Exam Feedback - It's Your Right

So, the Exam Feedback Campaign took place over the January 2011 exam period. You saw the posters, you were hopefully handed a sticker, and because of every one of you who used that sticker all Keele student's will now receive exam feedback!

On Wednesday 26th January the University Learning and Teaching Committee passed the following guidelines for the minimum level of feedback to be given to Keele student's on exams:

Annex B: Guidelines on Good Practice in Examination Feedback

Examination feedback should always be constructive and developmental. Feedback falls short of students’ needs and expectations if it only provides students with a mark, and not providing feedback to students on examinations is a missed opportunity to support student learning and help improve their future work. Examination feedback can be delivered in a variety of ways and it is important that the characteristics of individual modules and programmes are recognised when choosing which method is most appropriate. There is therefore a need for a degree of flexibility to enable Schools/ programmes to choose what works best for them.

However, the following premise is the minimum that Schools/programmes should provide for their students:

All programmes should provide generic feedback for the whole cohort (usually via the VLE) which highlights the strengths and weaknesses emerging across the range of scripts, indicating what are the common mistakes and what can be done to rectify these.

If Schools wish to strengthen their examination feedback further, the following mechanisms may be of great value:

• Model answers: the provision of model answers can be very useful as they allow students to understand marking schemes
• Optional seminars to discuss recent exams: this can be an efficient way for lecturers to provide verbal feedback and enable students to ask questions and discuss solutions with their peers.
• The opportunity for students to review their examination scripts with comment sheets: this personalised feedback allows students to reflect on their answers and consider what they did well and not so well. Scripts are returned immediately after this session.

It should be noted that students have a right to receive feedback on their examinations and the current statement that students can request a meeting with the internal marker still stands.* However, whilst this may be criticised for being an unrealistic demand on lecturers’ time, it is anticipated that if other forms of feedback (outlined above) are provided effectively, a minority of students will opt for one to one feedback, meaning there will be less time demand on tutors.

This campaign proves that when we act together as a united student body we really can make positive changes for all Keele student's. I hope all of you continue to ask for what you are entitled to, and be active in making change happen!

Well done Keele!

The Great Feedback Amnesty