A tricky task for teachers: assessing pre-university students' research reports

Abstract

In the UK and internationally, many students preparing for university are given the challenge of conducting independent research and writing up a report of around 4,000 or 5,000 words. Such research activities provide students with opportunities to investigate a specialist area of study in greater depth, to cross boundaries with an inter-disciplinary enquiry, or to explore a novel non-school subject such as archaeology, cosmology or anthropology. In this study, we explored the feasibility of applying a single mark scheme to research reports covering diverse topics in order to reward generic research skills. Our aim was to investigate the reliability with which teachers can mark diverse research reports, using four different generic assessment objectives. We also investigated teachers' views in applying generic mark schemes, particularly when marking reports on unfamiliar topics. Our analyses indicated that marking reliability was good, though like almost all qualifications, imperfect. Possible reasons and explanations for marking difficulty related to subject knowledge, the clarity of student thought, and the overall level of student performance.