Every teacher should learn how to mark exams, says OCR head
Speaking at a debate at the Royal Society of Arts in London, he said schools and exam boards needed to look at assessment as a system of ‘give and take’, and that if schools worked towards supplying and supporting more examiners, than there wouldn’t be a shortage.
The Department for Education (DfE) responded to OCR’s concerns by saying that if they cannot recruit enough markers then they should pull out of the contract and make way for a different exam board.
In response to the DfE, Dawe explained that the new exam system implemented by the DfE requires more markers, and for the situation to be rectified it would take cooperation from all parties. He said: “If we want an exam system with examiners that are teachers we have to find a way for everyone that can make it work.
“These reforms require more examiners – that’s a fact. We as exam boards accept we have a responsibility, but it’s a whole system responsibility.”
Barry Sindall, chairman of the Grammar School Heads Association, made a similar assertion that one way to tackle the growing shortage of markers would be for head teachers to encourage their staff to become markers. Sindall suggested that the best way to make this happen could be through discounting exam fees for schools who supply a lot of markers.
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