Exam marking problems

We've had a lot of examples now where one marker gives a pass and the other marker gives a fail, even a FB, resulting in an overall fail. It feels like a lottery of who you get marking your script! I find that completely unacceptable. I'm sure this issue will not be debated at the next student consultative forum meeting.

 

Hi Geraldine

I'm sorry to hear that you haven't been marked in accordance with the IFoA's marking policy - third marking means marking the whole paper as you say. I also find such a significant difference between the two markers you had rather disturbing, particularly when third marking did not take place.

I would also add that the Institute's computer system will have a record of the date each marker uploaded their marks to the IFoA. You should be given this information as part of our SAR, and if you weren't I would go back and demand to be given this data within a reasonable period of time (say 10 working days), after which you will ask the ICO to intervene if it has not been provided / the IFoA claim they don't hold such information.

Once you have the dates, do you need any support with lodging a formal complaint? It sounds like you know what to say, but let us know is if we can help.

 

Thanks for your support! I was just wondering, how might it help to have the dates that the markers submitted their marks?

I realise that nothing would probably come out of an appeal I make on my own, but I'd still be keen to do that. I think it's just a pity that we students don't realise what power we collectively have to actually make positive changes. Things need to be challenged, and discontent needs to be given a voice - if not, we're banking on miracles. Anyway, I'm happy to play my part and communicate my concerns. I hope enough similarly dissatisfied students read about this (and other examples that are cropping up from time to time) and do the same. There's nothing wrong with not remaining silent on an issue, especially when it appears that we can now empirically show that we're being disadvantaged / misled / treated unfairly and thereby paying too much.

 

I predict that after all is said and done one day someone will have to take the IFoA on in a small claims court on these matters to get justice. I think whoever that one person will be needs and deserves the support of many others, as is often the case when taking on organisations with deep pockets.

 

Your earlier post stated:

"It just feels like a horrible lack of transparency. I have my doubts over whether I was truly marked a third time. My conspiracy theory is that that 3rd marker's marks were added as a validating afterthought. But we'll never know, I guess."

I think you can know, the date that each marker uploaded their marks will show a lot about the timing of events around the marking of your paper, did third marking happen before or after the examiners meeting, or before or after you raised your SAR?

You have very good reason to be suspicious, particularly based on the genuine experiences of your peers in this forum thread, and I think getting those dates will either put that concern to rest or reveal further inappropriate behaviour and a further breach of their published marking policy by the IFoA.

I couldn't agree more! Good luck.

 

For those who sat CA2 and CA3 in late 2015, a reminder that the IFoA will delete all data they hold regarding your exam entry on 12 February 2017:

https://twitter.com/ActuaryStudents/status/698072047444955136
https://twitter.com/ActuaryStudents/status/698072094286938112

 

It looks like students are now starting to take the IFoA to court over their exams.

Has anyone considered this step themselves regarding the exam marking policy failures? It sounds like the court fees to do so are actually pretty trivial.

Instead of each student battling the IFoA on their own, this is a game changer as the court cases would create a precedent that other students could then rely on in their own dealings with the IFoA.

Again, all of this is entirely avoidable if the IFoA had simply followed their own marking policy!

 

New CA3 format from sept 2017. Let's see what the chaps at the institute put together this time hahaha

 

Ha! I want to believe this is partly due to a sufficient amount of concerted effort and complaint by many students - and the communication that seems to be reaching a good number of us. For anyone who's interested to read more about this:

https://www.actuaries.org.uk/studying/student-news

We need to carry on demanding transparency, fairness, accountability and professionalism

 

Indeed. All of us have to work within a TCF framework. We can't fob people off, or reinterpret statements to suit ourselves to the detriment of others: it wouldn't be acceptable. If something is promised in black and white then it should be honoured. We work in the insurance industry for goodness sake, where wording and promises are absolutely critical!

