Grading and recording grades
Examiners are responsible for formulating grading criteria and for ensuring that assessments are graded fairly and consistently. This page presents the guidelines for using grading models, dealing with fraud and plagiarism, recording grades, and the grading time limits you need to observe.
Grading model
As the examiner, you must create a clear model answer or set of grading criteria for every assessment, which helps to ensure that (individual) grading is always consistent and hence reliable. These answers and criteria serve as guidelines for marking and grading an assessment, thus reducing the risk of unwanted ‘marker effects’.
For closed assessment formats, this will be an answer key. For open assessment formats, examples include short descriptions of the right answers or more detailed model answers, such as assessment matrices and rubrics.
See also:
- Chapter 3 of Tips for Tests.
Fraud and plagiarism
When grading exams and essays, you may discover actual or suspected fraud (cheating) or plagiarism. Leiden University regards fraud and plagiarism as serious offences. Read more about detecting fraud and plagiarism, and what to do if you suspect they have occurred.
Grading time limit
The time limit for grading exams, constituent exams and essays is 15 working days, but sometimes less if students will be taking resits. You should find out exactly what time limit is used in your study programme.
It’s important that you comply with this time limit: receiving their grades on time obviously allows students to prepare for a resit, if necessary; they are entitled to at least five working days for this. Grading on time is also essential for issuing the Binding Study Advice (BSA) or starting the graduation process.
If you fail to meet the grading time limit, you must inform the students about this and also specify the date when (at the latest) they will know their grades.
Grades
Grades: whole numbers, halves, decimals
An exam result is expressed as a number to a maximum of one decimal place, between and including 1.0 and 10.0, or rounded off to a whole or half grade point. Final grades between 5.0 and 6.0 must not be given: 5.49 is rounded down to 5.0 and 5.50 is rounded up to 6.0. However, grades of constituent exams can be between 5.0 and 6.0, unless otherwise specified in the Prospectus.
Recording grades
When you have graded an exam or essay, you should fill in the final grades on the participant list supplied by the Education Administration Office (EAO) around the date of the exam and send it back. The EAO archives a copy of this email. After the EAO has entered the grades, the students will receive a message informing them of their grade.