Methodology in Setting Examination Questions and Grading Answers.
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The Shaykh : Then, there is another matter that teachers must attend to, which concerns setting questions and grading answers. As for setting questions, it is obligatory that they be suitable for the students, such that they are not so difficult that the students cannot answer them, nor so easy that they do not reveal what knowledge the student possesses. Rather, they should be suitable, neither difficult nor easy. If the person setting the questions says, "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Uthman ibn Abi al-As: ," we say that this is not what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intended in our context. What the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intended was that this man was appointed as the imam of a group, meaning he leads them in prayer as an imam, and he said to him: because the strongest among them has no limit to his strength; he wants the prayer to be long in its recitation, bowing, prostration, standing, and sitting, while the weak one does not want this. As long as they are sharing in following their imam, he must consider the weak one. As for our case, it is a scale by which the knowledge of the students is weighed, and justice in it is to take the middle path, not looking to the strong ones nor to the weak ones.
Also, the person setting the questions should observe that they are clear, because some questions are ambiguous, leaving the student hesitant about whether the questioner intended this or that. He may perhaps provide an answer that exceeds what is required, wasting his own time and the time of the grader. If the questions are clear and concise, answering them becomes easy.
It is obligatory for the person setting the questions, in terms of the answers, that they fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in grading, such that they do not prefer one person over another. Even if he knows that this answer is from a good student whom he knows during the studies, but in the examination, for example, he made a mistake and did not reach the grade expected of him, do not rely on what you knew about this student, because this is not entrusted to you; rather, it is tied and linked to the answer. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The point is that I only judge based on what I hear.
Also, when the teacher grades the answers, he grades based on what he read and does not look to any other consideration.
He must also not neglect anything that requires attention.
Here is a matter about which there is much questioning: if a student provides evidence from the Qur'an or the Sunnah but makes a mistake in it, we say that if the witness from this evidence is present, the mistake is not counted against him, because the witness from the verse and the hadith is present, and what is added is perfection, so he is not held accountable for it. But there is no doubt that one who provides complete evidence from the Qur'an and the Sunnah is more perfect, but we do not hold him accountable for what he omitted, if the intended meaning of the evidence is present.
Similarly, some students may add to the answer. Some graders say that addition is a deficiency, some say that addition is not a deficiency, and some say that if the addition indicates the student's hesitation and that he did not understand, but he wanted to provide long speech so that he might confuse the grading teacher, then this addition is counted against him if there is a mistake in it, and it is not counted if there is no mistake. This opinion is the best: it is said that if the student adds and makes a mistake in the addition, it is not counted against him, because the intended meaning was achieved without this addition, unless we know that the answer indicates that the student did not master the knowledge and did not digest it, but he provided this addition in order to confuse the grader, as some students do. Some students, may Allah be pleased with them, have a cleverness that puts the grader in a whirlpool, at least until he gets tired and says, "Enough, give him the full grade." But the detailed ruling is that if there is a mistake in the addition, it is not counted against the student. However, if we know from the context of the answer that he intended to confuse the grader, then if he makes a mistake in it, we hold him accountable for it.
Follow the weakest among them.
اقتد بأضعفهمFollow the weakest among them.
اقتد بأضعفهمAlso, the person setting the questions should observe that they are clear, because some questions are ambiguous, leaving the student hesitant about whether the questioner intended this or that. He may perhaps provide an answer that exceeds what is required, wasting his own time and the time of the grader. If the questions are clear and concise, answering them becomes easy.
It is obligatory for the person setting the questions, in terms of the answers, that they fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in grading, such that they do not prefer one person over another. Even if he knows that this answer is from a good student whom he knows during the studies, but in the examination, for example, he made a mistake and did not reach the grade expected of him, do not rely on what you knew about this student, because this is not entrusted to you; rather, it is tied and linked to the answer. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
You come to me with disputes, and perhaps some of you may be more eloquent in his argument than others, so I judge in his favor based on what I hear. Whoever I cut off a portion of his brother's right for, I am only cutting off for him a piece of fire, so let him take it or leave it.
إنكم تختصمون إلي ولعل بعضكم أن يكون ألحن بحجته من بعض، فأقضي له بنحو ما أسمع ، فمن اقتطعت له شيئا من حق أخيه فإنما أقتطع له جمرة من النار فاليستقل أو ليستكثرAlso, when the teacher grades the answers, he grades based on what he read and does not look to any other consideration.
He must also not neglect anything that requires attention.
Here is a matter about which there is much questioning: if a student provides evidence from the Qur'an or the Sunnah but makes a mistake in it, we say that if the witness from this evidence is present, the mistake is not counted against him, because the witness from the verse and the hadith is present, and what is added is perfection, so he is not held accountable for it. But there is no doubt that one who provides complete evidence from the Qur'an and the Sunnah is more perfect, but we do not hold him accountable for what he omitted, if the intended meaning of the evidence is present.
Similarly, some students may add to the answer. Some graders say that addition is a deficiency, some say that addition is not a deficiency, and some say that if the addition indicates the student's hesitation and that he did not understand, but he wanted to provide long speech so that he might confuse the grading teacher, then this addition is counted against him if there is a mistake in it, and it is not counted if there is no mistake. This opinion is the best: it is said that if the student adds and makes a mistake in the addition, it is not counted against him, because the intended meaning was achieved without this addition, unless we know that the answer indicates that the student did not master the knowledge and did not digest it, but he provided this addition in order to confuse the grader, as some students do. Some students, may Allah be pleased with them, have a cleverness that puts the grader in a whirlpool, at least until he gets tired and says, "Enough, give him the full grade." But the detailed ruling is that if there is a mistake in the addition, it is not counted against the student. However, if we know from the context of the answer that he intended to confuse the grader, then if he makes a mistake in it, we hold him accountable for it.