Sometimes it's just futile

Okay.  The kids haven't been doing as well as I had hoped on their tests.  Especially since I let them use their notes and don't score below a 50.  So, this time, I asked each student to make up 5 test questions to be put on the test and I made their test from the questions submitted.  Not only that, I also gave them an additional 5 points for their 5 questions.  Today, I gave them "their" test.  Over all three classes, there was 1 A, 0 B's, 3 C's, 8 D's and almost 30 F's.  And it's not like I gave them a lot to learn.  We studied two scientists (Robert Hooke and Anton Van Leeuwenhoek) and the major parts of the cell (cell membrane, nucleus, ribosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complex, cell wall, vacuole, lysosome) and some prefixes and suffixes that would help them understand the cell organelles jobs (cyt, endo, hyper, hypo, hydro, inter, mit, phag, pino, and som).  I even read the questions out loud to the kids as they were turned in and discussed the answers.  After pulling handfuls of hair out of my head while grading these tests, I decided that on Monday, I will grant them "mercy".  I will go over every single question on the test and the correct answer.  Then I will calmly go and get their tests and hand them out.  I will then allow them 30 minutes (which will really be about 40) to correct their papers to be regraded.  It will put me a day behind my schedule for covering all the material, but I can't have them try to keep up when they have no clue what they are studying.  Part of me hates doing this because I feel like I am contributing to their "helplessness" and am encouraging them to not do well on tests.  But part of me is hopeful that they really are not understanding what we're doing and will feel smarter when they have a better grade.  I don't know.  It's kind of a rock and a hard place.  Oh well, it might turn out for the best and the kids might start realizing how to think about the tests, or it might blow up in my face and they remain dumb as sticks and never make an effort again because they'll know they don't have to.  Only time will tell.