Specialists can be called on to help with schools exams

People with specialised expertise could be roped in to help with public exams and national assessments in schools on a short-term basis.

This is one of the new clauses in the latest version of a document known as personnel administrative measures (PAM) gazetted by basic education minister Angie Motshekga last month.

The PAM, which was last updated in 2016, contains all the conditions of service of educators.

The matric exams start on October 31 and end on December 6.

According to the document, exam-related functions which demand professional skills include:

• Fairness review of question papers, which relates to issues such as language and bias;
• external review and scrutiny of question papers;
• post-test analysis of question papers; 
• quality assurance of examination question papers;
• analysis of examination and SBA [school-based assessments] data and report writing;
• editing of examination and assessment reports and other related documents;
• audit of examination/assessment processes or systems;
• conducting investigations, hearings, serve as evidence leader or presiding officer with regard to examination irregularities; and
• assist with the development of regulations, policy, guidelines, manuals and any other supporting documents.

Unlike previous versions of the PAM, the document clearly spells out the roles of the different officials involved in marking matric papers.

For example, before pupils write the exams a “pretest taker” will write the same exam and then complete a report evaluating the question paper “which serves as the basis for the discussion with the examiners/test developers to refine the question paper/test”.

A marker is provided with a marking guideline and he/she has to comply with the marking guideline.

—  The personnel administrative measures (PAM) document

A marker’s duties include marking an entire examination/test answer script or a specific question or group of questions specified by the chief marker.

“A marker is provided with a marking guideline and he/she has to comply with the marking guideline.”

The selection of markers has to be done by a panel comprising the chief marker, internal moderator, department officials and teacher union officials who will be observers.

According to the document, at least 15% of the markers must be novice markers and provincial education departments must furnish the head of department with a detailed motivation if they cannot satisfy this requirement.

The previous stipulation that teachers applying for appointment as markers must have two years' experience of marking in a particular subject has been scrapped.

According to the document, the appointee must have at least a three-year post-grade 12 qualification, which must include the subject concerned at second or third year level or in the case of new subjects, a qualification in a related subject will be considered.

The applicant must have at least three years’ experience as an educator in the particular subject and at least two years' teaching experience within the past five years at matric level in the particular subject.

The maximum daily distance for a return journey from home to the marking centre for which markers could claim petrol expenses has been increased from 150km to 200km.

All marking personnel have to sign a declaration form if they have a child in grade 12 in the year of the May/June or October/November exams.

Meanwhile, the Western Cape education department confirmed to TimesLIVE Premium that they will still be subjecting novice markers, opting to mark one of 11 subjects, to a competence test.

Some of these subjects include accounting, business studies, economics, maths and physical science.

Western Cape education department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said prospective novice markers needed to achieve a minimum of 60% in the competence test. She said another criterion that they took into account during the appointment of markers was the pupils’ pass rate in the subject at the school where the teacher was based.

The province appointed 2,800 markers and were entering a second round of appointments.

None of the other provincial education departments insist on mandatory competence tests for novice markers.