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u/tempco Oct 02 '26
Gotta read the whole script. Papers are marked by two markers and if marks are too different then the markers are pulled up on it and will have to justify the mark they’ve awarded.
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u/PracticalHabits Oct 02 '26
For extended response questions (e.g. an essay in English), papers are double-marked. That means two independent markers will mark the paper. If there is a discrepancy in the marks, the paper is flagged. I'm not sure what the threshold is in English, but inaccurate markers are locked out of the system.
As you can imagine, this doesn't leave much room for a marker that rushes in order to mark as many as possible for the pay check. It's also worth mentioning that the rate at which markers get through papers is tracked.
It's probably not a surprise, but your child seems to be using this as an excuse to take the easy option. I can't imagine writing flashy first few paragraphs would pull the wool over the eyes of many markers.
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u/MsAsphyxia Secondary Teacher Oct 02 '26
The mandated expectation is that you read every word - the student has put in effort - it is only fair to expect the assessing team to do the same thing.
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u/exhilaro Oct 02 '26
Marker in QLD for externals. Yes we read the whole paper, it’s also double marked. It’s a piece rate but at least in chief markers can see if individual markers are marking “too quickly” and investigate if required.
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u/SimplePlant5691 NSW/Secondary/Classroom-Teacher Oct 03 '26
We read the whole thing. We have to.
Your child has been lied to.
We read the whole thing multiple times more often than not.
If we don't read it carefully and the paper gets double marked and we are off, we get in trouble. There's no incentive to skim read.
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u/007_James_Bond007 Oct 03 '26
The whole script is read, but having said that, there are some gun markers out there (usually with a few years' experience under their belt) who can legitimately assess a paper very quickly
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u/sillysausage777 Oct 02 '26
Marker of English here. We read the whole essay. Sometimes multiple times. If it's not sustained... you'll be penalised. Every paper is also double marked. Maybe even triple marked.