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My journey to a clear and fair quiz correction policy in Spanish class

During my first few years teaching, I followed the lead of other teachers and adopted their quiz retake policies. I tried a few different options, but never felt like I had settled on one I fully agreed with. I found myself saying to my students, “those are the rules.” Then I realized, I hated that answer. And I realized it was my classroom and I had to claim this as my policy.  As long as any changes were approved by my department head, I could make adjustments! After one interaction with one student, and one conversation with my department, I realized I wasn’t alone in my discomfort. My colleagues and I have come to a general consensus over the past few years, which involves a corrections policy rather than a retake policy. I will give you some background to explain how it works, how we got there, and why I was so motivated to make a change in the middle of the year.

Year 1: Taking Advantage?

During my first year teaching, I implemented a complete retake policy for anyone who received a failing grade. They were given another chance at the quiz after school, and I would take the new grade. I was told this policy had worked for other teachers in my department, and I truly didn’t give it much thought. As a new teacher I was taking advice from anywhere and everywhere. And I was so grateful to work with people who were willing to guide me and share with me. But out of everything I tried during that first year, this is something that didn’t feel quite right.

The original retake policy left me with a few problems; I felt that some students were taking advantage, even saying out loud “If I don’t do well I will just make sure I fail so I can retake it next week for a new grade.” Hearing that was a wakeup call that this was not an ideal strategy for student learning. I also struggled with a few students who would actually receive a lower grade the second time around. They weren’t taking their review time seriously, because they saw the retake as a “given.” Was I supposed to give them the lower grade? Or the original grade? Should I be averaging the two grades?

The argument on giving the new grade was that our overall goal is proficiency; so if we want students to perform well and communicate, we should award them the better grade once they have earned it. But what happened when they took advantage, or when the grade was lower!? I had too many questions after my first year.

Year 2: Just OK

The following year, I was in a new school, in a similar district to my first. I asked around to see what the department policy was. Again, many teachers (but not all) in the department followed one policy. Theirs was similar to the one I had originally tried; students could retake a quiz if they scored under a 70%, and they would receive the average of their two grades. Some teachers gave the new grade, and some gave the average of the two. I opted to give the average of the two grades, since that’s what *most* teachers seemed to be doing and since that would eliminate the issue of a student who received a lower grade the second time. This policy seemed to work OK for me that year.

Year 3: Eye-opening

My third year teaching, I actually moved one last time. I had been so happy in my first district and even though I had been a long term sub I had been treated like family. That environment taught me what a supportive team/department head looked like. I hadn’t quite found that in my second district, and so I took a risk to teach in a larger district that had amazing technology and was offering me a few coaching opportunities. My third district has now been “my school” for 7 years. It is my home.

At the start of the year, I implemented the policy that I had felt was OK from the previous year. “Students who receive under a 70% can retake for an average of the two grades.”

One day during a discussion of retake dates, an honors student raised his hand. I had a mixed class of honors and CP students. This boy had never received under an 85% in my class, but he brought up a very good point.  This is how the conversation went, to the best of my 5-year-ago memory:

S: I have a question. If someone receives a 74% on a quiz, they can’t retake it, right? But if someone receives a 69%, they CAN.

Me: Yes, exactly.

S: So if the student that got a 69% studies and retakes the quiz and gets a 90%, their new grade is about an 80% since you average the two quiz grades, the original and the retake.

Me: Yes that sounds right.

S: So the student who had time to study and retake the quiz ends up with a grade much higher than the student who wasn’t allowed a second chance. That doesn’t seem fair.

Me: Actually…..You are right. Again. That doesn’t seem very fair. This is something I really need to think about.

Time for immediate change… yes mid-year.

My conversation blew my mind. I was so upset with myself for not realizing this before. How was that fair? Students who received between a 70 and 75 would OFTEN ask to retake, but I would tell them “Under a 70% allows a retake, sorry that’s the rule!”  But…. what!? WHY??

I brought this issue to my department, and I remember talking to a few teachers about it. None of us had ever considered the point that my student had made. But we all agreed that it truly didn’t seem fair. I honestly forget who opened my eyes to the new policy that a few of us decided to try immediately. My interest was sparked after the question from that student, and I think another teacher in my department suggested I try this instead. Maybe we adapted it from another department in our school? Or maybe we read it online somewhere? I wish I remembered where we got it from, so that I could give credit! All I do remember is that I went to class the next day with an answer for my students. This was an answer I finally felt confident about.

 

We decided: Any student can make corrections to any quiz, to earn half of their points back.

