Marking Candidates' Work

Who marks candidates' work?

All candidates' work produced for external assessment must be marked by suitably experienced and trained examiners or markers. In some cases they will mark complete assessments eg complete examination papers. In other cases they may mark part(s) of an assessment. For example, subject experts may mark those parts of an assessment which require subject expertise whilst general markers mark other parts of the candidates' work which do not require a high level of subject expertise. Examiners normally mark candidates' work from a range of centres but are not allowed to mark work from any centres in which they have a personal interest eg the school where they teach.

How many examiners?

The awarding body will normally employ the minimum number of examiners and markers required to complete the marking in the time available, with each person marking the maximum number of papers possible, taking account of the nature of the assessment and the time taken to mark each paper. The fewer the examiners employed, the more reliable the marking is likely to be.

Training examiners

All examiners and markers must be trained, supervised and monitored to ensure that they mark consistently and reliably throughout the marking period. All examiners are required to attend a standardisation meeting run by the principal examiner and any team leaders for the assessment. The purpose of the standardisation meeting is to ensure that all examiners mark all candidates' work reliably and accurately throughout the marking period. This is achieved by ensuring that all examiners can apply the mark scheme consistently to candidates' answers, including any unexpected yet acceptable responses. By the end of the standardisation meeting, all examiners must have a shared understanding of the mark scheme and should feel confident that they will be able to apply it reliably and consistently over the marking period.

Monitoring examiners

After the standardisation meeting each examiner's marking is supervised and monitored by a more experienced senior examiner. Examiners are supervised by a team leader or by the principal examiner, depending on the numbers of examiners involved. Any team leaders are supervised by the principal examiner. Even the principal examiner's marking is subject to checking by another senior examiner.

The monitoring of examiners takes place in a number of stages. The first stage happens immediately after the standardisation meeting. Examiners are required to mark a range of scripts (usually at least ten) and to send them to their supervisor. These ten scripts may include a number of photocopied scripts provided by the principal examiner and should cover as wide a range of possible responses and of level of performance as possible. Supervisors check the accuracy and consistency of each examiner's marking and then either give the examiner the go-ahead to begin marking 'for real' or, if they are not satisfied with the marking, ask for a further sample from the examiner concerned. In the rare cases where an examiner is unable to satisfy their supervisor that they can mark sufficiently carefully and consistently, the examiner is not allowed to mark and their scripts are re-allocated to other examiners.

Sampling examiners' marking

Once examiners have started marking, they continue to be supervised and monitored by their supervisor. Periodically the supervisor will ask for a sample of each examiner's marking and will check this marking to ensure that the examiner is marking appropriately ie accurately, reliably and consistently throughout the marking period. Where it appears that a marker is consistent but always tends to be harsh or lenient in their marking, the supervisor may recommend that their marks are adjusted (scaled) upwards or downwards as appropriate to bring them into line with the agreed standard. If it appears that an examiner has become inconsistent in the course of the marking period, their supervisor may recommend that the examiner is told to stop marking or that their work is checked at marking review.

Clerical checks

The awarding body ensures that all examiners' marking is not only subject to the professional monitoring outlined above, but is also clerically checked to ensure that marks are written down and totalled accurately and then transcribed correctly to mark sheets.

Reviewing examiners' performance

At the end of the marking period, all examiners are graded by their supervisor against a range of criteria, including the accuracy of their marking, the quality of their administration and their ability to meet deadlines. In the light of this review a decision is made as to whether or not the examiner should be invited to mark in any future sessions if sufficient work is available.