MANUAL FOR MARKING OFFICIALS - Western Cape

MANUAL FOR MARKING OFFICIALSNATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE20131

TABLE OF CONTENTSPAGE1.Overview of the marking process32.Irregularities43.Discipline44.The role of marking officials55.Training of markers56.Administration67.Reporting7-88.Role of the Building Supervisor8-99.Letters to Chief Markers and Internal Moderators910. Website Download of the Marking Manual911. Annexure A – Bomb threat1012. Annexure B – In case of fire1113. Annexure C – Managing irregularities at the marking rooms1214. Annexure D – Script replacement form1315. Annexure E – Register for irregularities in the marking room1416. Annexure F - Irregularity report form1517. Annexure G – Code of conduct for marking officials1618. Annexure H – Roles and responsibilities of the Internal moderator17-1819. Annexure I – Roles and responsibilities of the Chief Marker19-2120. Annexure J – Roles and responsibilities of the Deputy Chief Marker22-2321. Annexure K – Roles and responsibilities of the Senior Marker and Marker24-2522. Annexure L – Sign-off sheets for reports2623. Annexure M – Letter on the DBE 100 script analyses Project24. Annexure N – Letter on management of reports at the marking centre227-2829

1.Overview of the marking processIt is critical to the integrity and credibility of the NSC examination that the marking of theNSC is conducted with the necessary professionalism, care and dedication.A total of 677 842 answer scripts need to be marked by 2748 markers, 418 senior markers,42 deputy chief markers, 66 chief markers and 66 internal moderators.1.1Principles of managing the marking1.1.1 The marking in every subject must uphold the principles of assessment, such as validity,reliability and fairness.1.1.2 Marking must be conducted according to the national marking guidelines supplied by theDepartment of Basic Education (DBE) and must incorporate the final decisions of themarking discussion. In cases where alternative responses are identified during theprovincial marking guideline discussions these changes need be reported to the MarkingCentre Manager who will interact with the Director: Assessment Management, ChiefDirector: Assessment and Examinations and the DBE.1.1.3 The quality assurance process in the marking centre must be transparent to all markersand must ensure that there is an excellent professional standard within the marking of thesubjects.1.2Marking venue1.2.1 Basic aspects that are important in the venue are the lighting, ventilation, seatingarrangements and neatness of the marking venue.1.2.2 Chief markers must be mindful of these aspects in managing the marking venue andshould not hesitate to call the support staff if any of these aspects are not satisfactory.1.2.3 Managing the marking venue entails ensuring that the marking follows a standard that isknown to all the markers in the team, each script receives the same due considerationand attention of the marker and the memorandum is applied in a consistent mannerthroughout the marking period.1.3Security1.3.1 The security firm that is employed for the marking period has strict instructions toconfiscate scripts or anything resembling question papers or examination material in theevent that markers intended to take it out of a building or the campus itself.1.3.2 All markers must be made aware of the need for security procedures and warned thatbags and cars will be searched upon leaving and entering the venue and campusrespectively. See Annexure A and Annexure B for procedures to be followed in case of abomb threat or a fire.3

2.IrregularitiesMarkers must be made aware of the procedures that must be followed uponidentification of an alleged irregularity, for example scripts with the same examinationnumber, candidates with the same answers, etc. All irregularities must be reported via theBuilding Supervisors to the Centre Manager of the marking centre.Irregularities identified by markers at marking centres, include the following: Theexamination answer script handed in is different from the one issued by the invigilator;different sets of handwriting are identified in an examination answer script; twoexamination answer scripts, written by two different candidates, are submitted with thesame examination number; crib notes discovered in the examination answer script, thereare no crib notes, but there is clear evidence of copying; evidence of possible assistanceby an invigilator; indications that the candidate has been allowed to write theexamination in terms of an “open book” examination and answers those are identical ortoo similar to the memorandum.The following documents are provided for the management of irregularities namelyAnnexure C for the procedure which will be used for managing irregularities; Annexure D isthe script replacement form; Annexure E is the chief markers register of all the irregularitiesand Annexure F as the irregularity report form.3.Discipline3.1Marking officials must attend the memorandum / marking guideline discussions as well aspre-arranged meetings. This is important as all markers must be trained and understandwhat they need to do in terms of the marking.3.2Any marking official that is discovered to be under the influence of alcohol or found to beusing drugs not prescribed by a medical practitioner will be reported to the MarkingCentre Manager immediately.3.3No school examination scripts are allowed to be brought into the marking centre or to bemarked at the marking centre. The security personnel have been given instructions toremove any material that looks like a question paper or a script.3.4Tea time and lunch time breaks must be taken as they provide an opportunity to rest thebody and mind as well as socialise with other marking officials. Markers are requested tominimise the noise levels beyond the official times for meals as it is a disturbance to othermarkers.3.5The hostel facility is provided so that markers from rural areas have the opportunity to stayvery close to the marking venue. The marking process is a taxing process on the mind andbody which requires that markers are well rested before continuing on the following day.Markers that are housed in the hostel must therefore consider other colleagues and refrainfrom any noise in the hostels.3.6The code of conduct for marking officials at the marking centre; is attached to thismanual as Annexure G.4

