Comment by zelos
6 years ago
Isn’t the basic problem the use of multiple choice? Being able to write a few hundred words arguing an opinion about a poem (right or wrong) has some value. Picking an arbitrarily chosen ‘right’ answer from a list has almost none. I don’t think I’ve ever had a multiple choice exam in English Lit - actually, I don’t remember multiple choice in any serious exam.
But then you'd have to pay examiners to mark it, and that means less profit. If it can't be marked by a robot, why bother with an education system. /s
Well, yes, but actually no. I grew up with both parents teaching in public schools in subjects that cannot be tested in a multiple choice format. They both sat down every night in front of the tv and shuffled papers from inbox to outbox, quickly scribbling a score on each. Very very little thought seemed to go into the content of the work, and I always wondered if they were scanning the names in the top right corner to make their judgment. I never did ask, though. Either way, I’m not sure much could change; even without giving these kids a fair shake, it still took hours to grade these. It’s a broken system and the only palatable response seems to be to throw more money at it and hope for different results.
> and I always wondered if they were scanning the names in the top right corner to make their judgment.
This is most certainly a thing. Even funnier, I had a few A's on assignments I never even turned in.