Friday, January 8, 2021

Not Entirely Wrong

For the class I was covering before the break, economics was sixth period. Which meant that it was the last final I gave. 

Mr. B emailed me their final. I uploaded it to their Google Classroom. Mr. B also sent me the answer key, so I was able to grade it. 

"Identify the income group that will receive the most benefit under a flat tax." 

I remembered actually reading this in their textbook with them. (The final was only over the last two sections they had covered; it wasn't a comprehensive final.) And the test was open book/open note, so they didn't actually have to remember the answer. 

Mathias had a rough time with the question. Now, I'm not supposed to "help" with tests, but sometimes they just need a hint. 

The correct answer was: individuals with high incomes. 

Mathias, however, was thinking that the answer needed to be more complicated than it was. He, in fact, said he tended to overthink things.

So, I told Mathias (and, by extension, everyone else in the class, as virtual learning doesn't really have a whisper-to-one-kiddo mode) that the answer was an income group. I gave three examples of income groups (high, medium, low). Mathias was still kind of hesitant, but I really couldn't give him more.

After class I got to do the grading. The way that Google sets up the tests for grading makes things really simple. I can grade all the students' responses to one question at a time. So, when I got to this question, I got to see what everyone answered as a group. 

Most of them got it correct. The wording was different. Some said "the wealthy" or such. Close enough. Some chose the wrong income brackets. Of course those were wrong. 

But the best answer? "The IRS." 

I mean, they weren't wrong. But sadly, I had to mark it incorrect. 

I consoled myself with adding a comment to that answer. "LOL." I appreciate comedy when I find it in the wild.

19 comments:

  1. Hahaha, great answer ;) Well, as I'm not familiar with English acronymes I had to do a quick research.
    Did Mathias made a good answer?

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  2. I'm wondering the same thing as Frédérique. Did Mathias take the helpful hint (or can't you say?). It's too bad that tests don't give alternative correct answers because "The IRS" is a good one.

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    1. I believe that Mathias did get it correct. When correcting, I didn't get to see names (not that I notice even when grading papers).

      Ah, but I was marking them, so I could have given him a point if I had chosen to.

      Delete
  3. I love answers that are technically correct.

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  4. Haha, although that probably shows a better understanding of taxes than the standard answer ;)

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  5. Yours is a hard job, but it has its benefits--occasional flashes of humor from the "kiddos" as you call them.

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    Replies
    1. Oh yes, sometimes they say things that are comedy gold. Hence why they're the main topic of this blog.

      Delete
  6. Kids say the funniest things!! I love laughing at my job;-) It keeps me sane.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, they sure do. It's pretty much why I have a blog.

      Delete
  7. Some students can come up with really funny answers!

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  8. IRS answer is cool. I start laugh when I read that part of post.

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  9. Working with kids has to be funny at times! Other times it makes you want to pull your hair out!!

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  10. Oh boy this kid's got a bright future of tax evasion ahead of him!

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