In the process of grading tests, one will occasionally
find one that is
virtually blank with maybe an occasional attempted answer. Now,
if the
grader is feeling compassionate, some attempt might be made to assign
partial credit.
Usually, an unanswered question is assigned a 0.
However, we can
assume that in order to not answer the question, the student would
have
had to have read the question. That expenditure of effort does
show
that the student knows how to read and therefore, a 1/2 point can be
given.
Now we can also infer from the blank space that the student
knew
enough about the question to know that they couldn't answer it.
This
takes some intuition and some baseline knowledge that may be deeply
buried. Therefore, the grader could assign another 1/2 point,
giving the
student the benefit of the doubt, bringing the total up to 1.
Now everyone knows that true learning begins with ignorance
and by
knowing that one does not know. By leaving the question blank,
the
student has acknowledged that they are completely ignorant and have
taken
a big step on the way to greater wisdom. This should earn them
at least
half credit.
If the grader had a good background in Eastern philosophy,
then
he/she would know that the greatest expression of Zen thought is mushin
or "no mind." By leaving the answer (and most of the test) blank,
the
student has really shown that they have achieved the highest level
of
learning and should be given full credit on all such questions.
Of course, points will still be taken off for those questions
that were
partially and incorrectly answered.
Idris H. Hsi
