Correct for data

From USAFA Folklore

Correct for data (CFD) is often a cadet's saving grace on a project or GR in a techy subject. It allows a cadet to earn full marks on a problem that is worked correctly even if the overall answer is wrong because of a mistake made in the input data. For example, a computation may take ten steps. The cadet might work the first two steps correctly, mess up the third step, and work the rest of the steps correctly as well. The final answer will be wrong, but will be graded "correct for data" since the equations were applied properly, and the cadet will earn most of the available points for the problem.

If a cadet is unsure how to begin a computation but has a reasonably good idea how to do the later steps, he will often make up some numbers to start the computation with and work the calculations that he knows how to do. This usually earns a respectable amount of partial credit, graded CFD.