Do you think it's wrong for..

[disfan07]

a college professor to take away points for illegible writing on tests?

We just had a test that consisted of multiple choice, and short answer questions. The short answer part was obviously hand written.

When we were talking about the test in class afte rthey were graded, my professor was talking about how atrocious some of teh handwriting is. She said that there were a good number of people in every class who lost points because she could just not read what they were writing.

It was obviuos after class which ones lost points becaus ethey were complaining about how it wasn't fair and she should be able to figure out what they wrote. I mean, most teachers I know can read really bad handwriting, but there comes a point where is just ridiculous and they should not have to spend hours tryign to figure out what people wrote.

This teacher is by far the nicest, most caring teacher I have ever met. She wants everyone to do well adn she give ample opportunities to go to her for help so it's not liek she wants to take points off. I mean, I saw some of these papers and the writing was bad...I mean, I work with preschoolers and I can read the 3 year olds writing better than some of these papers.

Do you think the teacher was wrong for taking points off?

 

[RachelEllen]

Speaking as someone with atrocious handwriting...

Points off if she honestly couldn't make out the answer without more than slight extra effort...totally fair

Points off just because the handwriting was bad....not right

(tell your classmates to start printing. Yes, its slower, but when your handwriting is bad, it is a lot easier to read)

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

If she can't read the answer then points should come off because she cannot determine whether the answer is correct or not.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

It doesn't bother me. I know people with terrible handwriting, especially casually, it's illegible. But when it comes down to someone NEEDING to be able to read it, they take the time to make it readable.

I have good handwriting but I know I can change my handwriting easily... I can make it very neat or I can slop some scribbles down.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

If she couldn't read it, then it's fair. How can she grade something that she can't read?

 

[Piecey]

I think it's fair if she honestly couldn't read it...

DH has TERRIBLE handwriting. So bad that HE can't read it sometimes. He has a class one night after work and he comes straight home and types the notes before he forgets what they say.

He's lost points for his handwriting being illegible and he deals with it (though he does grumble a bit )... Luckily he mostly does online classes now so it's not such a big deal. My handwriting is bad when I rush, so I always go back (if time allows) and try to erase areas that are questionable and rewrite them.

 

[Darsa]

My boss has the most atrocious handwriting, and probably the most frustrating thing is that she makes NO effort whatsoever to improve it, for ANYONE, be they lawyers, her boss, me, nobody gets a legible word from her with a pen.

That being said; there is really no reason I can think of to have illegibly bad handwriting; we all learned how to (and they still do, amazingly enough in this age of computers) and if someone's not going to make an effort to make themselves understood, why should the rest of us make that much more of an effort to try to decipher what's being conveyed? THAT'S what's not fair IMO; I think taking points off is perfectly fine in a case like this.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I think it's fair. Points are earned for knowing the material. If she couldn't read what the students wrote, how have they shown her that they know the material?

 

[XTinabell]

Are points taken off or just not gained? I think if she cant' read the writing no points can or should be given because there is no way to determine if they were correct. I don't think points should be taken off because they would have scored better if they had not answered at all and I don't agree with that.

 

[disfan07]

basically it was, if she couldnt read what you wrote, you lost all 10 points for that question. We had 5 short answer questions worth 10 points each and she said that she is not a detective. If she cant read teh answers, you dont get the points.

So we had people who failed the test just based on teh fact that she couldnt figure out what the heck they were writing.

 

[eliza61]

Nope, teacher is not wrong at all. If she can't read the writing, how she is supposed to know what is written.

Handwriting is some thing that can easily be improved so no excuse for extremely bad handwriting.

Some hospitals were making doctors take penmanship seminars after complaints that charts and prescriptions could not be read.

 

[disfan07]

Some hospitals were making doctors take penmanship seminars after complaints that charts and prescriptions could not be read.

Haha...i wonder if cedars sinai was one of them...out of 8 doctors i can read ALL of their prescriptions adn notes...i sometimes think im not dealing with real doctors

I had been used to the doctors whos writing was so bad that everytime I dropped off a prescription they had to call teh doctors office or everytime I was in teh hospital teh nurses had to call teh doctors to find out what the heck he was ordering....you would have sworn it was a foreign language.

 

[Schminston-Mo]

...-..m...,...;':"";':''+=

(That means I completely agree with the professor.) If she can't read it, how can she grade it?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Of course not. Illegible means she can't read it. Maybe next time they will PRINT.

 

[MsLeFever]

This is exactly why I started giving take home exams which required typed and cited answers - I got tired of trying to decipher the chicken scratch!

 

[Disneylover79]

I think both ways...

No I don't think it is OK for them to take points off, but

I remember many professors stating "if I can't read it you lose points"

Sorry to hear that it happened to you

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

lol, my handwriting is terrible now, due to arthritis. I have a difficult time reading it. No way I'd blame someone else for not being able to! I am on the teacher's side.

 

[Mermaid02]

If they can't read it- how can they grade it?

 

[ericamanda01]

No I don't think the teacher was wrong. I think by the time you get to college your handwriting should be legible. College professors have so many papers to read and tests to grade they shouldn't have to worry about handwriting.

 

[disfan07]

I'm glad to hear that so many people agree with the teacher.

I was beginning to think I was crazy that I thought the teacher was right about this becasue so many people were compalining that it wasnt fair.

I swear this is one of those things that if it happened in middle school or high school, based on some of the previous threads, some of the parents on these boards would be complaining to the teacher becasue they would say it isnt fair.