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! |