The incorrectness of test corrections
Advocates of the policy fire back.
Originally published in the Moultrie News.
My column on the dangers of allowing students to correct their tests for credit garnered both praise and reproof. Let’s discuss some of the criticism.
You place too much emphasis on the grade as the goal. The real goal should be that students learn.
No, that’s the goal for exercises and homework. The desired goal for a test is a grade that accurately reflects what the student has learned. It’s a reckoning, not a fundraiser. I tell students on test day, “You’ve had weeks to ask me any questions you want. Today it’s my turn to ask you.”
If, after that, you still want growth, then make students correct their tests without changing their grades. That way, they benefit from analyzing their errors without artificially inflating their GPA.
The reason for test correction policies is teachers are trying to make sure kids know the material.
How? Certainly not by having them correct the test. Test correction isn’t a retake; it’s an open-book clean-up job. We want students to possess knowledge, not just borrow it from notes, textbooks, or AI.
So how can we “make sure” they’ve done that? Here’s a hint: it starts with a T and ends with an EST.
School is meant to get students ready for “real life” where mistakes aren’t the end of the road. When we mess up, we’re usually shown how to fix it and given more chances to get it right.
You might believe this if you’ve spent your life inside the silo of public education, but “real life” tells a different story.
A survey by the career platform Intelligent found that nearly six in ten companies had to fire a recent college grad in 2024, citing weak work ethic and general unpreparedness. As AI wipes out more jobs, competition for the rest will only grow, and one big mistake (or enough small ones) could be costly.
Yes, some employees do get multiple chances to correct their test-level failures (though hopefully they aren’t called doctors, engineers, lawyers, or pilots). But does that mean we should train kids to rely on it? Ty Cobb practiced in lead shoes so he’d be overprepared when the games counted. Similarly, schools should prepare students for the toughest scenarios, not the easiest. “Measure twice, cut once” is better training for real life than “chop till you drop.”
So which mindset would you rather your child leave school with?
(A) If I mess up, there’s always another chance.
(B) I should get it right the first time.
If you chose (A), please don’t encourage your kids to become doctors, engineers, lawyers, or pilots.
Students allowed test corrections still earn their diplomas and scholarships. They just need more time and effort to master the material.
I disagree. As I explained, test corrections are an open-book do-over of questions students have already seen. There’s no universe in which getting them right the second time is the equivalent of getting them right the first.
Imagine two students scoring 1200 on the SAT. One earns it on his first attempt. The other scores 900, studies his mistakes in the library, and raises his score by 300 points. Did he truly earn that 1200? If you were a college admissions officer, which student would you rather accept? Unfortunately, since only the final number is reported, both look identical.
Obviously, you might argue that if both correct their mistakes, the scores won’t be identical. Instead of 900 and 1200, you’ll have 1200 and 1500. There’s a name for such a phenomenon: “grade inflation,” and it’s a serious problem in academics.
Why? Because it puts a false seal of knowledge on student grades. It allows students who haven’t met the standard to appear as though they have. It makes struggling readers look proficient and average students look exceptional. And the illusion wins real rewards—diplomas, scholarships, and honors—that were never truly earned.
Teachers probably don’t like test corrections because it’s more work for them.
Teachers will move mountains if they believe in what they’re doing. But when they’re asked to spend scarce energy on policies that erode academic integrity and contradict the very ideals that brought them to the classroom, resistance is inevitable.
Jody Stallings has been an award-winning teacher in Charleston since 1992 and is director of the Charleston Teacher Alliance. To submit a question, order his books, or follow him on social media, please visit JodyStallings.com.