RM Assessment

E‐marking is the use of technology to transform the marking process. scoris assessor is a leading example of such technology and at the heart of RM Education’s well-established services to support marking. Candidate responses are captured by scoris assessor, whether as coursework, paper-based exams or exams taken on screen, and marked by examiners online. In the summer of 2009, over 2.8 million scripts were marked in scoris, enabling examiners for Cambridge Assessment to deliver examination results of the highest possible quality on time.

scoris and Examiners’ Experience

It’s a bold claim, but scoris assessor is truly remarkable. Developed in close conjunction with examiners, its technology is proven to support the marking of all question types, even long essays. It provides a rich and unique suite of tools to underpin the marking process.

Immediate Benefits and Ease‐of‐Use
Examiners have been involved with scoris since its early deployment at OCR (part of Cambridge Assessment). Initially, some examiners were sceptical about emarking. Examiners expressed genuine concerns about how easy they would find the process, even about the prospect of sitting at a screen. But as one examiner commented:

“In reality, the worries soon disappeared as the benefits began to emerge.”

For examiners, marking many scripts a day, the benefits were immediate and practical.

Previously, markers had no choice but to spend valuable time in mundane paper-handling tasks: waiting for or collecting the post, storing exam papers, collating mark sheets, and return‐posting vast amounts of exam scripts. Markers also found themselves facing repetitive administration tasks such as re-entering answer marks from scripts to answer sheets, or adding up marks from separate questions. With scoris assessor, however, these repetitive tasks are immediately removed. With on‐screen marking, the need to handle scripts is removed and administration tasks are simplified or automated. For example, with scoris assessor, marks are automatically calculated, reducing time and improving accuracy.

These were tangible benefits that markers readily appreciated. But important as these benefits are, an on‐screen system also has to be easy and enjoyable to use. scoris has been developed with examiners in mind and as such it’s easy and intuitive to use. Examiners enjoy using the system – as one assessor commented to us recently:

“This scoris assessor system is the bee’s knees – so easy to use! I wouldn’t want to return to paper‐based systems.”

Key Drivers for Improving Marking Quality
For markers, a system that’s easy and enjoyable to use is, of course, important. But it’s also essential that on‐screen marking makes it possible to drive improvements in the quality of marking.

One of the key benefits of marking with scoris assessor is that standardisation no longer needs to rely on large meetings involving every marker. Such meetings are costly, time‐consuming and not always as effective as they should be. Using scoris assessor, it is now possible to put an increased emphasis on the use of seeding scripts. This maintains a focus on marker quality assurance throughout the entire marking process. Such improvements have also brought unexpected benefits. One experienced chief examiner noted that:

“By moving away from face‐to-face standardisation, it forces us to be much clearer about the way mark schemes are explained.”

As scoris assessor provides item level data, it is likely that e‐marking will have an impact in the long‐term too. The feedback and data about responses to each question provides invaluable information ‐ enabling examiners to improve future question papers.

Flexibility
Technology‐based assessment systems have other benefits too. On‐screen marking appeals to younger markers who are more comfortable with using technology for work and social networking. It also means that examination boards can employ markers across a much wider geographical area than before – even globally. 

E‐marking with scoris assessor has provided examiners with the flexibility to mark by candidate or question, and it has extended the marking window, making it possible to mark right up to awarding time. The flexibility of on‐screen marking with scoris assessor has also made it easier to reallocate and remark scripts if necessary.