I've got five marks on it

in ,

This week a student asked me: “For a five mark question, do we need to include five marks?”

So I gave them a great answer.

“No.”

A five marker question doesn’t need five points. You may only need three points. This is because a marker is not looking for a specific number of points.

What is a marker looking for?

  • They’re looking for a clear and comprehensive explanation

  • They’re looking for the use of relevant examples that are fully explained

  • They’re looking for responses that directly address the question and do not waffle

I suggest you show your students a typical HSC marking rubric (see below). Look closely: there’s no mention of how many points to include. In fact, if you include five points that aren’t clearly explained, you won’t be in the running for full marks.

No mention of how many points to include.

No mention of how many points to include.

I’ve also created a video to help students understand some of the ‘secrets’ of the marking process. I think it’s really import for us as teachers to try and demystify the marking process to help students do better in high pressure exams.