11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi

I posted on the Maths section re HCF and LCM last week. It turned out that my son's correct answers were marked incorrectly by a fellow student.

No offence to any teachers, just wonder if it is a common practice that some homeworks are marked by fellow students in the secondary school.

As some mums suggested that there were pros and cons in doing so. Any comments would be welcome paticularly from a teacher's point of view. Thanks

It is entitled 'Peer Assessment' and the following may be of interest...

http://curriculum.qca.org.uk/key-stages ... sment.aspx

As a Governor I have seen this in action, and can see the positives, as well as the obvious negative.

Another similar strategy currently being instigated is 'Modeling'. Teachers model the response's to work they wish to see. This should effectively guide the child towards understanding what is required of them by the teacher. I would imagine this particular one would be very useful to boys. (thinking of my own 2 here )

Hi, Bewildered

I have never known that there is such assessemant called *Peer Assessment * until reading the related links that you provided.

Learning new things everyday and thanks for the informations.

I don't like this at my daughter's primary school. Most of the kids are fine with it but the bully that she was sitting next to until recently thought it was a right laugh to adjust her answers to times tables questions so that she got a lot wrong.

I last taught in a secondary school in 1979. It was a bog standard comprehensive but a very dim view would have been taken of you allowing the children to mark other children's work. In fact, the conclusion would have been that you were too lazy to take the books home and mark yourself. Having taught both English and maths, marking a few sums was a doddle in comparison to staggering home every weekend with the fortnightly essay we had to set (90 essays a week).

As a tutor, I make a point of marking every last scrap of work my pupils do because I know it really upsets the studious if they have put effort into it and it goes unmarked.

Peer marking also gives the less studious (like my daughter) the idea she can turn in any old work because the teacher isn't even going to look at it so there's no point in putting effort into it. Yes, I know in an ideal world she should take pride in her work, regardless, but I'm sure, like a lot of children, she operates on a more pragmatic basis.

Tracy wrote:I don't like this at my daughter's primary school. Most of the kids are fine with it but the bully that she was sitting next to until recently thought it was a right laugh to adjust her answers to times tables questions so that she got a lot wrong.

That's quite awful!! Did the teacher not check it after??

With the English each child has been taught to always find at least one positive element (if not more), as well as a 'room for improvement' element and politely write a comment on each.
With the maths the teacher reads out the answers and the children mark them as right or wrong. This is sometimes done with H/W as well as in class activities. They are always then checked by the teacher to make sure everyone is following the set guidelines.

Having seen some of the comments, from DS2's peers; what they say is quite amusing, showing their understanding (or lack of ) .

It's sad to see something that can be used so positively being abused and ruined.

Sometimes it really helpsw children to understand how they might lose marks e.g. by not showing working. Peer assessment has been shown to have a positive impact in improving pupils' achievement.

Agree with Guest 55. I use it with older pupils ( GCSE and A Level) to enhance understanding of mark schemes. This however, is done in addition to assessments that I mark at home, not as a replacement. As a class activity it certainly prompts a lot of discussion, and the students generally find it a useful activity. However, like any other strategy, I don't go overboard on it, just use it as one of many tools.
I do wonder whether it is as effective with younger pupils who may not have as much experience/ understanding of the assessment process and are less mature as people.
Bouga

You need to teach children how to use peer assessment - they don't just know - and yes, it's ONE part of assessment. I would always look at the marking to checking it's been done appropriately - and mark other work not designed for peer assessment.

Cynically, it can be a useful eye-opener into the world of marking. Pupils, students and parents like to believe that marking is accurate and always carried out thoroughly. ~There are always errors, and sloppy markers employed be it for GCSE, A' level, degree level and professional exams.

I always wonder how many people in the world may have not pursued a particular route in life due to one exam mark, without ever stopping to question whether the mark itself was wrong.

Less cynically, if a teacher or fellow-student marks your work wrong, and you believe it to be correct, you work it through again and ask why it was marked wrong. Many different lessons are learned from this, and no harm done.