What practice should be avoided when evaluating contradictory answers?

When evaluating contradictory answers, awarding full marks is a practice that should be avoided because it does not reflect the actual understanding or performance of the student. A student providing contradictory answers demonstrates a lack of clarity or consistency in their knowledge or reasoning, which should not be rewarded with full marks.

Proper assessment involves recognizing the nuances in a student's response. While it is essential to provide feedback (describing them in feedback) and to analyze the context and intent of the answers, simply granting full credit ignores the discrepancies present in the response. Accepting contradictory answers as partially correct might also misrepresent the student's grasp of the subject matter.

Therefore, avoiding the practice of awarding full marks helps maintain the integrity of the evaluation process, ensuring that students are assessed accurately based on their actual understanding and skills.