For HS teachers: "frees" and extra credits on tests

amother

OP ↓

Tue, Jan 30 2024, 7:08 pm

So I usually allow two frees on my high school students' tests...meaning, they can get 2 wrong and still get 100. plus +2 for no questions.... (it's a regents subject and they need to get used to no questions)

anyhow, gave a midterm, double size of a test, and so I allowed four frees...
but then realized a girl managed to get 100 with 5 incorrect answers (4 frees, 2 pts each, 98+2) and realized it may be a little rediculous.

already discussed what to do going further with the principal, but I am just curious what other high school teachers do.

cnc ↓

Tue, Jan 30 2024, 7:10 pm

I would be fine with it because Regents are scaled. You can't necessarily get 100 with 5 incorrect answers but you can definitely get a 97-99 with that many incorrect answers depending on the subject and the scoring scale.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Jan 30 2024, 7:17 pm

cnc wrote:

nah. not that high on the regent. the curve helps the weaker students. and there are no "frees" on the regents. it would probably be low 90s with five wrong

↑ cnc

Tue, Jan 30 2024, 7:21 pm

amother OP wrote:

nah. not that high on the regent. the curve helps the weaker students. and there are no "frees" on the regents. it would probably be low 90s with five wrong

Not sure what subject it is.
I taught two Regents subjects for over a decade and what I wrote was definitely applicable to those.
If it doesn't apply to your subject then I would probably change the way I mark it because her mark is technically not realistic. I don't know if you can change things for this midterm that was already given, but going forward, perhaps keep it at 2 frees...
You also don't need to give extra points for no questions , or can change it to a +1...

icedcoffee

Tue, Jan 30 2024, 7:24 pm

I teach a Regents class - what is a "no" question? I agree 5 wrong and 100 is perhaps a bit off, but not that much. At the end of the day the difference between a 95, 96, 99, 100 doesn't really mean much. As long as the grading scale is transparent. Next time I wouldn't give so many extras/frees but it's not a huge deal this time. When I do Regents practice tests with my students and grade them according to the conversion chart, the grades can be funny. Kids can completely skip the second essay and still get 85+.

amother

Snapdragon

Tue, Jan 30 2024, 7:25 pm

amother OP wrote:

Why does it bother you if they got 100 and got a few wrong?

Also if this is your policy you can't change if after the fact or they will never trust you again. Now you know for the future not to do that.

amother

Lightgreen

Tue, Jan 30 2024, 7:35 pm

amother OP wrote:

RIDICULOUS

amother

White

Tue, Jan 30 2024, 7:38 pm

When I was in hs you got your extra credit for the report card but you knew your real score also. The silly part was that you can potentially get 104 on a test but it wasn’t an issue really.

So if you got 96+4 your test would say that.

amother

↑ OP

Tue, Jan 30 2024, 8:12 pm

amother Lightgreen wrote:

RIDICULOUS

thank you. Lol. Btw, I don't teach english, but my grammar/spelling is usually decent. (imamother posts and texts don't count)
I teach bio.

for the person who asked what a "no" question is ... it's if you ask NO QUESTIONS, you get extra credit lol. It's to prevent girls from asking too many questions (none are allowed on the regents anyway and it can be disruptive during tests), but the truth is, for the girls who need the help, they should ask questions anyway and the other girls might not need a +2...
obviously, not changing anything for the current test, but just thinking going forward.
and was wondering what other teachers do.

amother

Saddlebrown

Tue, Jan 30 2024, 8:16 pm

If you really want them to get used to no questions just don’t allow questions. No need to give extra credit for it, just let them know before that you will not be taking questions. Of course girls will ask anyway, you can listen to the question (in case it’s a typo question or the like) but just answer “sorry, I’m not taking questions” and eventually they’ll get used to it.

amother

Gladiolus ↓

Tue, Jan 30 2024, 8:26 pm

Not loving the no questions thing. Either allow questions or don't. If a girl would be allowed support on the regent, she gets that on the tests too. And what happens with the girl who doesn't ask any questions but sits close enough and has good enough hearing that she overhears the answer to someone else's?

Personally, I prefer choice to free. As in "Do 8 out of 10." But I don't see anything wrong with doing the free the way you have it.

amother

↑ Gladiolus

Tue, Jan 30 2024, 8:29 pm

amother Saddlebrown wrote:

I had a teacher who did this. The rule was, no questions, but you can come tell me if you think the question is wrong or we didn't cover it. Then he would either say, "The question is correct" or "Hmm." If enough people said we didn't cover it, he would make an announcement that it was a free. And we definitely found a couple questions with errors. We all appreciated the approach.