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Is the exam system flawed?

A friend of mine at Brighton College made the newspapers (not a big deal, wasn't front page news or anything lol) because she was marked down in her GCSE Latin mock paper for writting an answer that was "too sophisticated"?

This brings me to the question: is the exam system flawed? We follow these guidelines/rules that are standardising all students when it comes to exams. Examiners are given a mark scheme and any student who doesn't adhere to the mark schemes, not matter how well written their paper is, is automatically marked down.

Her answer was so good, that the mark scheme didn't recognise it, and of course, the markers wouldn't recognise it, cos a lot of the time, examiners aren't subject specialists.

What do you reckon? An injustice against individual abilities, or standardising education for equality?

Reply 1

kizer

15

^^ I read about that. My immediate reaction was that if an answer being too good was newsworthy, it can't be a very common problem. She is extremely bright from what I read, this kind of thing will not prevent her getting top grades by any means. Also, classics these days is a rare subject, so in that subject more than most, you might get examiners who are not specialists in an area.

So to be honest, I don't think it's a problem at all. Whether or not you think exams should encourage more independent thinking - like having more, broader essay questions, as opposed to shorter questions, is a different discussion, and you could argue that GCSEs should have more of the former in them. However, the problem of students giving better answers than the examiners can handle is uncommon to the point of not really mattering.

Reply 2

True Love

OP

kizer

^^ I read about that. My immediate reaction was that if an answer being too good was newsworthy, it can't be a very common problem. She is extremely bright from what I read, this kind of thing will not prevent her getting top grades by any means. Also, classics these days is a rare subject, so in that subject more than most, you might get examiners who are not specialists in an area.

So to be honest, I don't think it's a problem at all. Whether or not you think exams should encourage more independent thinking - like having more, broader essay questions, as opposed to shorter questions, is a different discussion, and you could argue that GCSEs should have more of the former in them. However, the problem of students giving better answers than the examiners can handle is uncommon to the point of not really mattering.

I agree with a lot with what you said there. But (of course this is hypothetical) perhaps it's not such a rare occurrance. Maybe there have been students out there who have been marked down, but either didn't pursue an active goal to do something about it and make it more aware or just let it be?

But, i think that this specific case does indeed beg the question of whether exams should encourage more independent thinking. It's a natural progression and i don't think it's a different dicussion really.

BUt yes, it does seem uncommon. But it still makes me think about whether that is indeed the case. Maybe it's just a silent thing, and that there have been more people who ahve been affected this way than we're led to believe...

Reply 3

Esquire

1

If I fail then the exam system is flawed :rolleyes:

.

Reply 4

kellywood_5

17

If this is the same story I'm thinking of, you should have seen the angry reactions to it in the GCSE subforum with everyone calling her pathetic for getting so worked up about it when it was only a mock, she only lost one mark and it was still an A*. Personally I can see where she's coming from though, and I think if an answer is correct, it should be given credit regardless of whether or not it matches the mark scheme. Mark schemes should be used as a guide, but not a rigid 'if you don't have these exact words in your answer, you won't get the mark.' I think the main problem is the shortage of specialist teachers to mark the exams, which relies on someone with little or no knowledge of the subject simply checking answers against a mark scheme like a computer. That could probably work for maths and sciences, at least at GCSE level, but not arts subjects where there's often more than one correct answer or way of phrasing it.

Reply 5

guccilittlepiggy

14

kellywood_5

If this is the same story I'm thinking of, you should have seen the angry reactions to it in the GCSE subforum with everyone calling her pathetic for getting so worked up about it when it was only a mock, she only lost one mark and it was still an A*. Personally I can see where she's coming from though, and I think if an answer is correct, it should be given credit regardless of whether or not it matches the mark scheme. Mark schemes should be used as a guide, but not a rigid 'if you don't have these exact words in your answer, you won't get the mark.' I think the main problem is the shortage of specialist teachers to mark the exams, which relies on someone with little or no knowledge of the subject simply checking answers against a mark scheme like a computer. That could probably work for maths and sciences, at least at GCSE level, but not arts subjects where there's often more than one correct answer or way of phrasing it.

i think with that girl the point was valid but she was a very bad example to use.

Reply 6

Happy1

14

Arent they using undergrads to mark gcses now? Im sure i read that somewhere... and considering many people on undergrad degrees these days didnt get the best marks in the gcses theyre marking, I'd say that its more the marking that's flawed rather than the exams.

I agree with Kellywood_5. We need more specialist teachers in the subjects to mark papers, and mark schemes shouhld be ONLY guidelines rather than rigid outlines how exactly how an answer should be.

Reply 7

True Love

OP

I agree! There has to be more subject specialists, but i don't envy those who do do the markings. One of my teachers is a exam marker and they don't get much credit for anything. It really is a shame though. And i'm quite surprised about the backlash she seems to have gotten.

It was more about the principle and getting people aware that this has happened, rather than her own personal gain. Because if it was her own personal gain, it wouldn't have been a big deal. She would've just thought nothing of it and wouldn't have had all this hassle.

Natural Scientist

True Love, have you ever seen the filming of Sugar Rush down in Brighton? Sorry to change the topic, but I was just wondering. :p:

Lol! I've not seen the filming funnily enough. I dunno when they actually film the show, so never know where to turn up! I really got into the first series, but completely fell off the show during the second series. I'll try and keep my eye out for the show though. But the filming of Wimbledon made a much bigger sound. People literally flocked to where they were filming along the coast!

Reply 8

becky.fm

18

I understand that it could be very annoying if that actually happened to someone, but there has to be limits. If a candidate was especially talented in one subject, teachers should have recognised this and taken action. The mark scheme shouldnt be as ridgid as it is now, but they can't stretch it too far. Otherwise, someone might start babbling on about the detailed information on a subject and not mention the basic stuff at all, and if the question is only asking for the basic stuff, they cant really give the mark. How would the examiner know if the candidate actually knew the basic stuff? It would also be unfair on other candidates if that was to happen.

If a candidate is that clever, they should really be able to recognise what is being asked, and answer that part only. They should previsously know that going off on a tangent and talking about more advanced stuff is unnessecary and will not get rewarded by extra marks. :biggrin:

Is the exam system flawed?

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