Mini-mock trial (grading in subjective courses like social studies is often problematic).

• Author: Mildon, Marsha

Grading, especially in subjective subjects such as language arts and social studies, is always complex. However, it may be helpful to students to explore this complexity, both to better understand the grades they receive, and to better assess their own work. The following Mini-Mock Trial will give students an opportunity to look at the abstract problems of grading without the emotion and subjectivity of their own work.

The Facts:

Toni generally received good marks in language arts, and was planning to go to one of Canada's most prestigious university departments of English. Students had studied the radio play, Under Milkwood, by Dylan Thomas, a play which presents a day in the life of a small Welsh town, giving voice, character, and anecdotes to bring each of the inhabitants of Milkwood, along with the whole town, alive. This play creates a sense of the inhabitants as in the following two excerpts:

"The Reverend Eli Jenkins, in Bethesda House, grops out of bed into his preacher's black, combs back his bard's white hair, forgets to wash, pads barefoot downstairs, opens the front door, stands in the doorway and, looking out at the the day and up at the eternal hill, and hearing the sea break and the gab of birds, remembers his own verses ..."

"Mr. Pugh reads, as he forks the shroud meat in, from

The provincial exam asked students to write an essay in which they described a day in the life of their own neighbourhoods. Coming from a very multi-cultural neighbourhood, Toni was excited about the essay and tried to create a sense of the daily sounds and smells of that community. However, when Toni received her/his grade from the provincial exam, it was graded at only 60%.

All of Toni's other provincials were in the high 80 to low 90% range. The grade on the language arts exam not only was preventing Toni from going to his/her first choice of university, but also ruined Toni's chances of receiving substantial scholarships.

Toni appealed her/his grade through the proper procedures. It was found during the appeal that the three readers of Toni's exam had varied considerably in their grading.

Reader 1 had assigned a mark of 87% and commented on the originality of concept and the vividness with which Toni was able to describe, and bring alive the multi-cultural characteristics of people in the community.

Reader 2 had assigned a mark of 53%, and commented that the grammar was often incorrect. Reader 2 pointed out that there were a particularly large...