Self-Grading Tests

I have absolutely no problem with self-graded tests when they are used correctly. If the teacher using the self-graded test is competent and realizes that the answers you type in (if the answer needs to be typed) have to be typed in absolutely correct or you get the answer wrong. For example, what if the answer to question is "frog" and a student types in "frogs"; the test will mark him wrong just because his answer was plural even though he understood the concept. I remember taking tests like this in an intro to art history class in the D2L application; it infuriated the students because the teacher didn't do anything about her self-grading tests having the answers have to be exactly correct. It was the same way in my geography 101 course, which was even more of a problem because it was an online course so I couldn't even see my teacher in person.

I would use self-grading tests sparingly in my classroom, as they can pose too much of a problem with answers needing to be typed correctly. In a way, they are almost more work in the fact that the teacher will have to through and look at each incorrect answer and see if it can be interpreted as correct. When it comes to multiple choice tests, however, I think they are already used a lot in a self-correcting format and that is fine, as there is only one right answer.