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OCR Examining in the Spotlight Again
2nd October 2012
A colleague has sent through to me another example of sloppy marking. Remember that exam boards owe a duty of care to their customers (i.e. the students) and as I argued in my previous blog, they simply have to sweat the small stuff. Cutting costs with online marking and the gradual disappearance of face to face standardisation is a false economy and undermines confidence among teachers and students.
So here we go - the June 2012 OCR AS Macro Paper
Question: Define the term ‘inflation’
Answer given by candidate 1 :
A sustained rise in the general price level over a period of time – 2 marks given, no complaints!
Answer given by candidate 2 :
Inflation is a sustained rise in the price level over a period of time – 1 mark given
Answer given by candidate 3:
Inflation is the rate
of a price increase over a given period of time - 2 marks given (you must be kidding!)
The Department concerned has been through the exam with a fine toothcomb and argues that nothing in the published mark scheme insists on the use of the word ‘general’ to achieve 2 marks. ‘Sustained’ and ‘over time’ seem to be the key requirements.
These are the easy questions to mark! Little wonder that so many examiners struggle on the longer high-mark questions - and struggle they do, I have had plenty of examiners get in touch with me to say that!
Geoff Riley
Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for over thirty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD conferences in the UK and overseas.