Grading Exams - In recognition of the fact that I am starting my second shift as an employee of ETS, scoring essays online for the California High School Exit Exam, I'm posting this Salon account of the trials and tribulations of a scoring reader. The process is really rather poorly organized and executed, and it's hard to imagine that someone's graduation might hinge upon passing the exam. I have to admit that some of the responses I read were truly dreadful, but I'll grant the test-takers that the prompts didn't give much room for creativity. For me, scoring the exams was a fascinating sociological experiment. You can't even imagine the dozens of responses to the prompt "What is fashionable attire for American teenagers?" that included the word "hoochie."