There is no “grade limit” that you have to fall below in order to earn this chance. Any student can come in for this opportunity. If a student earned a 70% originally, they can earn an 85% max. If a student got an 80%, they can raise their grade to a 90%. And if a student originally got a 92%? Yes, they can come raise that grade to a 96%. You’d be surprised how many students come to see me even when they earned a 90% the first time around. (I know some teachers don’t like this, but I honestly don’t mind. If a student wants to show me their best work, and put MORE effort into my class… I think that is a GOOD thing!)

 

Stipulations/Routines: 

Notice that with this policy, it is no longer a full retake. This matters for lots of reasons and I’ll explain below.

  1. These corrections still have to be done on student time. This means before or after school. No, a student cannot make quiz corrections during our warm-up. They need to put in the time to review and prepare, and come to me when they are ready.
  2. Students have 2 weeks from the original quiz date to do this. I try to enter quiz grades into our online system within a few days for this reason; I want to be fair to my students and give them the chance to take advantage of quiz corrections. This rule also means I won’t have a pile of quiz corrections at the end of the term. “No, you cannot cram and correct every quiz from this quarter. You can only correct assessments from within the past two weeks.” You could absolutely adjust this timeline to what you think is reasonable for your students!
  3. When a student plans to come for quiz corrections, they must schedule it with me beforehand. They cannot just show up and demand their quiz– they must show me that they have been planning and preparing. I may ask to see extra practice they have done in order to prepare.
  4. When they enter the room for corrections, I hand them their original quiz along with a colored pen. I may give them a green, purple, or pink pen; any color that is different from what they wrote with originally, and different from the color that I used to grade the quiz.
  5. I direct students to correct any answers they can, by simply writing the correct answer AND explaining their new answer in the margin. They can do this by explaining why they made the original mistake, or by giving a piece of evidence that they used to get the correct answer. For me to consider the new answer, they must write something. I tell them to think of math class, where they have to show their work! The explanation piece is key, because without it there is no way for a student to fairly earn their point back for correcting a true/false question etc. They could also completely guess on multiple choice questions, when they are supposed to be showing that they have studied and improved their knowledge.
  6. After students correct their quiz, I ask them to sit and discuss it with me. This means they cannot drop their corrections on my desk and walk out of the room. If I am working with a few students that day, they know they have to wait. Yes, this is their time. And yes, I expect them to give me their time for this privilege of corrections. I go over their quiz corrections and explanations with them, and we discuss any areas that are still areas of need. I show them their new grade before they leave, and they are able to immediately see the value in the extra time and work they put in.
  7. You decide what a student needs to do to earn their max number of points back. For example, for a student to get from a 70 to an 85, some teachers would require they correct their quiz to perfection. Personally, I count every correction as an individual point until I hit that max score. So if a student with a 70% comes and makes corrections, as long as they pass the 85% they have earned that grade in my eyes. They don’t need a perfect score to get to that 85%. I hope this makes sense, but feel free to reach out if this part is fuzzy.

Immediate benefits

A small teaching benefit of this policy: as I am grading quizzes, I do not correct mistakes in detail. I simply mark the answer wrong. That way, the student has the chance to make their corrections. In writing, I use shorthand such as VT for verb tense, VF for verb form, SP for spelling or a ^ if a word is missing, but I am no longer editing their writing for them like I was doing before. This was so time consuming and I didn’t realize it! This policy has actually helped to streamline my grading.

Another benefit? There is no fear of a lower grade the second time around. Students can only improve. Sometimes they may only improve from a 75% to a 80%, but that is still progress! And the discussion / reflection piece usually leads to more improvements in the future.

This policy ALSO takes the pressure off of the teacher to make a new quiz anytime someone has to do a retake. For me, making “Quiz A” and “Quiz B” was very daunting. I struggled with making sure they were the same difficulty, score, etc.

**Something to consider** Will you give quizzes back to the students in between the quiz day and the corrections deadline? I often enter the quiz grades into the computer, but I do not give the actual quiz back to the student so that they cannot simply study their quiz (or study the quiz of a friend who did better…)

Another option is giving back the quizzes but having students immediately place them in their student folders, which never leave the room. That way they can *glance* at their quiz and take note of what skills they need to review for corrections, but they don’t have time to study the exact quiz. While assessment folders are out, I make sure students keep phones and iPads AWAY. Students are generally pretty good about this, but again use your judgement for your class 🙂

Reflecting

As long as your department head / principal approves, I think you should be able to make adjustments to find what works for your students! Sometimes we assume that the first idea we’ve tried is the best for your students, but this is only because we haven’t tried something else yet. And I get it, I am often very resistant to change. But, we are allowed to reflect and make changes based on our (or our students’) observations. Maybe you think my beloved policy stinks! And that’s fine – I want you to find what works for YOUR STUDENTS. You and I most likely have different teaching styles, just like our students have very different learning styles.