4.The roles and responsibilities of marking officialsThe roles and responsibilities of the marking officials are provided in the followingAnnexures. Annexure H: roles and responsibilities of the Internal Moderator Annexure I: roles and responsibilities of the Chief Marker Annexure J: roles and responsibilities of the Deputy Chief Marker Annexure K: roles and responsibilities of the Senior Marker and Markers5.Training of markers5.1All markers under the supervision of the chief marker must be competent to carry out theirmarking duties.5.2A training session must be held for all markers during which the marking process,memorandum discussion and administration duties must be discussed. Dummy scriptswhich must be used during the training session will be provided to the different markingteams.5.3All markers must be trained in the marking procedure that is accepted as the practice forthe particular subject. They must be instructed how to mark, where to write the totals,when and how to complete their mark sheet properly etc.5.4All markers must be supported throughout the marking process so that the overall qualityof the marking process for the subject is maintained.5.5Senior markers must be allocated markers in an equitable manner. The senior markersmust moderate the first scripts of the markers immediately so that effective feedback canbe provided to the all markers.5.6Senior markers must monitor the standard of marking from the beginning by moderating10% of the markers’ scripts from the first day. They must provide individual, specificfeedback to the markers as soon as possible. This may entail going through a script markby mark in the case of some markers.5.7Senior markers should not hesitate to ask markers to remark scripts if there is a deviation ofmore than 2%. The remarked scripts must be checked again by the senior marker.A written record of all interventions, which includes the date, time, discrepancies betweenthe marking of marker and senior marker, and details of the intervention taken, must bekept.5.8It must be stressed to all markers that all scripts must be marked to the same standard,whether they are the first or last scripts to be marked. Regular breaks must be taken sothat markers remain as fresh as possible throughout the marking process.5

The senior markers will support the chief marker in ensuring the efficient and effectivemarking of scripts.The marking personnel must use different colour ink to mark the scripts, as follows:Markers – red inkSenior Markers – green inkDeputy Chief Markers and Chief Markers – brown inkInternal Moderators – orange ink6.Administration6.1It is important to maintain a constant flow of scripts to the hall. After the mark checkingprocess are done the scripts goes to the data capturers who are capturing the marks perquestion.6.2Markers should therefore start with the small packs of scripts first. Once a script has beenmarked, the marks for each question must be recorded inside the script and on the frontcover.6.3Chief markers must not split any batches of scripts. Please ensure that the scripts from oneschool are not mixed with a batch from another school. Conversions and loose scriptsshould be marked first and returned immediately to the script section of Mr Errol VanBreda.6.4When scripts are removed from a batch for moderation or in the case of an irregularity,the moderator or the senior marker must ensure that they insert a ‘script replacementform’ at the relevant place in the batch.6.5The markers must take care to mark only the required number of questions. In the event ofa candidate answering more than the required number of questions, a line must bedrawn through the extra questions. Markers must be vigilant to check that candidateshave not skipped pages thereby ensuring that all necessary questions are indeed marked.6.7The markers in the marking rooms must be accurate in totalling of the marks per questionand transcribing of the marks from the inside of the scripts to the front cover.6.8The mark checkers in the marking rooms must be strictly supervised by the markingmanagement teams and must be accurate in mark checking. Please ensure that onlypersons with at least a Grade12 certificate are used as mark checkers. Chief markers mustkeep a list of names of the mark checkers appointed for the 2013 marking period.6