The joys of marking exams ... IB style!
The past several days I have been marking IB Biology exams. I have 132 of them to mark, from 6 States. You see, in the land of IB, teachers don't mark their own students' exams. Exams are "externally assessed", which means that they get sent somewhere else to be marked by an impartial examiner.
Last year, I signed on to be an examiner. I marked exams that were written by students in India, Pakistan, Turkey, Africa, China, Hong Kong and the Philippines. This year, I switched to a different paper (Higher Level, which is longer than the Standard Level one I marked last year) and got papers from Texas, Utah, South Carolina, Missouri, New York and Califoria.
Only a small number came before Victoria Day weekend (last week) so I didn't quite get the huge start I'd been hoping for, but I worked late several days this week, and have made some progress. Four of my six schools are finished - the smallest ones, but considering that was my only option for starting last weekend, it's okay.
It's a little frustrating, marking these exams, partly because I don't know the students, and partly because IB is so picky with their marking schemes. There are no part marks. I always give part marks for "close" answers. They are very picky about the wording - pickier than ever this year, as a matter of fact. In past years they allowed us to allocate the marks if the answer given had the same meaning. This year, while they still allow "same meaning" marks, they have several questions for which only one word will earn the mark, even going as far as to disallow a mark for "prostate" as a part of the male reproductive system (this year's organ system diagram). They want "prostate gland", of course.
Speaking of which, the question which, in part, requires a labeled diagram of the male reproductive system (henceforth known as "the penis question") also asks about how genetic diversity in sperm is achieved, and the steps involved in production of semen. The penis question, for lack of a better term, sucks! The diagrams are crappy, and for some reason, several students are doing them on the graph paper provided, instead of the lined paper they're supposed to use for these answers. Secondly, since they're supposed to have specific details (like erectile tissue in the penis, for one, or the testes clearly shown inside the scrotum), there are often no marks I can give.
The other two parts of the question aren't much better. The only good thing? My students are being compared to everyone else who wrote the same exam (this one!), so it can only help their marks that the ones I am marking are so terrible.
Last year, I signed on to be an examiner. I marked exams that were written by students in India, Pakistan, Turkey, Africa, China, Hong Kong and the Philippines. This year, I switched to a different paper (Higher Level, which is longer than the Standard Level one I marked last year) and got papers from Texas, Utah, South Carolina, Missouri, New York and Califoria.
Only a small number came before Victoria Day weekend (last week) so I didn't quite get the huge start I'd been hoping for, but I worked late several days this week, and have made some progress. Four of my six schools are finished - the smallest ones, but considering that was my only option for starting last weekend, it's okay.
It's a little frustrating, marking these exams, partly because I don't know the students, and partly because IB is so picky with their marking schemes. There are no part marks. I always give part marks for "close" answers. They are very picky about the wording - pickier than ever this year, as a matter of fact. In past years they allowed us to allocate the marks if the answer given had the same meaning. This year, while they still allow "same meaning" marks, they have several questions for which only one word will earn the mark, even going as far as to disallow a mark for "prostate" as a part of the male reproductive system (this year's organ system diagram). They want "prostate gland", of course.
Speaking of which, the question which, in part, requires a labeled diagram of the male reproductive system (henceforth known as "the penis question") also asks about how genetic diversity in sperm is achieved, and the steps involved in production of semen. The penis question, for lack of a better term, sucks! The diagrams are crappy, and for some reason, several students are doing them on the graph paper provided, instead of the lined paper they're supposed to use for these answers. Secondly, since they're supposed to have specific details (like erectile tissue in the penis, for one, or the testes clearly shown inside the scrotum), there are often no marks I can give.
The other two parts of the question aren't much better. The only good thing? My students are being compared to everyone else who wrote the same exam (this one!), so it can only help their marks that the ones I am marking are so terrible.