Speed isn’t everything: a study of examination marking

Abstract

The question of whether marking speed is related to marking accuracy is important for training examiners and planning realistic marking schedules. We explored marking speed in the context of a past examination for an international biology qualification for 14-to 16-year-olds. Forty-two markers with differing backgrounds experimentally marked 23 diverse examination questions. All responded to questionnaires about times taken to mark two of four samples of candidate responses. We demonstrated a positive practice effect for inexperienced markers, who became significantly faster during the course of their marking whilst maintaining their accuracies; there was no clear trade-off between speed and accuracy. The benefits of marking practice and background experience are distinct phenomena. To improve accuracy, longer term investments in education and experience are needed. BackgroundWhen marking examinations, examiners often wonder how long to spend on each student's work. Although time pressures can be immense, it might reasonably be assumed that, as with other cognitively demanding tasks such as complex mental arithmetic or piano-playing, there is a trade-off between marking speed and accuracy. If this trade-off exists, then optimum marking speed may depend on each examiner's personal expertise. Practice effects are established in many fields, and theorists such as Anderson (1982) and Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1986) have argued that as expertise develops, some tasks can be completed more rapidly and automatically. This is because procedures become standardised and routine, and decision-making becomes less laboured and more intuitive.The process of marking examinations is often complex, with many factors potentially at play. In addition to those affecting personal marking skills, such as education and experience, some factors, such as question format and response clarity, could affect task demands (Suto and Nádas 2008). As part of a wider empirical study investigating factors contributing to marking accuracy for an international biology examination (Suto, Nádas, and Bell 2009), we explored the question of whether marking speed is also related to accuracy. This is important for training examiners and planning realistic marking schedules.