Testing and Assessment Provided by : www.ThemeGallery.com How to Mark Essays? HEC Workshop on Testing and Assessment January 26 – February 03, 2009 Umar Faiz

Essays How long have essays been used for assessment? Earliest recorded use is some 2,000 years BC by the Chinese

Essay Definition … requires a response composed by the examinee, usually in the form of one or more sentence, of a nature that no single response or pattern of responses can be listed as correct, and the accuracy and quality of which can be judged subjectively only by one skilled or informed in the subject, …

Essay Definition … but even an expert cannot usually classify a response as categorically right or wrong. Rather, there are different degrees of quality or merit which can be recognized. … attributed to Stalnaker, 1951

Importance of Marking Schemes Marking varies from marker to marker Marking should done consistently across scripts and across markers Time consuming The responses can vary in depth and length Vague marking scheme can result in subjective and biased marking with low reliability Clear and detailed marking scheme will be more objective and hence more reliable

Criteria of a Good Marking Scheme A good marking scheme must fulfill two basic conditions: Mark-Relevance Marking-Consistency

Criteria of a Good Marking Scheme Mark Relevance Specify what performances are to be marked Ensure that pupils receive adequate credit for all the correct aspects of their work and are not over- penalised as a result of a minor error

Criteria of a Good Marking Scheme Marking Consistency Markers must understand the marking scheme and award marks consistently Any amendments in the marking scheme should be reflected across all test items

Possible criteria for essay marking Ease of creating a scoring schema Ability to score on various mark regimes Ease of identification on non-scoring elements Ease of modification should scoring error(s) occur Consistent Defensibility Accuracy and precision Cost

Preparation of Mark Scheme Appreciation of the statement given in the question Critical thinking on the statement given in the question Unrestricted response Constraining the response Specification of the cognitive level Assessment according to the defined cognitive level Mark different aspects of the response Negative marking i.e. for wrong content

Preparation of Mark Scheme Blue Print 1. Course Objective 2. Content 3. Reference 4. Cognitive level 5. Essay category 6. Q. United Nations Organization (U.N.O) is the improvement of League of Nations: State your opinion. 7. Word limit 8. Maximum marks 9. Tested in/ on 10. Difficulty level

Preparation of Mark Scheme

Preparation of Mark Scheme Q. United Nations Organization (U.N.O) is the improvement of League of Nations: State your opinion. 1 Content is about the structure the league of nations Yes No 2 Content is about the functions of the league of nations 3 Content is about the structure of U.N.O. 4 Content is about the functions of U.N.O. 5 Identify the similarities/ differences between both the organizations. 6 Indicate the improvement/ no improvement. 7 Elaborate the statement on improvement 10 The opinion of the student is clearly stated 11 The facts presented support the opinion/assumptions/concepts/arguments 12 Arguments opinion are well organized 14 Arguments lead to the conclusion

Preparation of Mark Scheme Q. United Nations Organization (U.N.O) is the improvement of League of Nations: State your opinion. 1 Content is about the structure the league of nations S 1 S 2 S 3 S 4 S 5 S 6 S 7 S 8 2 Content is about the functions of the league of nations 3 Content is about the structure of U.N.O. 4 Content is about the functions of U.N.O. 5 Identify the similarities/ differences between both the organizations. 6 Indicate the improvement/ no improvement. 7 Elaborate the statement on improvement 8 Introduction is relevant and precise 9 The student has in-depth understanding of the topic 10 The opinion of the student is clearly stated 11 The facts presented support the opinion/assumptions/concepts/arguments 12 Arguments are well organized 13 Response displays convincing power 14 Arguments lead to the conclusion

Mark Scheme: More Examples Communication If you can understand what student has written, then they get full marks. If you understand after reading many times, then 0. No understanding is also 0. Word use Correct use of words, grammar and spelling, with 1 mark for 5-10 errors and 0 for more than 10 errors. Style If the student has appropriate style, full marls otherwise 0 Content Depends on the question

Mark Scheme: More Examples

Acknowledgements Isbah Mustafa Agha Khan University – Evaluation Board