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Leaving Cert dilemma

  • 10-06-2013 1:54pm
    #1
    crow2
    Registered Users Posts: 58 ✭✭


    I am wondering why does it take 2 months to correct leaving cert papers while in most countries it only takes 1 week.

    Any ideas?


Comments

  • #2
    spurious
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,238 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    Ask the SEC. They'll be delighted to take staff from the 24 hour operation entailed in running the exams to answer your questions.


  • #3
    sganyfx
    Registered Users Posts: 239 ✭✭sganyfx


    crow2 wrote: »
    I am wondering why does it take 2 months to correct leaving cert papers while in most countries it only takes 1 week.

    Any ideas?

    Tens of thousands of papers for even a dozen subjects, will take ages to mark and remark. Marking schemes have to be developed, issued, marked exams then have to be collected. The SEC must put together a candidates scores and such. No way it could be done in a week.


  • #4
    crow2
    Registered Users Posts: 58 ✭✭crow2


    sganyfx wrote: »
    Tens of thousands of papers for even a dozen subjects, will take ages to mark and remark. Marking schemes have to be developed, issued, marked exams then have to be collected. The SEC must put together a candidates scores and such. No way it could be done in a week.

    Well,it is done in eastern Europe.It is not like the whole country gives LC.I would understand if that was the case.


  • #5
    sganyfx
    Registered Users Posts: 239 ✭✭sganyfx


    crow2 wrote: »
    Well,it is done in eastern Europe.It is not like the whole country gives LC.I would understand if that was the case.

    They have a completely different exam system.


  • #6
    crow2
    Registered Users Posts: 58 ✭✭crow2


    spurious wrote: »
    Ask the SEC. They'll be delighted to take staff from the 24 hour operation entailed in running the exams to answer your questions.

    I think.you are overreaction.
    How much time does it take to correct 1 paper with marking scheme.behind you? There are only 50000 every year giving LC unlike 500,000 in countries such as Germany


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  • #7
    spurious
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,238 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    crow2 wrote: »
    I think.you are overreaction.
    How much time does it take to correct 1 paper with marking scheme.behind you? There are only 50000 every year giving LC unlike 500,000 in countries such as Germany

    It takes between twenty minutes to an hour and a half or more depending on what subject, what level and how many papers are involved.
    So, we could have the results back in a day in the theoretical ideal world.

    Unfortunately, in the real world, examiners get hundreds of papers to correct.
    The correcting period is about 17-18 days.

    The results are back to Athlone by the end of July where they are checked and double checked before some poor unfortunates have the text entry task of keying them all into the computer. The results are then assembled and issued to schools by mid August. Pretty good going really for such a huge operation.


  • #8
    randylonghorn
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,509 ✭✭✭✭randylonghorn


    crow2 wrote: »
    I think.you are overreaction.
    How much time does it take to correct 1 paper with marking scheme.behind you? There are only 50000 every year giving LC unlike 500,000 in countries such as Germany
    Steps:

    1. Return exam papers to SEC from Centres

    2. Random sample taken and corrected by Asst. Chief Examiner and Supervising Examiners, who will then meet, discuss trends / questions which caused problems / etc. and adjust Marking Scheme accordingly.

    3. Marking conference: thorough briefing of all examiners on Marking Scheme. Distribution of script packs on the day: numbers vary depending on subject / level, but lets say 400 papers per examiner. In general, c. 400 scripts takes ~ 2.5 - 3 weeks to wade through, and that's on a schedule which can be quite brain-frying in some subjects!

    4. Examiners start correcting. There is a feedback loop after the first 20; the first 100; the second 100; etc. ... samples which have already been marked are sent to the assigned Supervising Examiners who monitor that the Marking Scheme is being applied consistently by all Examiners. Where further issues / problems arise, minor changes may need to be made to the Marking Scheme, and papers re-corrected!

    5. Scripts and results are returned to the SEC and results uploaded. ALL results are released together, so it's not as if the fact that fewer students do certain subjects speeds the actual issuing of results any.

    And you think this can all happen in a week?!

    I'd love to see the quality of the correcting, and the cross-moderation / quality assurance systems in that time period!

    I'd love to know what countries manage it in a week? ... the only way I could see it happening is if the exams for every class was simply corrected by their own teacher with no reference to the other schools in the country, and I doubt I have to start pointing out the potential difficulties there with quality assurance!


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