Eleven Plus Marking Problems.

There has been lots of discussion on the recent debacle with the results of the SATs tests.

At the turn of the century the `early’ objective tests often had essay questions. The problem then, as today, was that there was considerable difference in the marking. Different examiners marking the same paper would give different marks. The same examiner marking the same paper on a different occasion could give different marks.

This lead objective testing to tend towards lots of short answers. Then along came multiple choice testing. Multiple Choice is the commonest form of objective testing.

The construction and standardisation of tests is done by the large organisations like (NFER) and Moray House.

Reuters has prepared an informative article on the state of progress towards nationwide SATs results.

Within this BBC website:there is a fascinating article on the problems facing markers.

Eleven Plus examinations are now, however, usually multiple choice.

We sometimes have the pleasure, however, of preparing children for Eleven Plus tests where there are no multiple choice questions on certain papers.