Just a quick post to revisit my experience marking students work. Just before I have to do a new batch of marking I asked the tutor who was double marking my marks how she felt I faired.
She responded by basically telling me that for most of my marking I was spot on, that I was fair and valid in my marks. With a couple of students she said I was slightly harsh so there were some changes she made but she said she could tell where I was gaining the marking experience and understanding what work garnered the Pass, Merit and Distinction. So even though it took me roughly 2 hours per students (marking 2 Units) I know it was worth taking that time and even going back between the students work at times to compare.
I asked about the feedback which I had struggled with as we were told we were not allowed to write too much but had to give it verbally as we cannot ‘tell’ the students what to do. This linked back to the notes I had written and she did respond that it can be tricky as we need to explain the evidence (or lack of it) without as I said ‘telling’ them exactly what needs to be done to Pass or improve which was what I struggled with. Giving feedback verbally I had no issues with and we were allowed to give students more extensive lists and notes on their work, we just couldn’t on the official marking sheet.
Overall I was glad that the teacher felt my marking was valid and was glad to see that most of the students when it came to re-marking had improved their grade.
Thoughts from a Trainee Teacher 