Is the Leaving cert "marked on a curve"?

womanwithaplan

I have looked at various exam papers in school and college in different countries, and I noticed that the marks are allocated and clearly presented on the exam paper even on the day of the exam. Contrast this with the Leaving Cert, where your absolute performance isn't measured, but your relative performance to everybody else:) Does this mean the Leaving Cert is marked on a curve?, and it's at least possible in theory for a borderline A student to get a B not because of lack of ability, but because of a political descision as to which question "merits" more marks?. It seems strange to only allocate marks once the scripts are collected and the exams are over. Would love to hear from past/current examiners. Where can I find information from the SEC to verify this properly. THANKS.

FWIW, the Irish Times recently had an article about the politics of allocating marks. Should marks not be allocated before the exam is held? Why afterwards? Link to article: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0831/1224323383153.html

spurious

No. The marking schemes are publicly available on the SEC site. They are written at the same tuime the paper is written (usually the year prior to the exam).

Marks are not allocated after the exams are done. The marks available for a question are printed on the papers.

Variations within marking schemes occur so that roughly the same percentage of As or Bs or whatever are awarded. This is where the 'bell curve' comes in. It is not exclusive to the LC and is used by examinations boards all over the world.

If the grades were not standardised acrioss the years, you would end up with varying standards in Leaving Certs. Those seen as easier would be worth less, with 'harder' years being worth more - like fine wine, a 1980 would be worth loads, a 2005 not so much and a 2009 and 2010 would be really crap. (Years picked at random - thankfully they are all equally valid).

finality

Your relative performance isn't measured. In some subjects e.g. English, you know exactly how many marks are going for each question.

womanwithaplan

finality wrote: »

Your relative performance isn't measured. In some subjects e.g. English, you know exactly how many marks are going for each question.

English and most other subjects do have marks allocated, I am wrong on that count. There might be some subjectivity, but I suppose a good answer in english will gain most marks, which is fair.

Maths however, is a concern. Marks allocated aren't made public until after the results have been published. I have heard if many people do poorly in one question, the provisional non public marking scheme drafted up from a year ago is changed to reflect difficulty with many candidates.

Compared to say, the American system, or even the UK, the Leaving cert is quite rigourous. I still am not sure if it's marked on a curve though. Do quota's of grades exist?

womanwithaplan

spurious wrote: »

Variations within marking schemes occur so that roughly the same percentage of As or Bs or whatever are awarded. This is where the 'bell curve' comes in. It is not exclusive to the LC and is used by examinations boards all over the world.

Informative post. This bit strikes me though. If what you say is correct(and yes, bell curve is used in many exam systems worldwide) this could at least in theory lead to a situtation whereby somebody on a borderline grade is downgraded as a result of a change in marking scheme to accomodate other candiates, no? If the final raw mark only, along with a publically available marking scheme was used instead, would this not be an absolute measure of performance, as opposed to adjustments made relative to other candidates?

spurious

womanwithaplan wrote: »

Informative post. This bit strikes me though. If what you say is correct(and yes, bell curve is used in many exam systems worldwide) this could at least in theory lead to a situtation whereby somebody on a borderline grade is downgraded as a result of a change in marking scheme to accomodate other candiates, no? If the final raw mark only, along with a publically available marking scheme was used instead, would this not be an absolute measure of performance, as opposed to adjustments made relative to other candidates?

Yes it can that someone on a borderline grade is downgraded, though they can be moved up too.
Short of asking the exact same exam questions every year, you will always get questions that some see as easier than others. While we stay away from the 'multiple choice corrected by computer' type exam and all the disadvantages of that, the bell curve and some of the knock on effects of it are something we'll have to live with.

womanwithaplan

spurious wrote: »

Yes it can that someone on a borderline grade is downgraded, though they can be moved up too.
Short of asking the exact same exam questions every year, you will always get questions that some see as easier than others. While we stay away from the 'multiple choice corrected by computer' type exam and all the disadvantages of that, the bell curve and some of the knock on effects of it are something we'll have to live with.

I suppose that no system is perfect, so borderline people may be moved up or down a grade if they lie on a boundry, but as you said, that is what you get with a system more complex than american style tick the boxes exams. So yeah, the leaving cert isn't perfect, because curve grading should only really be used in certain situations, but it's still one of the better final school exams in the world. The stuff in the american GED for highschool is similar to entrance exams for secondary school here. No Joke.

The chief examiners reports should detail more relevant info to my question I guess? FWIW, my criticisms lie mainly with Maths, which seems to deviate from the other subjects, in that the marks tend to be "manipulated" a bit more before results are published. This will improve in the future I reckon.