Skrej
VIP Member
- Joined
- May 11, 2015
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- United States
- Current Location
- United States
I don't find "Please go back and correct all your old tests from this term" at all natural.
The only unnatural part for me is why the teacher waited until the end of the term to tell them this, but otherwise it's quite natural to me. It's something I was told to do as a student, and something I tell students to do.
What's the point in telling a student to go back and change the answers to tests they already took? They already know they got some answers wrong and they were told the right answers. This seems like a monumental waste of their time!
On the contrary. It forces them to go back and review the ones they got incorrect, and figure out why they're wrong. You don't just give them the correct answers and ask them to rewrite them. The students have to figure out why it's wrong and make the corrections themselves.
Simply telling them it's wrong isn't much use to the student unless they can figure out why it's wrong. They're far more likely to retain the correction if they work it out themselves versus the instructor just writing the correct answer.
Sometimes,(particularly if I'm more worried about them knowing the correct information than I am about their grade), I'll allow them to resubmit the work for a revised grade (particularly on graded homework), although I don't necessarily do a direct replacement of the corrected score.
When I grade papers, I generally no longer provide the correct answer. I've just seen to many students turn around and repeat the mistake later if I do that. I may give a hint or some general guidance, but not the full correct answer.