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5. Marking Toolkit | RevisionDojo

Teachers should mark positively; this means awarding credit for what the student has done instead of penalising for what they haven't done or should have done.
Only whole numbers should be used when awarding marks; decimals or fractions should not be used.
It is recommended that teachers read the completed report once to get a feel for the work before awarding any marks.
Teachers must utilise a best-fit approach when awarding marks for each criterion. Averages calculated from the different strands are not appropriate.
When marking the report, the level descriptors for each criterion should be read (starting with the lowest level) until the descriptor that matches the level of the work is reached.
If the work seems to be between two descriptors, both descriptors should be read once more and the descriptor that better matches the work should be chosen.
Where there are two marks within a level, teachers should decide if the work satisfies the descriptor to a greater extent or a lesser extent. If the former applies, the teacher should apply the higher mark; if the latter applies, the lower mark should be awarded.
Teachers should consider how the command terms have been addressed in the report when deciding on the level of the work.
Depending on the structure of the report, evidence for a single criterion may appear in more than one section. It is not a requirement that students address the criteria in a linear fashion.
The highest level descriptors do not imply that the work is perfect. It is not a requirement that the work must satisfy every single aspect of a level descriptor for that mark to be awarded.
It is possible for a student to be awarded high marks in one criterion and low marks in another. Teachers should not assume that a student’s work must be awarded high marks in all criteria or low marks.
The assessment criteria should be made available to students throughout the process.
A mark of zero can be awarded if there is no evidence for the level descriptors in a criterion. If some evidence exists, a zero should be awarded only if the work is completely irrelevant to the descriptors.
If one strand is awarded a zero and the other strands within the criterion are not, the overall mark for the criterion should take into account the student’s achievement in the non-zero strands and not overly penalise the zero strand.

5. Marking Toolkit

Assessment of the IA

The best-fit model

Key points

Internal standardisation and external moderation

View Physics IA Exemplars