Correcting

Overview: Although correcting papers can get tedious, it is important that each paper be done accurately -- the kid that did the work that you are correcting will look at it carefully. It is of no use to me (and no credit to you) if papers get corrected too quickly (and therefore often inaccurately). Please take enough time to do the correcting well. Use the following process:

Procedures:

1. Correcting papers requires at least 30 minutes of quiet and calm. This might be at lunch or after school. Check with me and we will make an appointment to work together or for me to set you up with some papers to correct on your own. You will get 1 point for each 10 minutes of work that you do.

2. DCS -- skip to step 3. The "sink" next to my desk usually has folders that contain assignments that need to be corrected. Some of those can be done by students -- the ones that don't require subjectivity or judgment. I put post-it notes sticking up from the hanging folders that contain sub-folders of papers that can be corrected by you with yellow post-it notes that stick up from the folder. If you have made an appointment for a correcting session, you can take one of those folders. There should be an answer sheet in one of the periods' folders.

3. Take on a set of papers that you know you can finish (or at least finish one side of) in the time that you have. Partially corrected stacks are a pain for the other students or me to finish up, so bite off only what you can chew. It's smart to correct stacks one side at a time -- that way you can probably memorize the answers, and are more likely to be accurate. Please check with me about which parts I want you to correct and what kind of markings to use.

4. Read the assignment and the answer key through before you start so that you understand what the kids had to do. That way you will be able to give half credit for some answers, accept variations or answers that may not be included on the answer key, and write little notes on the kids' papers explaining to them what they did wrong, and maybe how to do it right. This is the part of being a corrector that takes a lot of judgment, patience, and thinking. Do your best to help the kid learn the stuff. Don't take 10 minutes per page, but also don't just breeze through a class set, marking everything wrong. Or right. If the problem is wrong, circle the problem number. If you can give half credit, put a slash through the problem number and write "-1/2" by it. For things other than multiple choice sections or fill-ins, it'll really help them if you write why the problem is wrong. If they didn't follow directions, underline the part of the directions that they missed. That happens a lot!

5. Look for a series of similar wrong answers -- maybe the answer key is wrong and needs to be changed (or maybe the kids are copying off of each other -- hmmm...)

6. Mark the total wrong for each side under a slash at the bottom corner opposite the 3 holes. If the assignment is more than one page, the number wrong always goes diagonal to the staple, no matter what side you're on.

7. Use the yellow Post-It note to write down what side of what class that you corrected, and stick it to the answer key. That way I have a record of who corrected what, and can come after you if things didn't go quite right!