Page 1499 - SUBSEC October 2017_Neat

45. FAC was informed that several issues contributed to the extended marking process
for May-June 2017and in order to reduce the likelihood of this occurring next session, the
following strategy would be considered:

(i) Begin an active recruitment drive at the start of the school year and include
invitations to new graduates from Colleges and Universities.

(ii) Provide monthly training sessions for Examining Committees on the Marking
Tool and Marker Management from September.

(iii) In addition to online videos, implement ‘RM® Test to Assess’ to validate Markers
prior to marking assignment.

(iv) Provide handholding sessions for markers who are new to Assessor through
expanded HelpDesk facility, particularly early in the marking cycle. This may
involve screen sharing and telephone support to ensure they can connect and
get marking started.

(v) Improve marking instructions and where applicable, provide for greater
granularity in the QIG structure.
(vi) Enhance the mark schemes for the slower marked subjects to improve the
accuracy and speed of marking.

46. FAC heard that the transfer of some best practices from face-to-face marking are
needed, in particular the breaking down of marks in the mark scheme. In face-to-face
marking, the questions was marked in segments, it was therefore necessary to apply the
marks through annotations and not ask the markers to remember the total mark. This
method was tried successfully for the marking of Music.

47. FAC further heard that the mark scheme structures were under review for some
subjects to allow the breakdown of marks in holistic areas.

48. FAC heard that the activities associated with the examinations cycle would begin in
September. The methods of communication to the Local Registrars through to the schools
would be under review to ensure that instructions are clear and delivered on time to allow
for the effective completion of the processes.

49. FAC queried whether the decision to submit all SBA electronically in the same year
may have caused some of the challenges that occurred and whether there were any lessons
learnt in this regard.

50. FAC was reminded that the pilot year for the submission of SBAs was May-June 2016.

51. FAC heard that there was no negative impact on the candidates whose centres had
trouble with the SBA uploads. However, the resubmission of samples had an impact on CXC’s
processes since it required some rework to link the corrected samples to ensure candidates
received the correct scores.

52. FAC commended CXC on the initiative to receive SBA electronically.

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