Oh, dear...

I just corrected the first quiz of the year. It was ten multiple-choice questions just on the start-of-the-year stuff, plus an extended standardized test question and ample opportunities for bonus points.

Let's just say I have my work cut out for me. A lot of my students just didn't seem to understand that I was serious that there would be a quiz every Friday, including the first week. I hope this will jolt them out of that, at least. I also see why our standardized test scores are so low in this district. They don't even try. There is very little thought behind their answers, and most of them don't even try to show their work. But reading and writing scores are actually pretty high. If I can use that to show them that they need to apply their critical reading and writing skills to the math questions, they may do better.

Still, this was education for both my students and me, I suspect. We should all get something out of it. And everyone used a pencil! After seeing how many used pens last year, I thought I'd try to at least establish this habit, and it appears that I already have.