Just as we differ as individuals, every district is different and has different needs. In my district, it is important to nurture our students’ buy-in and investment in their own education. My colleagues and I work to keep our students engaged in the process– this means that my students need to understand exactly what is expected of them. They want to know exactly how they can take responsibility for their learning outcomes. And, they want to know why rules are the way that they are. They will not passively accept the “that’s the way it is” line, and I don’t blame them. Many of my students are the first to graduate high school or the first that plan to go to college, whether it be community or private. I want them to feel valued and heard within their educational journey.

Many (most? all?) teachers in my department now implement this corrections policy, and we have never looked back. Our team had multiple discussions at department meetings about our personal “corrections” policies; we openly discussed what we liked and what didn’t work for us. We talked about why most didn’t seem quite “fair.” Then we worked together and settled on the policy that I love so much today.

Since making the changes to my corrections policy, I have absolutely noticed more engagement in assessments and an increased amount of students striving to do the best that they can. Some teachers might not like that a student comes to make corrections for just a few points (for example, if they scored a 90 but want to get to a 95) but I actually love that. They are voluntarily studying, reviewing, and putting in their own time after school to better themselves. I also get to know students better after school, which then leads to more class participation and engagement overall. Why would I ever say no to that?

Thank you for reading!

I hope this post has helped you reflect on your grading practices, and consider what changes may or may not work for you!

Please feel free to share this post with your world language teacher colleagues and friends!
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4 Comments

  • Thank you for sharing your story on retakes and corrections, and I enjoy seeing your new posts. One element that has led to my strategy for this hot topic is that a grade should be a true reflection of what the learner can do independently. If students do not show an understanding of a specific concept, they are permitted to retake the section for up to full credit. They must also learn the material on their own time. I do not provide the same quiz, so that students receive immediate feedback on the original. For retakes, I quiz them in a different format. One thing that has permitted time to do this is simply flexing a schedule twice per week to allow students a 45 minute period to receive extra support and demonstrate new learning,

    Reply
  • 20+ years in and I've had as many policies as years! I finally decided a few years back that, for me, there is no one size fits all. Sometimes I offer test corrections, sometimes I offer re-takes of specific sections, and sometimes they just have to take what they get. I also implemented a policy that states that any student with 2 or fewer tardies in the semester AND only Ss or Os in citizenship both quarters may drop their lowest quiz grade (I weigh all quizzes the same).
    Test Corrections (unit test): I allow a one-time only opportunity at lunch for all students. We will have already gone over the test so they will know the correct answers. They must write the question with the correct answer and usually translate. If it is a conjugation, I have them write out the conjugation. They receive ONE point TOTAL for these corrections. My tests are between 50-60 points, so 1 point is nearly 2 percent. All kids can come, there is no limit.
    If I give a quiz and the results are terrible, I assess the situation. If the quiz was bad (or a question was bad), it gets thrown out. I re-teach and re-assess.
    Quiz re-takes: if the overall scores are good, I rarely offer re-takes on quizzes except for on a case by case basis. If the scores are all over, I offer a re-take. Because my quizzes only assess one concept, it is easy to quickly make some substitutions and have a new form. I open this to all kids and do not limit the score on the new quiz, but I do explain that the new score sticks. This helps tremendously with kids who just want to come in "to see if they do better". Honestly, I just don't have the time for that. I only want those who have made the effort to re-learn the information to be re-taking something. I don't worry about re-takes scoring higher than the original because I open to everyone.
    Test Section Re-takes: I do these rarely as they take the most amount of work. I allow the kids to take up to 3 sections of the test over. This cuts down on the grading and sometimes it is only 2 sections. I have a form that must be filled out and serves as their entrance into the re-take. The form requires they write an explanation/reflection for the poor performance, a list of 3 ways they have worked to improve (they must attach evidence, I am cruel), and a signature that explains they understand the process. They will receive a full point-for-point substitution for that section of the test. It is a lot of work, but it puts the responsibility on the kids. If they have not planned ahead and done the work, they have not earned the re-take.
    I have found that having a policy such as this where there is not a one-size-fits-all policy has eliminated the kids taking advantage as they do not know what, if any, opportunity they will have to improve their grade. All of my opportunities are one time only. I assign a day at lunch and that is it. No excuses. No sympathy. (OK, maybe if they are sick and write a really nice email and show up for Monday intervention! :)) Come or don't. I will not make the decision for them. They always ask me if it's worth it and I explain that I can't guarantee it's worth it to pay my insurance premiums every year, but it's not a risk I'd be willing to take.
    Sorry to write so much, as the first quiz is around the corner, I found it helpful to think through the whole process!

    Reply

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My name is Erin and I have 10 years of experience teaching high school Spanish. I love building positive student relationships and bringing a bit of fun into my lessons to keep my students engaged!

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