Towards an understanding of the impact of annotations on returned exam scripts

Abstract

There is little empirical study into practices around scripts returned to centres. Returned scripts often include information from examiners about the performance being assessed. As well as the total score given for the performance, additional information is carried in the form of the annotations left on the script by the marking examiner. Examiners' annotations have been the subject of a number of research studies (Crisp and Johnson, 2007; Johnson and Shaw, 2008; Johnson and Nadas, 2009) but as far as we know there has been no research into how this information is used by centres or candidates and whether it has any influence on future teaching and learning. This study set out to look at how teachers and students interact with examiners' annotations on scripts. This study used survey and interview methods to explore:

How do teachers and centres use annotations? What is the scale of such use? What importance is attached to the annotations? What factors might influence the interpretation of the annotations?