For this month’s guidance from the Moderation Team we are explaining the importance of noting the amount of points deducted when the student is only achieved part or no marks for a question. Remember, we are asking our families to aid us in maintaining our Certificate’s high standing with the tertiary educational institutions in the South Pacific through high quality marking standards.
It is imperative that the correct marking procedures are followed when marking the PACE test. Some of the procedures are outlined below along with the reason why it is important.
Use of a Green Pen – In the A.C.E. resource there are certain pencils and pens that are allocated for certain people and tasks. The student should always use a pencil as it allows them to erase and re-write their answers as needed without appearing messy. At the scoring station, the student can have access to a red pen to allow them to mark their own work throughout the PACE (especially the Checkups and Self Tests).
The green pen is the only pen used by the parent throughout the PACE. They date PACE when issuing it; they mark the supervisor and scoring strips and initial the Self Test. The Green Pen is also used for marking the PACE test. If you submit a PACE Test for moderation marked with another coloured pen, it can provide doubt as to whether the parent has marked the PACE test or if the student has.
Marking incorrect answers with an X – Please only mark incorrect answers with a X (please do not tick correct answers) on the left hand side near the beginning of the line. When you tick all the answers, you clutter the page and make it more confusing. For example:
X 1. What did…… (incorrect answer)
- When did…. (correct answer)
Determining the number of points per question – The start of every PACE Test, before the first question should have a number and points each in brackets on the right hand side of the page (near the crease). Such as: (4 points each)
The number of points listed will apply for all following questions until you come across another bracket to change the number of points, which will apply to all those questions following.
Listing partial points awarded – There are instances where a student has an incorrect answer but has part of the question correct and you want to award partial points. Please also be on the lookout for correct spelling and punctuation as well as legibility. A lack of these can result in a deduction of the total points for the question.
Please ensure that you specify why you deducted marks and the number of points remaining beside the X.
Totalling Points at the bottom of every page – It is especially helpful if there are some deductions or partial points awarded to write the subtotal number of points awarded at the bottom of each page. Then, rather than totalling the points at the end of the PACE Test, you can total each page then simply add each page’s total together.
Hold the standard you want your child to achieve – We encourage you to implement the standard with which you want your children to achieve. Did you know that children (and most adults) will strive to meet challenging expectations, but rarely push themselves beyond easy expectations? Therefore, implementing a series of aspects that you are looking for and will deduct points for can be a great way to encourage growth in these areas. Some suggestions to consider are:
- Hand writing – to improve it and make it more legible.
- Spelling – to concentrate on certain words or their spelling as a whole.
- Layout for Mathematics – ensuring all the place values are in their correct columns and easily legible.
Score the Test as quickly as possible – In A.C.E. schools, they mark the test at the end of the school day and share the results with the student the next day. Try not to wait too long to let the student know their results.
Determining the total score of the PACE Test – All PACE tests are out of 100, however, however, not all PACEs have 100 questions, or a total of 100 points.
Once you have determine the number of points for each question (see above) they can then be added to get the total for the PACE Test, (most of which will equal 100). Some however will total 50, at which point you simply double the result to reach 100. For example 48 out of 50 becomes 96 out of 100.
There are other PACE Tests that total 25, so you would multiply it by 4. Which would mean that a result of 24 out of 25 would equal 96 out of 100.
If the PACE Test doesn’t add up to a number easily multipliable to reach 100, then simply subtract the number of deducted points from 100.
