Mum baffled after 8-year-old get 0 marks on test as she agrees with her answer

While every parent wants their child to succeed in school, some underestimate just how difficult their exams can be. That's exactly what one mum came to learn after reviewing her eight-year-old daughter's test paper where she was marked 0/2 for one particular question.

Confused, she asked Reddit users: "What am I missing here? On my third grade daughter's maths test." She went onto share an image of the test paper, which read: "Bradley bought balloons for his family's party. The letter B on the number line represents the number of balloons Bradley bought.

"About how many balloons did Bradley buy? Write your answer in the box and explain your reasoning (2 points)."

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The line shows the letter B between the 200 and 250 mark. The child answered: "230 because it's right behind half way (fifty) but a little but close to 200."

However, the teacher marked this incorrect, stating: "200 because it is less than 250." Commenting on her post, one user agreed: "I prefer your daughter's answer."

Another user added: "Kiddo went above and beyond. Kinda wish her teacher did the same with her instructions."

A third user said: "I did this in science in High School. How much water was poured in the cup? I said 82ml.

"I was marked wrong because it was 80ml... Though the water went above 80 and up to the second dash on the beaker. I fought the teacher"

Another user added: "I used to write math assessments and teach math. This is a poorly written prompt to a question, and a stunning lack of critical thinking by the teacher in applying the scoring rubric. I feel your frustration."

One more user said: "She's not wrong and the teacher lacks the type of flexibility I would expect third grade teachers to have.

"Your daughter shouldn't be punished for being more precise than for what the question asks - she should have been praised. Reassure her of this at home and then let it go because it's not worth arguing over.

"We have incomplete information and don't know what the exact instructions were (round, estimate, guess) besides what's stated in the question.

"It's 'not worth arguing over' because it's 2 points on a third grade math assignment. I had this argument with my daughter's 3rd (or 2nd, or 4th, who knows) grade teacher 10 years ago."

Sharing their thoughts, two teachers explained what they would have done if they'd have come across this answer while marking papers.

One said: "My wife (a 3rd grade teacher), said your daughter's reasoning is outstanding and her teacher is an idiot."

The other added: "Fourth grade math teacher here (advanced math background). Looks like the question wants kids to estimate down to 'about 200', but with your child’s explanation, I would absolutely give her full points because her answer is absolutely reasonable.

"This teacher (as with a lot of early learning teachers, I’ve noticed), has poor content and critical thinking skills and clearly grades to whatever the test key says without actually knowing and understanding the content."