Markers' perceptions regarding the onscreen marking of Liberal Studies in the Hong Kong public examination system

Abstract

This article reports the move from paper-based marking (PBM) to onscreen marking (OSM) in Hong Kong for the subject Liberal Studies – whose objectives involve broadening students' horizons through critical examination of current issues. While currently a small candidature subject of approximately 3300, from 2009, the subject will become compulsory for all students in Hong Kong's senior secondary school curriculum with a candidature of 80,000. As marking of all public examinations in Hong Kong is migrating to OSM, the current study reports on a project with the entire 2009 Year 13 Liberal Studies marking panel (49 markers), as part of the OSM validation process. The study involved giving all markers both a pre-marking and a post-marking questionnaire to gauge markers' technological competence in and attitudes towards OSM. Results were positive in that markers generally rated themselves as technologically capable. With regard to attitudes towards the implementation of OSM, the outcomes of the post-marking questionnaire showed markers to be more positive than their pre-marking comments suggested. Nonetheless, they are still not happy about having to travel to special marking centres and the preference for PBM remains strong. The results of the study indicate that OSM is being accepted into marker psyche of what marking involves, an important step as OSM is adopted as the sole marking method for all subjects in Hong Kong from 2012 onwards.

Keywords:

• markers' perceptions
• survey
• onscreen marking
• Liberal Studies

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority – and in particular Christina Lee, the General Manager for Assessment Development, and Lo Ka-yiu the Senior Manager in charge of Liberal Studies – for support on the project regarding access to markers and for data processing.

Notes

1. The LS examination papers are currently marked by a single marker only. In 2012, with the introduction of the HKDSE, all scripts will be double-marked.

2. Under PBM, the term “checkmarking” referred to assistant examiners providing feedback to markers through examining the marking of actual scripts. Assistant examiners do not now provide direct feedback on scripts, but rather monitor marker performance via control scripts, only providing “feedback” (e.g., that further training is required) if markers diverge from expected standards.

3. The HKCEE subjects marked onscreen were Chinese Language, English Language, Computer & Information Technology, History, Mathematics and Additional Mathematics; the HKALE subjects were Chinese Language and Culture, Chinese History, Chinese Literature, Computer Studies, Computer Applications, Physics, Liberal Studies and Use of English.

4. In the LS examination, test takers have to select two modules to study out of the six available. The examination consists of two elements. There is a formal written examination of the two modules comprising 80% of the overall grade. Test takers also complete a project on one of their chosen modules, which accounts for 20% of the final grade.

5. The 1998 medium of instruction policy directive required schools to define either Chinese or English as the teaching medium. Before 1998, while the great majority of schools claimed they were “English-medium”, they were in actuality “mixed code” – exams and textbooks were in English but teaching was conducted mainly through Cantonese, augmented with subject vocabulary items in English. In early 2009, the Hong Kong Education Bureau (2009) presented a paper to the Legislative Council Panel on Education concerning “fine-tuning” the medium of instruction for secondary schools; that is, permitting Chinese-medium schools to operate selected content subject classes in English. In the current study, there was only one marker marking in English, hence the language variable is not examined in the current study.

6. The Hong Kong Education Bureau (EDB) has yet to publish statistics concerning the demographics of Hong Kong LS teachers. Between 2005 and 2008, however, in collaboration with universities and professional bodies, EDB provided LS professional development programmes to more than 4500 Hong Kong in-service teachers (“Meeting beyond the target”, 2008). On one programme provided by a Hong Kong university between 2005–2007 and consisting of a series of 3-day courses on learning and teaching strategies pertaining to one LS module, a total of 529 teachers were enrolled (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007), of which 56% were female and 44% male.