Examination averages and the balance of papers.

Autor/in	Palmier, Leslie H.
Titel	Examination averages and the balance of papers.
Quelle	In: Research in higher education, (1974) 3, S.305-315Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0361-0365
DOI	10.1007/BF00991174
Schlagwörter	Narrow Band; Education Research; Actual Mark; Arbitrary Element; Average Mark
Abstract	Abstract In essay-type examinations for degrees in British universities, marking customs tend to compress the candidates into a narrow band around the mean. This works especially adversely against those who, in examinations with several papers, achieve excellence in one or more. Often such candidates are awarded only the minimum distinction mark, the effect of which is nullified by aggregation. This is of some consequence in the British system, since the designation of a candidate's examination performance as “First Class,” “Second Class, Upper Division,” etc. is formally made by locating his examination average mark within specified intervals on a percentage scale. Awareness of the possible injustice which this method may cause has given rise to the practice of estimating the “balance of papers,” or considering the “classes” attained by the individual papers in the examination (irrespective of the actual mark), and giving the candidate the benefit of the doubt should he, for example, have a certain number of papers in a class higher than that indicated by his examination average. A classification reached in this way may of course be at variance with that indicated by the candidate's average of marks, and thus introduce an arbitrary element. An alternative method is therefore proposed in this paper. The usual custom is to assume that the marks indicating the various classes should be the same for the degree as a whole and for the individual papers. It would seem preferable first to determine the balance of papers which would be accepted as a claim to a First Class degree (since it is unlikely that a candidate writing several papers will be able to attain a first class mark in all) and deduce therefrom the classification intervals for the individual papers. A method of doing so is elaborated.
Erfasst von	OLC
Update	2023/2/05