Marking Mad

A marking shambles has resulted in changed results for several angry Bio NatScis.

Second year students in both Animal Biology and Ecology received emails on Wednesday, informing them of “errors” in the way the class marks were compiled.

Many students’ final grades for Part IB were changed by a whole class.

Some ecology dissertation marks were also vastly inaccurate, with several students moving from Thirds to Firsts and vice versa.

The Tab spoke to Rebecca Senior, a second year Bio NatSci at King’s, whose remarked work rose by a whole class to a First. She said she is “obviously delighted” with her rightful grade, but the whole situation has made her “hugely angry” with the University.

“I didn’t let myself think that my marks were wrong, because I had faith that a University with such a prestigious and long-standing reputation wouldn’t make this kind of mistake. This was obviously a naïve misconception.

“All my initial frustration was for nothing and others faced with the painful disappointment of their grades going down must be furious”.

For the unlucky few whose class positions have plummeted, the apologetic emails will have brought a downer to an already grim “summer”.

An anonymous student, whose grade fell from a 2.i to a 2.ii, called the debacle “unacceptable – these people are supposed to be intelligent!

“I don’t think examiners appreciate how much hard work and pressure go into exams. We have been treated like idiots, with no sufficient explanation of what caused this error.

“I will now miss out on a £750 ‘bursary’, so these marks also have financial consequences”.

In a grovelling letter to Animal Biology students, the shamed department said it is “very sorry”, with staff offering “a full apology for the errors” and their consequences.

The document ends with the reassurance that “We are reviewing our marking procedures to ensure that such a problem does not recur”.

However, students don’t hold out much hope for improvement, with the anonymous victim telling The Tab: “Although second year doesn’t count towards my final grade, this fiasco has given me no confidence in the examination system for finals.”