I’ve finished my marking and moderating now. What a relief!
But no, it doesn’t get quieter now that the semester has finished, even when
that’s done. There are the exam boards, getting
ready for next year, countless meetings and training sessions, conferences and
if you’re lucky a little research. You may even take some leave though it’s
often difficult to fit in the thirty-two days to which we are entitled or find
a time when you’re not going to miss something crucial. And of course, there’s the
students’ reaction to how you’ve marked their work to be dealt with.
Using an effective moderation system
Naturally, some are disappointed. That is why we have a moderation
system that works really well if applied rigorously. And we do apply it firmly.
The moderator is someone who has not taught on the module but who will understand
the issues. They must sample ten scripts from groups of up to a hundred. If
there are 101 scripts they must sample twenty and so on. Sometimes it’s more;
for instance if several people have taught on the module, if there are several
marks that border classes and if the marker signals a concern. The moderator tends
to look at the highest, the lowest, middle of each class and borderline grades.
Later an external examiner also looks at the sample.
We’re normally pretty spot on. However, it can be
established that a marker has:
- Generally marked too high
- Generally marked too low
- Bunched the marks together too much
- Spread the marks too much
- Been completely erratic
Adjustments can be made easily for 1-4. 5 signals a complete
remark. Fortunately that has never happened. I can think of just one case where
all marks were put up.
Standardization
We do this quite informally. We’ll look at each other’s marking
as we go along if we have questions about our own. We can even ask a colleague
to look at a script we’re concerned about. As the students submit
electronically, we can view their work from anywhere in the world and at any time
of day. Now, we’re not recommending that someone works 24/7 and leaves the
beach whilst on holiday, but this can even save a walk to another corridor. As
at this time of the year we’re rarely all in the same building at the same time,
this is an extremely handy feature.
How students get their results
They pick these up electronically. In the old days they used
to have to come to our offices and pick up the hard copy. We and probably a lot
of their friends would see them get their results. This isn’t too bad if it’s
good news. It can be devastating if the news isn’t so good. And awkward if two friends
come together to receive substantially different marks. At least now they can
contemplate their results in privacy.
How students react
There is always a first, emotional reaction. Then there is a more reasoned one. When I
release my marks I tell students to get in contact if there are any questions
about their work. I always make sure, however, that I don’t see them until at
least forty-eight hours after they’ve seen their mark though I may agree to the
appointment within ten minutes. This gives them a little distance from the result
before we discuss it.
I do like a face to face contact for this. Emails can go on
for ever and may miss the point. We can look at the work together. If that’s absolutely
impossible – and often it is at the end of the second semester – the student
may be several thousand miles away – I’ll talk to them on the phone with both
of us looking at the submission. I’ll have to explain exactly why I’ve awarded which
mark to the different aspects of the task and what my comments mean. I may
expand on them a little.
Results not negotiable
Because we are rigorous in our moderation and because we
marked anyway to a finely pinpointed set of grade descriptors the result must stand
and the student cannot negotiate.
However, we sometimes find there is a technical issue that can allow some
leniency. Sometimes a student may not be able to attach drafts and may have sent
them separately and the marker has forgotten. There is, of course some responsibility
to be taken here by the student. It’s always
possible to attach drafts. Hard-pressed lecturers may not remember every single
email. The submission process may have screwed the formatting. One year, the system
took out all of the italics of one student so it looked as if she hadn’t
referenced correctly. If they use anything but Word, formatting is not
supported. They can submit a PDF but neither we nor they were aware of this problem
when the system screwed the originally correct formatting of fifty scripts .
However, the adjustments that we make in these circumstance
are anyway only of three or four marks. They are also very rare.
A student may appeal after they have their official transcript
but appeals are generally unsuccessful because the moderation system is used effectively.
Summative and formative feedback
We do give both, even on final year final semester
assessments. After all, any script that does not have 100% must be flawed in
some way. We like to keep pushing our students higher. I have a student who
attained 75% coming to see me on Monday. She’s keen to carry on with her novel.
I commented on the voice. On Monday we’re going to sit and look at her
submission together and work out how she can make the voice sound more young
adult.
No comments:
Post a Comment