I’ve been looking back over some articles on assessment recently and stumbled across one with the snappy title of “I know a 2:1 when I see it”. The author, Kathryn Ecclestone, is discussing a small project she undertook to see how novice and experienced tutors used assessment criteria in a moderation meeting and how marks were adjusted in light of discussion. Interestingly the newer tutors appeared to be ‘tighter’ in their use of the assessment criteria than the old hands who used instinct rather than application of criteria – they knew what a 2:1 looked like from years of marking experience!
I wondered how often this is the case. When we are hard pushed for time as assignments come flooding in, do we rely on experience over closer scrutiny? And, does this result in more work at the end-point moderation? I found it less surprising that novice tutors were more scrupulous in their use of assessment criteria as these provide a very useful framework for marking – the task which remains one of the most nerve-racking experiences for any new teacher.
The article put me in mind of a situation three years ago when I supported two new colleagues in their first coursework marking experience. A day or two after the assignments were submitted we all took 2-3 essays and the assessment criteria and marked them independently. We met a few days later, discussed what we’d found and what this meant in relation to our interpretation of the criteria. It was a useful way to flag up the more problematic terms in the assessment criteria and have a shared view of ‘meaning’ as well as providing a chance to swap pieces of work between us to make sure we had a shared sense of ‘levelness’. After this we continued with our marking. My colleagues told me they felt more comfortable with the task. I felt more confident that there was a team approach…and the discussion had helped me to refocus on the criteria I’d written! When we moderated 10% of assignments later on, there was a good consensus. The pre-marking meeting went so well that it’s become a common feature of the course and is now being rolled out across courses in the department.
In my experience, having experts and novices coming together to discuss assessment criteria pays off for all concerned.
Ecclestone, K. (2001) ” ‘I know a 2:1 when I see it’: Understanding criteria for degree classifications in franchised university programmes”, Journal of Further and Higher Education, 25: 3, 301-313.