Researching the judgement processes involved in A-level marking

Abstract

The marking of examination scripts by examiners is a key part of the assessment process in many assessment systems. Despite this, there has been relatively little work to investigate the process of marking at a cognitive and socially-framed level. Improved understanding of the judgement processes underlying current assessment systems would also leave us better prepared to anticipate the likely effects of various innovations in examining systems such as moves to on-screen marking. An AS level and an A2 level geography exam paper were selected. Six experienced examiners who usually mark at least one of the two papers participated in the research. Examiners marked fifty scripts from each exam at home with the marking of the first ten scripts for each reviewed by the relevant Principal Examiner. This reflected normal marking procedures as far as possible. Examiners later came to meetings individually where they marked four or five scripts in silence and four to six scripts whilst thinking aloud for each exam, and were also interviewed. The findings of this research support the view that assessment involves processes of actively constructing meaning from texts as well as involving cognitive processes. The idea of examining as a practice that occurs within a social framework is supported by the evidence of some social, personal and affective responses. Aspects of markers' social histories as examiners and teachers were evident in the comparisons that they made and perhaps more implicitly in their evaluations. The overlap of these findings with aspects of various previous findings helps to validate both current and previous research, thus aiding the continued development of an improved understanding of the judgement processes involved in marking.