Assessment
From the Diploma
examiner’s mouth
Senior Diploma examiner PaulaGoddard offers her advice on three key areas of Diploma assessment –
appealing marks, internal modification, and rewriting exam board assignments
All things in moderation differing marks but also at other candidate How far along this road of checks and
Coursework assignments have to be marked. work across the mark range – the highest remarking you get will depend not only
Of course they do. But ever wondered marking candidate, plus the lowest and a on how convinced you are that the mark
why the mark has to be checked, and then couple of middle-ranking examples should is wrong, but also on how much you are
checked again? Because each exam board be found and discussed. prepared to pay.
demands it and the Qualifications and And if you can, see if last year’s marking Each awarding body will make a charge for
Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) can be found as this is an invaluable tool their EAR services, with rates being charged
says it must be so. The government body in for comparing consistency of year-on-year per candidate and per examination paper or
charge of qualification reform insists that all marking decisions. unit.
work submitted for assessment goes through By the end of the session there will now If you think that the candidate’s
a rigorous moderation procedure. And that be a common, and correct, understanding examination paper has been added up
procedure starts within each Diploma centre. of how the complete range of marks can incorrectly then just ask for a Clerical Check.
Once an assignment has been marked, be awarded for particular aspects of each This is the cheapest (ranging from zero to
usually by the teacher who has taught and assignment. £13) and quickest (results back in 20 days)
then supervised the candidate taking the unit But unfortunately that is not the end of form of enquiry.
assignment, the centre domain assessor gets it. Any teacher whose first-round marks Next level up in price (fee range £23 to
involved. Their job is to ensure that all marks were out by more than four will now need £49) is a Review of Marking. Within 30 days
for a particular line of learning are monitored to go back and take another look at their you will know the results of both a clerical
through moderation. candidates’ work and reconsider all the marks check followed by review of the examination
First off, they will arrange for the work – readjusting them where necessary, the new paper’s marks by a senior examiner.
of one teacher to be marked by another. marks then being passed on for a final check, Where the candidate has submitted
This does not mean that each and every or moderation, to the teacher in charge of moderated work that was internally marked
assignment has to be marked again – only a internal standardisation. by the centre then a Moderation Review
representative sample gets double-checked, It is a good idea to fully document these must be called for. This is both costly (£125
usually between six and 10 per cent of the decision changes and both the initial and and upwards) and lengthy (results back in
total. final agreed mark. 40 days) and any change in results will affect
If the total marks are pretty much in After all this checking of assignment not just the candidate’s results but the entire
agreement (within two or three of each other marks, and then checking them again, all centre’s. So use this type of EAR with care.
is acceptable) then the teachers involved are teachers within the centre will have then Fortunately, EAR fees get refunded when
said to have a standard understanding of the been standardised and all centre-marked your beliefs are justified, so if a candidate’s
exam board’s mark scheme – in other words work internally moderated. And the QCDA’s results are raised or lowered following an
they have been standardised. need for reliability and fairness in all internal enquiry the exam board must return all
A set of marks for the same assignment assessment will have been satisfied. monies.
differing by more than four is a sure But all this depends on quick action
sign that there is not, as yet, a standard An appealing thought on your part. Where a place at college or
understanding of the mark scheme and If you or your student believes their university is riding on any change of results
a full standardisation meeting needs to examination results are just plain wrong, then ask for a Priority Service.
be arranged. Here the line of learning’s then what can be done? Check, enquire, Results will be returned within 18 days,
domain assessor (in charge of internal appeal and appeal again, with the entire but you will need to act fast, submitting
standardisation) and all marking teachers will process being conducted through the centre’s the EAR by April 12 for results from the
discuss and reconsider candidate marks. examination officer. January 2010 examinations and by August
During the half-day, or sometimes day- The first stage of what can be a lengthy 27 for the June series. At the very latest, get
long, session it is a good idea to not only process is to submit an Enquiry About all EAR submissions in to the exam board by
look at double-marked assignments with Results (EAR) to the relevant exam board. September 20.
28 Delivering Diplomas • Volume 2 No 1 Spring 2010
28-29 advisory.indd 2 5/3/10 12:07:24
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