Glossary
Math marking and assessment, in plain words
Short definitions of the terms that come up when you mark handwritten math and give feedback, with links to examples where they help.
Marking math
- Partial credit
- Marks for the parts of a question a student got right, even when the final answer is wrong or missing. In math it’s usually tied to the steps: setting up, carrying out the method, and stating the answer. Why partial credit matters in math.
- Rubric
- The criteria for awarding marks on a question: what earns each mark, and how many. For a multi-step math question, a rubric usually has one row per step that shows understanding. Free rubric template.
- Marking scheme
- Often used interchangeably with rubric. Some teachers use it for the full set of marking decisions for a test: the answer key, the marks per step, and rulings such as which forms are accepted.
- Answer key
- The correct answers, ideally with worked solutions. An answer key says what’s right; a rubric says how marks are awarded when a response is only partly right.
- Analytic and holistic rubrics
- An analytic rubric gives separate marks for separate steps or criteria. A holistic rubric gives one overall judgement of a response. Multi-step math questions are usually marked analytically.
- Follow-through (error carried forward)
- When a student makes an early error and then works correctly from it, follow-through gives credit for the later steps. It keeps one slip from costing every mark after it. Teachers decide where it applies. See it in a worked example.
- Equivalent form
- A different way of writing the same answer: factored or expanded, a mixed number or an improper fraction, x = 3 or the point (3, 0) for an intercept. Equivalent forms usually earn credit unless the question asks for a particular form.
- Required form
- A form the question or the teacher requires, such as “state the intercepts as points” or “fully factor”. Write required forms into the rubric before marking so every paper gets the same decision.
- Slip and misconception
- A slip is a one-off mistake in a method the student understands, such as 4 × 12 = 42. A misconception is a misunderstanding that will repeat, such as reading a maximum as a minimum because the sign of a is ignored. The same mark can hide either, and they need different next steps. Worked examples.
Feedback and assessment
- Descriptive feedback
- Feedback that tells a student what they did well, where they went wrong, and what to do next, rather than only a mark. Ontario’s Growing Success policy describes ongoing descriptive feedback as part of classroom assessment. Feedback comment bank.
- Assessment for learning
- Gathering evidence of what students know so the teacher can adjust instruction and give feedback. In Growing Success, it’s one of three purposes of assessment, alongside assessment as and of learning.
- Assessment as learning
- Assessment that helps students monitor their own learning: using feedback, setting goals, and reflecting on their work. A correction routine where students explain their own error is an example.
- Assessment of learning
- Evaluating what students have learned, usually for a mark that counts toward the report card. Chapter tests and final evaluations are typical.
- Formative and summative assessment
- Formative assessment happens during learning and shapes what comes next. Summative assessment happens at the end of a unit or course and measures what was learned. The same quiz can serve either purpose, depending on how it’s used.
- Diagnostic assessment
- A check before or at the start of a unit to find out what students already know, so the teacher can plan where to begin.
- Professional judgement
- The teacher’s informed decisions about student work, based on knowledge of the curriculum, the context, and the evidence. Growing Success places it at the centre of assessment and evaluation in Ontario.
- Achievement chart
- Ontario’s framework for describing student achievement in four categories: Knowledge and Understanding, Thinking, Communication, and Application, each described across four levels.
- Item analysis
- Looking at how a class did on each question of an assessment, to see which questions, and which ideas, need another look.
- Moderation
- Teachers marking samples of the same assessment together to agree on how the rubric applies, so marks mean the same thing across classes.
In MarkScanner
- Draft mark
- A mark MarkScanner proposes for a question or part, against the approved rubric. Every draft mark and comment can be changed by the teacher.
- Flag
- A marker on work MarkScanner couldn’t read clearly, or a draft that looks doubtful, so the teacher looks at it first. An answer without a flag can still need correcting.
- Approval
- The teacher’s sign-off on the rubric and the final marks. Nothing is final, and nothing goes back to students, until the teacher approves it.
- Feedback sheet
- A one-page printable sheet per student with their marks, a comment for each question, and what went well and what to work on next.
- Class summary
- A report across the class set showing which questions cost the most marks and which comments came up most often.
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