In reply to Graeme Ball…
Graeme Ball’s ‘middle way’ for the ‘essay’ standards fails to address the
major concern of inconsistency and unethical behavior associated with the
internal component of our courses.
Response to internally administered, externally marked essays in order of
reprehensibility;
1. The teacher gives his/her students the question and two weeks to prepare.
2. The teacher gives his/her students the question and two weeks to
prepare and spends considerable time in class ‘brain-storming’, plan
writing…
3. The teacher gives his/her students a model essay answer and time to
memorise it.
4. (Worst case scenario) The teacher, aware that their favourite student
is struggling and/or they are running out of time to do the standard,
‘leaves’ a detailed plan/copy of the model answer on the board/OHP/data
projector…
I think it would be naive to suggest that one of the three scenarios above
(or variatons thereof) would not occur and there seems to be no way in
which this kind of thing could be monitored.
I guess a reply could be that there is nothing wrong with students knowing
exactly what is required of them in an assessment (including the answer!)
and that ‘we want everyone to achieve’. Ultimately this is a reflection of
a fundamental, philosophical difference. Of course those that argue the
former are likely to practice 1-4 above…
Adrian McCormack
Glendowie College
