To evaluate, evaluation

These words are sometimes used in the same sense as to assess, assessment, as defined above. For example, they could be used in sentences (a)—(е) in the previous unit.

To estimate

This generally refers to the future, and therefore has a different meaning from to assess and to evaluate.

e.g. to estimate a person's progress/chances of success = to predict what progress he will make, what chance he has.

to give an estimate of someone's performance in an examination = to predict what mark he is likely to get

MARKING SYSTEMS

IN ENGLAND

353.There are various systems of marking in England, the
choice of one or another depending on the type of work to be
marked, the type of educational institution (school, college,
university), and in some cases on the preferences of the
teaching staff.

Marking out of ten

This involves using a ten-point scale, sometimes even a twenty-point scale. The maximum is ten, and the marks go down, usually by halves, to a minimum of nought, as follows:

These marks are often written in the following way:

They are read as: ten out of ten, nine and a half out of ten, nine out of ten ... nought out of ten.

The minimum satisfactory mark is usually five, that is, half marks. Thus five, which in the Soviet Union is the top mark, in England is only just satisfactory, the average being six or seven.

This system is used for majking straightforward work which is easy to assess numerically, for example, sums, exer­cises, answering a series of simple questions, translating a

series of simple sentences. The teacher sets, for example, ten sums, ten questions to answer, or ten sentences to translate, and each answer is marked right, half right, or wrong, giving a possible whole mark for each right answer and half a mark for each half-right answer.

Marking out of ten is widely practised in schools, particu­larly in the junior forms, but not in colleges and universities.

355. Marking in percentages

In England school examinations (see unit 340) are usually marked out of a hundred, so that the results are given as per­centages. The maximum is 100% and the minimum 0%, al­though it is very rare for anyone to get either of these marks. Marks generally range from about 85% to about 20%. In the junior forms there are sometimes higher marks, because the amount of material is limited and the questions are rela­tively simple. The pass markis usually 50% in the lower forms and 40-45% in the higher forms.

These percentages correspond more or less to the marks out of ten given earlier, that is: 100% =10; 95% =9¹₂;90% =9 and so on.

Grades

In traditional British English a gradeis a mark which in­dicates a certain degree of quality or achievement, in contrast to one which represents a total number of positive points award­ed (see units 354, 355). Grades can be expressed in either letters or figures, although letters are the most usual. A or / is the highest grade, and DIE or 4/5 the lowest. Some insti­tutions, mainly public schools and older universities, use the Greek letters , etc. Plus or minuscan be added to the letters for further differentiation, as follows: A, A—, B+, В, В—, C+, С, С—, D, (Е). These are read as: A, A minus, В plus, В, В minus, and so on. В is average, and С + or be­low is usually considered less than satisfactory.

Grades are generally preferred to the numerical systems described in the two previous units for more complex work such as passages of translation and essays, which is difficult to divide into a certain number of points to be marked right or wrong. It is an assessment of the work as a whole rather than a statement of how much of it is right and how much wrong. It is thus closer to the Soviet system than is marking out of ten or a hundred.

Marking in grades is the usual system in the senior forms of schools and in universities and colleges.

Public examination results (see unit 340) are often given in grades, from A to DIE, or from 1 to 4/5, although the marking may be done in percentages first.

University sessionals (see unit 341) and many college ex­aminations are also marked in grades. The degree examina­tions are an exception. The individual papers are given grades, but the final results are given in classes (see unit 357).

In American English grade is used as a general term cor­responding to British English mark ("оценка") and this use can sometimes be heard in Britain too.

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 914