Blind marking of exams?

[Keevan_Colton]

I was wondering, having just discovered how things are done here, how exams are marked in other places around the world? Are they blind marked or not?

Blind marking is where the name of the student is hidden until after the exam has been marked, usually by use of a gum down flap to conceal the personal information.

[Alyeska]

Every teacher I had graded my exams knowing full well that it was my exam they were grading. Often I had to fight teachers for points when they let their bias show and I would get the points I deserved. Mind you, I would have lost these points even had the teacher not known my name. It was just the teacher letting their bias on the issue take over.

[aerius]

Most of my profs grade the exams one question or one page at a time. They'll mark page 1 of every exam, randomize the pile, then go back and do page 2 and so on. In most cases the classes I was in were large enough that the prof wouldn't know you by name unless you visited him a fair bit in his office hours, so I don't think blind marking would make any real difference.

[Prozac the Robert]

At Birmingham Uni (the UK one) all exams for all subjects are marked blind. They do have your student ID number on the front though, so it's possible a really vindictive lecturer could get a list and look out for yours, but it's unlikely.

Important exams in high school (GCSEs and A Levels) are marked externally. I can't remember if you have your name on the outside, but it doesn't really matter since the teachers who know you don't have anything to do with the marking.

[Dangermouse]

I was wondering, having just discovered how things are done here, how exams are marked in other places around the world? Are they blind marked or not?

Blind marking is where the name of the student is hidden until after the exam has been marked, usually by use of a gum down flap to conceal the personal information.

At my school, names are written on the first page and the actual exam begins on the second page. The professor and the TAs get together for grading, usually with one person grading one page/problem and writing down the score for that problem at the bottom of the page. All the scores are then tallied on the front page for the final score; we don't know the student's name until after we have a final score for them.

[Stark]

Here in AU, exams are in sections each of which marked by different people. I certainly don't write my name on each page, but if they knew my student number I guess they could be wankers. It's all accountable and appealable: I know of one girl who appealed and got remarked, because the tutor who marked hers was biased against her.

[dworkin]

And at AU* here I was just a feeble number (9058663). Of course a few years ago when I just sat exams (Dip Tch) the classes were so small and my handwriting so recognisable (cursive) by the staff that it made little difference.

*Auckland University, NZ[/url]

[Jalinth]

My professional exams were blinded marked - to an insane degree.

First, each question is marked by a different team and the first day's question by a special "comp" team (the style was the first day you had one question, four hours, good luck. The other days were shorter questions - 3 to 5 over 4 hours)

For all the "comp" questions, these papers were marked twice - and if the spread was above a fairly small amount - I believe 2 points - it was remarked by a third marker.

All questions were randomly test remarked by supervisors to ensure the markers were consistent. And these supervisors were test checked by others to make sure they were properly test marking the papers.

All papers in the "close to failure" zone were shipped off to a special remarking centre for yet another look or two by a senior group of markers and superviors.

Needless to say, if you failed, appeals were basically impossible - any marks that might have been given were, so you were wasting your money ($350 at the time - now higher) on a false hope.

But this exam cost about $900 to write (all this money got you was the exam - all the previous required courses were already done and paid for), so a bit more expensive than most.

[Braedley]

Here you either have to be famous or infamous in order for the profs to take a real notice in you. Some of my profs know I'm in one of there classes, I don't think any of them know me by name.

[Braedley]

...So exams are rarely marked blind.

[Metatwaddle]

I was wondering, having just discovered how things are done here, how exams are marked in other places around the world? Are they blind marked or not?

Blind marking is where the name of the student is hidden until after the exam has been marked, usually by use of a gum down flap to conceal the personal information.

There's not a regulation about it at most universities AFAIK, but occasionally you'll get a teacher who does something of the sort because he wants to be as fair as possible. My physics teacher last year did that with all tests and labs she graded - she didn't let herself look at the names because she had a feeling that her perceptions would change if she knew whose lab it was.

