Bad Grades

Standardized tests are the norm in most, if not all, parts of the world. I spent most of my school days in the New York City Public School system and will never forget those special #2 pencils for marking the boxes on tests. You could play "eenie meenie miny moe..." and just guess. We were tested frequently, every year or two, or so it seems. Then towards the end of high school we had "College Boards."

Maybe it's just me, but I don't remember thinking about the questions once I handed in the tests. That's why I'm amazed that hundreds, if not more, of students have complained about incorrect marking. Or maybe they just expected higher grades and decided to complain. The amazing thing is that mistakes were found in the grading.

I'm finding this very traumatic. I always took for granted that these tests were infallible. That's how we were raised in my generation. Our parents would never complain to the school; they'd blame us if there were problems. It didn't pay for me to say anything, since the teachers were "perfect."

When my kids were students, I worked, ok, fought hard for my kids' rights. Of course, now that I'm a high school teacher, it's all the kids' fault...