Bryan Li (10) | STAFF REPORTER
Written April 2023
When you get a bad mark, it is common to pin your frustration and anger on your teacher, who graded your assessment. Some may throw the accusation of favouritism and hatred, towards other students, and yourself. If this is true, it may be better to have other educators mark your assessments rather than yourself.
Having an unbiased third-party mark your assignments may eliminate the risk of favouritism to other students, inflating their marks. In other cases, this can eliminate the animosity that a teacher may have toward a student, eliminating the chance of unfair bad marking, and lowering the student’s mark.
Though the idea of a third party marking your work may be an uncommon idea, this has gone well underway for numerous educational institutions. For those enrolled in the IB Program, their final exam is not marked by their teachers, but rather by the central IB organization that is unaffiliated with each individual school.
This may seem like an excellent idea to reduce favouritism and increase consistency. However, one cannot neglect its disadvantages; some teachers may prefer to grade students based on the level at which they have witnessed the student grow. Some teachers may also reward bonus marks when a student has successfully grown or has performed an action to warrant this. However, these well-deserved bonus marks may not be given if another person were to mark an assessment.
Another concern with this idea is the accuracy of the assignment. Some teachers may teach in other ways that deviate from the status quo. For example, one math teacher may teach their students to use one way to find a solution. However, if the examiner marking the assessment did not understand or comprehend the pedagogy, the impact on student marks would be costly.
Are there any solutions that can work in the best interest of both students and teachers?
A way in which students may feel at ease is if another teacher within the school were to mark another teacher’s assessments. By introducing a switch system, you are able to find another educator within the school with the same qualifications who can further mark another teacher’s class, eliminating the risk of favouritism or hatred. Yet, this proposal is also liable to the same risks as the previous third-party examiner solution.
This is a controversial topic that many disagree on. Everyone will always have a different viewpoint on this issue. A resolution that students and teachers agree to is most likely not going to be implemented soon.
