow their line of thought, including pictures or graphs, to justify their answers.

 

That means I either give 10 pts per problem, or I grade 10 problems, or some other multiple of 10, to make my grade calculation easier on myself. :)

 

Since I am a classroom teacher, I allow them to correct for full credit mistakes due to inaccuracy or disorder or poor argument (that is, they can rework and rewrite for those points back), but do not allow them to earn the points for diligence. So, that ensures I get most papers on time, even if they have made several mistakes. I never had to do that with my own children, of course...I just allowed for corrections/rewrites on daily work, and half-credit on test corrections.