Category Archives: human marking

The multiple limitations of assessment criteria

Sadly, I don’t get as much time as I used to in which to think about assessment. So last Wednesday was a particular joy. First thing in the morning I participated in a fantastic webinar that marked the start of … Continue reading

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An experiment in the essay-type paper

The title of this post is the title of a paper I have just read. It was written in – wait for it – 1938. It’s a delightful little paper, but its findings are shocking. I came across it whilst … Continue reading

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Exam marking errors

I’m pleased to hear that OCR have apologised for errors in adding up marks for GCSE and A-level papers last year. It doesn’t seem right that the whistleblower remains suspended, but I don’t know the details so perhaps I shouldn’t … Continue reading

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Short-answer questions : when humans mark more accurately than computers

Hot on the heals of my previous post, I’d like to make it clear that human markers sometimes do better than computers in marking short-answer [less than 20 word] free-text questions.  I have found this to be the case in two situations … Continue reading

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Short-answer questions : when computers mark more accurately than humans

Back to short-answer free-text questions. One of the startling findings of my work in this area was that computerised marking (whether provided by Intelligent Assessment Technologies’ FreeText Author or OpenMark PMatch) was consistently more accurate and reliable than human markers. At the time, … Continue reading

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Making the grades

I’ve been lent a copy of Todd Farley’s book ‘Making the grades: my misadventures in the standardized testing industry’ (published by PoliPointPress in 2009). The blurb on the back of the book says ‘Just as American educators, parents and policymakers … Continue reading

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