My Spanish teacher, on the other hand, did things the opposite way: she graded papers in relationship to whether or not a particular paper was a good representation of a student's abilities, the bottom line of which was that a good-but-not-quite-excellent paper that I wrote would get a B while an average paper that a not-so-able student wrote would get an A-.

I wish everyone were more like my physics teacher.

[Instant Sunrise]

Scantron machines don't have hate in them.

[weemadando]

IIRC our uni exams only had our student number on the front. No name...

[drachefly]

I have done some grading, but never blind grading.

I don't think it made much of a difference, even when I turned over the next quiz and groaned as I saw who was next -- because on the occasions that the generally poor-performing people did well, I graded them as having done well. And vice versa. Expectations exist, certainly, but grading is not based on them: I'm so very sorry, Mr. 10-on-every-quiz-up-to-this-point, but that seriously elided argument just isn't going to cut it. Just because I know you know how to do this doesn't mean you did it.


Grading is tricky to do well -- I generally sorted the papers by the type of error made, and then at the end having seen all of the errors decide how serious each one is. I generally have a good idea of where it's going to lie the moment I see it, of course; but it helps to be able to compare categories.

[Solauren]

Most of my exams were not blind marked in college.
It's hard to blind mark a computer program.
High school, we had our names and class numbers on them, so probably not, except for the sections that were Scantron.

Actually, I wish all my exams had been multiple choice. They weren't because of people complaining. QUite frankly, if you can't do multiple choice exams, knowing the correct answer is one of them, and you know the correct answer, but can't figure it out, you're pathetic.

[bilateralrope]

Here you either have to be famous or infamous in order for the profs to take a real notice in you. Some of my profs know I'm in one of there classes, I don't think any of them know me by name.

Wouldn't help when your infomation also has your photo with it.

Otago Uni's (NZ) method of blind marking is simply turning over a bit on the back of the booklet to hide where you filled your name in. This fails at being a good system for a few reasons:

1 - All those involved in marking have access to the student info for all students taking that class. This includes name, id number and photo. MEaning they can look you up and just watch for your number.

2 - Even when the flap is folded over (and Ive had a few exams where the slit wasn't even cut) all they need to do is unfold it, look at the name, refold it. All of about 2 seconds work.

Needless to say, I don't even bother folding over the flap

[SoX]

At Sheffield Uni, exams are Blind Marked, except for multiple choice exams which are marked by a machine.

[AniThyng]

To echo most, my exams only have student ID on them, no names, but it would be a trivial matter for the examiner to look up the ID and name in his class list if he were so inclined...but papers/individual questions are usually marked over twice by different examiners and in a large class it's unlikely they will remember you or recognize your handwriting unless you've been exceptionally outstanding, for better or ill...

[tharkûn]

Large classes: Name is marked on the top of every page. This is because when we grade them we rip the test apart and everyone takes a page, test get restapled later. Given the size of such classes it is quite likely anyone who knows your name will only grade one to two questions and you can normally fight if you think is unjust.

Small classes: Name on the front. It is not like the grader can't tell by writing style and handwriting in they really wanted to find out.

Outside the maths and sciences: Mostly Scantron and a hodge-podge of whatever the prof likes. I can't say I really paid attention as I found all such tests to be jokes compared to say PChem.

[Dahak]

Well, in my written exams, usually you write your student ID and name on every paper. If not, you're in trouble.
Some exams have forms where you fill in your answers, some let you write your answer on your on paper. The results are mostly marked by assistants. I doubt any of the professors waste their time with such menial tasks.
And given that no one cares whether you've been in a lecture or not, no one really cares who he's grading.

[salm]

We only had exams in the first 4 semesters, now it´s only presentations. The presentations are obviously not blind and the exams weren´t either. You had to give out your name and ID number. In my class this didn´t matter though because the professors and assistants didn´t know who the fuck you were anyway.