Think back far enough and you can probably remember the teacher’s exact words — something to the effect of, "Time is up. Put your pencils down and pass your paper to the person behind you." Still causes your heart to freeze up a bit, doesn’t it? Not only were you sick with worry about your grade, but you felt like you had to do damage control to keep your classmate from making an embarrassing comment about your test answers.
While the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold such agonizing grading practices induces empathy for students everywhere, it was indeed the right decision. Teachers need some freedom within their classrooms to create assignments that will challenge their students and teach them real-life lessons. Allowing students to examine other students’ work is a reasonable practice.
As Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, "Correcting a classmate’s work can be as much a part of the assignment as taking the test itself … It is a way to teach material again in a new context, and it helps show students how to assist and respect fellow pupils."
Justice Kennedy is correct — as long as that is how such grading is practiced in the classroom. Students grading fellow students should never be used by the teacher in order to avoid having to do the work himself, but rather as a means of teaching students how to responsibly and respectfully critique another person’s work. Students on the receiving end benefit from learning how to handle criticism — something they’ll undoubtedly face in adulthood no matter what job or profession they choose.
Subjective grading is another thing, though. Final grades, which could influence a student’s grade point average should be determined by the teacher, not a fellow student. Grading a multiple choice test is one thing. Grading an essay exam is something else. While both types of test-grading can be beneficial to students, final grades on subjective exams should be decided by the teacher, not a student who might not fully understand the material herself.
It is up to the teacher to make sure students understand the rules and responsibility involved in grading someone else’s work. As many people know, teasing and put downs during the K-12 years can stay with a person forever.
So, chins up, students. You may not get that coveted A on every test or assignment, but you can ace how you handle a fellow student’s feedback.
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