[Year 12 IT Apps] An ITA Exam query

[Andrew Shortell]

Hi All
Just to add a long term perspective:
That is why question and answer booklets were created so as to limit the
amount of rubbish that could be put on a page.

[In the old old old days when students wrote in script books it could be a
nightmare if they were into rubbish ‹ yes I have been marking for a while ,
since 1990]

The number of lines gives student a limited space to write and the use of
boxes, numbering sub parts of questions so that students remember to answer
each part of a multi part question and spreading the questions out a little
really did help students to get more marks on the board ­ i.e. They actually
attempted all parts of all questions.

ALSO:  I believe it is the examiners¹ job to create the spread with the
quality of questions. It is the markers¹ job to mark. So many students have
so much problem giving good answers that they need every help that they can
get.

Also think about why these subjects are scaled so savagely (-- mind you, not
as bad as vet furniture design)

Andrew
-- 
-- 
Andrew Shortell

mailto:shortell at get2me.net
Heidelberg Teaching Unit
Ph 9470 3403
Fax  9470 3215




On 14/11/11 9:05 AM, "Mark KELLY" <kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au> wrote:

> Just to show how these are only guidelines, further information has arrived.
> 
> *  In some questions in some years, markers will NOT search for valid points
> in a pile of rubbish in order to give away marks. It's possible that markers
> may be asked to find marks for the top kids and not to give away easy marks
> for the weak students in order to get a better spread across the range.
> 
> 
> 
> On 14 November 2011 08:35, Mark KELLY <kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au> wrote:
>> >
>> > The feedback I've received about exam marking philosophy is extremely
>> interesting, and it reinforces for me the PD value of marking VCAA papers.
>> >
>> > I've always assumed (because VCAA has never said otherwise) that if asked
>> for 'n' points, markers would read the first 'n' answers given and ignore any
>> more.  Apparently this is not the case. 
>> >
>> > Several people have suggested that the following guidelines may be useful
>> for those of us marking our kids' answers in outcomes and practice exams...
>> >
>> > Mind you, these are not official, permanent, carved-in-stone VCAA rules.
>> They are only offered as guidelines gleaned from markers' experiences, and
>> may change from year to year...
>> >
>> > ----
>> >
>> > * Marking 'toughness' can fluctuate from year to year depending on the
>> difficulty of the paper.
>> >
>> > * If 'n' points are asked for and the student gives more points, markers
>> will read all the points given and award marks if 'n' good points were given:
>> in other words, the marker tries to find marks for kids. So if a kid is asked
>> for 2 points, and the kid's first point was wrong, but then gives 2 good
>> points, the kid gets two marks.
>> >
>> > * Markers are not asked to stop reading answers after the requested number
>> of points has been given, so kids could write a load of rubbish and still get
>> full marks if they somehow get to the correct stuff by the end.
>> >
>> > * If a 2-mark question asks for a "List and Describe", it will be marked
>> 1+1=2 marks.
>> >
>> > * If asked for 2 points and you give 2...
>> >      - 2 marks generally means 2 points need to be made, or a good point
>> with a good reason for it.
>> >      - 2 marks for a "discuss..." question can also indicate you have to
>> give a point from each side of the discussion (and if you gave 2 points from
>> the same side of the discussion, you only get 1 mark)
>> >
>> > * If asked for 2 points and you give 3...
>> >      - if is blatantly wrong, or contradicts of of the two other good
>> points, you cannot get full marks
>> >      - if one is wrong, but does not contradict the other two, you can get
>> full marks
>> >      - if one is weak due to obvious cluelessness you cannot get full marks
>> >
>> > * Because the question is blind double-marked, if one marker gives 2 and
>> the other gives 1, you get an effective average of 1.5.
>> > * However if it goes to a third marker, you're less likely to get the 2
>> marks because the third marking is more conservative.
>> > * Sometimes, two marks is taken to mean 3 points are required if the points
>> are really obvious.
>> >
>> > So, as I said, all of this is only for guidance. I know that in future I'll
>> keep reading even after the student gives their 'n' points and I'll look to
>> give marks if they eventually get to the nub of the questions! It certainly
>> will affect the way I mark the Q&A parts of outcomes!
>> >
>> > If there are other little birds out there with more useful insights into
>> the marking process, I'm happy to hear more.
>> >
>> > Regards
>> > Mark
>> >
>> >

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