[English] Meet the Assessors

[Ross, Simon D]

Dear Malcolm,
My main concern was Section 2, though I take on board your comments re: Section C.
I emailed a question prior to Meet the Assessors regarding Section 2 (B). I asked how it was possible to mark divergent pieces of writing, written for distinctly different purposes and in varying forms, using only one set of Expected Qualities? The perfunctory answer supplied was "We do that in Section A. It's no different in Section B". That's not true. Section A Text requires very specific analytical discursive responses. Section B answers can be scripts, essays, letters, eulogies, feature articles, editorial, poetry, fables or cook book recipes. 
 
Whose Reality Context. The Shark Net. 
Who, if anyone, in Drewe's autobiography, 'evades' reality? Conceals reality. Yes. A product of a constructed reality? Yes. I wouldn't consider one character in the book 'evades' reality.
 
Simon Ross
BHSSC


Hello Peter,

Thank you for sharing your observations.  I agree that the exam was
being vigorously defended and the reason for this was because it was
rather flawed.

My concern was the attitude taken towards the 'brilliant' Section
Three.  The Chief Examiner opened by poking fun at students who did not
recognise the cartoon animal - implying that they were stupid.  I
remember clearly thinking on the day of the exam that there was a
culturally specific set of iconography operating that many students
would miss - the Chief Examiner's observation would seem to bear this
out.  If a student thinks it is warthog then the implication from the
Chief Examiner is that they are badly taught.  I would suggest that the
scale of 'misreading' of the image shows that the stimulus material was
flawed.

I (along with many others) also thought that the Context Questions were
unbalanced and were clealry more suitable to some texts than others.
The presentation from Bob Hillman was worrying from the point of view
that he was keen to identify what characterised a bad response but
failed to articulate what characterised a good response except in the
vaguest terms.  In a way he failed to heed his own advice and work with
the prompt to explore broad concepts and instead was lost in working at
a broadly conceptual level.

I hope you have a good year and I appreciate your willingness to share
your thoughts.

Regards,

Malcolm Martin




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