 

I've recently put in a SAR request for an exam where I was borderline pass/fail. It would appear that my paper was fully marked a third time (or at least there are marks against all questions in that column) however I am none the wiser about how they ended up with with my final mark a it does not correspond to any of the info provided (shouldn't it be the 'adopted mark'?).

I wasn't provided with anything more than a table with marks awarded for each question - have people received actual written comments by the examiners for exams other than CA2 and CA3 (and if you did what was the exact wording of your request)?

 

Pepps, I have just get my SAR back for my SA2 exam. They also gave me a table with marks awarded for each part of the 2 questions. No other comments were given.

My results was 61 and pass mark was 62, I am 1 mark from not just passing but qualifed as a fellow.
1. I wasn't third marked.
2. there are two parts where my adopted mark were lower than what I was awarded by both 1st and 2nd markers.
3. Overall: 1st Marker gave me 122 (61%?), 2nd Marker gave me 129 (64.5%?) and adopted was 123.2 (61.6%?), adopted is much lower than the average of the two markers, and i failed by 0.4%?

Guys, any idea how the adopted mark was calculated?
I think my next step is to question the Education team for the queries I have above, is that right?

 

Hi Sarah, you are almost 4 weeks ahead of me, so how's your follow up with them?

 

Give them a 14 day deadline for a final response to your queries after getting your SAR back & stick to this. Don't put up with excuses about them being busy (because of exam results coming out or whatever), people on holidays, off sick etc. that's not your problem. Entirely reasonable request. I don't mean a 14 day for Education services, then another 14 days to deputy registrar, then another 14 days for registrar, then another 14 days to whoever else... I mean 14 days for the IFoA to provide a final response. Within 14 days there is plenty of time for them to escalate it to whoever they need to, to provide a final response. Everyone waits 3 months for their exam result, then another 40 days for their SAR... 14 days no ifs no buts.

 

That is a disgrace. I was not 'third marked' for the Aug 16 sitting of CA3, despite there being a significant disagreement between the two markers and being a borderline case. After waiting another 5 weeks after getting my SAR, I was told by Education Services that third marking may involve:

1. A full remark
2. A partial remark
3. Or an overall review

I was given #3 of the above. It was laughable that the 'overall review' contained a few typos in the comments for a CA3 exam. Maybe if they had excused my typo's I would have passed.

 

For CA3, doesn't overall review* seem lazy at best; it's not much of an exam to mark is it compared to a whole booklet of answers like you'd get for SA/ST/CA1 etc and they charge twice as much for this exam as well!

*I don't accept this is third marking

 

I was drafting the email and I know that it won't get me anywhere, I can foresee what they are going to reply me with.

 

I chased this up a week ago now after waiting 4 weeks for a reply.

Unsurprisingly I have not had a reply to either my initial email or my second email. I'd be happy to get together with other students experiencing the same lack of transparency/processes not being followed to try and get a change in the institute.

Sadly though I don't believe that one student against the institute will ever get anywhere and as we're all in the same boat of juggling exams with work I'm sure none of us have the time to pursue this alone.

 

If you haven't received sufficient information to allow you ot interpret and uinderstand your marks and ultimate pass/fail grade, then the IfoA have breached the Data Protection Act and you should go back and demand this information.

Give them 10 working days and if they fail to clear up the confusion, report them to the ICO. You weill find that once the ICO get involved the IFoA will jump to attention and do what you ask!

 

I would suggest going back to whoever provided the information to you.

As I mentioned to Pepps, if you haven't received sufficient information to allow you to interpret and understand your marks and ultimate pass/fail grade, then the IFoA have breached the Data Protection Act and you should go back and demand this information.

Give them 10 working days and if they fail to clear up the confusion, report them to the ICO. You will find that once the ICO get involved the IFoA will jump to attention and do what you ask!

 

Third marking is marking the entire exam submission again by a third person (i.e. following the same approach as the first two markers). No reasonable person would say otherwise, and the IFoA don't get to define what is reasonable here.

Absolutely go back to them and escalate your formal complaint.