Author Archives: Ianto Stevens

I am an old, white, male of colonial background. Educated in an independent school and at Oxford. Ought I to be extinct? (Member of Worthing LibDems)
Ianto Stevens

Exam Results and Gradings

By Ianto Stevens | Wed 12th August 2020 - 3:00 pm

Students and teachers are often disappointed with some or all of their grades, and this will always be so. Don’t let us be consoled by this and dismiss the anxiety over grades as a temporary, COVID driven problem requiring only an immediate, pragmatic solution.

I was for several years in the early 2000s, a senior A level examiner. I set papers, wrote mark schemes and participated in grade reviews before grades were published.

I participated in meetings that manipulated mark schemes after students had completed papers but before they were marked – also in the meetings which manipulated grade boundaries after marking. These manipulations had four aims:

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Posted in education and Op-eds | Tagged , and | 17 Comments
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