Tests assurance as markers moan

Marking pupils' English test papers often proves problematic

England's school tests authority has again said there are no issues threatening this year's Sats.

Markers have been writing in online forums about complexities with the English tests in particular - which always prove difficult to mark.

There have been complaints that the quality checks on their work are delaying their marking.

But the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) says there are no delays - or shortages of markers.

Last year things went badly wrong with the tests in English, maths and science taken by children aged 10 and 11 in their final year in England's primary schools, and aged 13-14 in secondary schools.

Many schools' results were delayed or mislaid.

Ultimately the QCA disbanded its National Assessment Agency and its chief executive resigned.

The secondary school tests were scrapped by the government. The test firm, ETS Europe, had its contract terminated.

Comments

Writing on the Times Educational Supplement (TES) website this week, one marker said: "Well, I'm enjoying the marking this year.

"I'm doing maths and it has all run like clockwork, including my excellent TL [team leader]. 5th year marking, loving it :)"

Another replied: "Nice to see someones having a positive experience! To be fair I think its mainly english where the probs lie as the mark schemes are so vague!"

This has been a pattern of recent years because of the nature of the tests. Answers in maths and science are typically more clear cut, either right or wrong.

But English is more subjective, requiring the markers to make judgements about how well pupils' answers correspond to the mark schemes setting out what is required.

Pupils' responses

For example, part of this year's English reading test asked children to write about a leaflet entitled The Earthship, featuring a house built from recycled materials and using renewable energy.

One marker illustrated how tricky it could be to judge how satisfactory the answers were deemed to be.

A pupil had written: "The houses are brilliant they have excellent heating and they are maginificently cheap. I love the way they make their own electricity as well."

The marker commented: "I got that wrong because I gave it two marks when it was only considered worthy of one.

"The reason given by my TL for my error was because the pupil had not gone on to specify (note 'specify') by what means - e.g. wind turbines, solar power etc."

The marker thought that was clear - but then read, in other guidance, that an answer about the way waste was recycled through reed beds - "Pupil response: 'I think it is a very bad thing because it won't smell very nice'." should have two marks because it "Comments on the reed beds".

The marker said: "Does it? Where, in that response, has the pupil 'specified' anything? Can anyone please explain why that answer is any better than the one cited above which only got one mark?"

Another replied: "Interestingly your Qu 25 example you gave of the reed beds answer is exactly what I did and one of the points I fell down on and was pretty much berrated for not just knowing that that's what to do over the phone to my TL I was made to feel pretty stupid for getting that one wrong."

Someone else remarked: "It seems quite unfair that some TL are prepared to give more guidence than others. Plus, that's one of the ways that we become more effective at marking consistantly - by getting feedback which tells us if we were right or not so we can adjust as necessary."

'Well underway'

Some experienced markers have failed the quality checks.

Concerns have emerged about the deadlines involved in getting scripts delivered in the post, marked, and returned so that schools can get their results as scheduled by 7 July.

"The time lines in the admin booklet cannot possibly be adhered to - so what are they going to do about that??" asked one marker.

"The timescale is really stressful, especially as we are sending stuff in and then having a long period of uncertainty when we are unable to mark," said another.

The QCA said in a statement that the rate at which would-be markers were failing the quality checks was not unusually high.

It said that 200 reserve markers had been recruited this week in case they were needed later.

"The national curriculum tests programme is well underway. Marker training has been delivered and the marking of pupil scripts has begun.

"We are currently on schedule to deliver results to schools in July."

The regulator, Ofqual, said it was monitoring all aspects of the tests closely this year, including marker recruitment and training.

"The marker training process and data generated as the marking process proceeds are of particular interest to us.

"Ofqual will report later in the year on the delivery of this year's tests. In the meantime, if we had any concerns we would ask QCA to take action."

A spokesman added: "We take the concerns of markers very seriously, but to date no markers have contacted Ofqual with concerns."

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