Ho hum

[gyges_ring]

So, new entry. Trying to post semi-regularly again. What is new? Mum came, mum saw, mum got punched in the face, mum left. (Not by us, incidentally, by my aunt, who may be a bit borderline). Went for breakfast with Corrin and Amber last Saturday. It was really nice. I'm so out of the loop on things. Then again, people probably don't know that much

Comments

[gyges_ring]

It's a combination of stupid things. Firstly, written work is marked out of 6. This is because clinical skills are marked out of six (I don't quite follow the logic applying this to written submissions, but that's the reason we're given). This means that, although there is a formal "10%, 20%, 30%, etc." loss of marks system, it can't get followed in practice, because knocking marks off can't translate well into integer marks out of 6, and so no marks get taken off.

Secondly, a lot of written work is, although you get a mark for it, pass/fail. What this means is that, if you don't pass it, you can't pass the unit, and hence can't pass the year. Students and lecturers recognise that this may not be optimal (in part because written work is frequently of questionable relevance to learning and practice), and so any failed work gets to be re-submitted effectively infinitely until a pass mark is obtained.

Combining one and two means that if you, at some stage, submit a remotely tolerable piece of work, you are guaranteed a mark of at least 4/6. Because 3/6 is basically a fail.

This is a stupid assessment mechanism.

[ext_3201]

I have a long diatribe about assessment, but I don't really care any more.