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Exam Complaint

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  • 01-05-2010 3:06pm
    #1
    tomissex
    Registered Users Posts: 1,180 ✭✭✭


    Hey guys,

    Just wondering if anyone could offer any help with regards to making a complaint about an exam. The exam in question is a Junior Sophister Mod 1 Spanish exam (i.e. a final exam) We sat it yesterday and none of us are happy with it. Basically, in the past, the paper has been 4 pages in total and the article that has to be read and answered on is usually about 2 of those pages. Ours was 7 pages long and the article was 2 pages longer than in the past. It doesn't sound like that big a deal but, when you spend half an hour of a 2 hour exam just reading the article, it makes it difficult to do the paper well/finish it (you have to answer 5 questions on the article and then write a 500 word essay) We really just want this information to be taken into account during the marking of it but we're not sure who we should be complaining to. We have a letter written up that we're all going to sign and send to the Spanish department but is there a higher authority we should be complaining to as well?

    Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!


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    #2
    timmywex
    Registered Users Posts: 2,626 ✭✭✭timmywex


    First off the lecturer, should let him/her know of the problems, then the department, course office and send it towards the su education officer aswell....

    It may well turn out the lecturer realised it was hard in setting it and thus intends marking it easier!


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    #3
    Denerick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,488 ✭✭✭Denerick


    I think this is a bit of a minor scandal. As a Trinity student, you should expect a challenging exam, I find it laughable that you're going to complain because 'the exam was too hard'. Our society is far too focused on holding peoples hands, sometimes life throws you something difficult and you have to do the best you can under the circumstances.


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    #4
    dabh
    Registered Users Posts: 144 ✭✭dabh


    Given that this is a moderatorship examination, the department would probably provide a formal letter received by them to their external examiner with the marked scripts. But I would expect the decision of the Court of Examiners to be final.


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    #5
    lucernarian
    Registered Users Posts: 9,235 ✭✭✭lucernarian


    I think the key part of examination is to impartially and consistently show a student's ability in a moderatorship, in comparison to both their peers and to other college graduates when it comes to employment or research prospects.

    That is why exams which are unduly challenging or poorly structured compared to the same material as previous years are equally damaging to result credibility as predictable or hinted questions on other exam papers/years

    Therefore, giving the lecturer a letter or email is a good start to clearing up any misunderstandings and to help ensure that fair and reflective results are attained. Some lecturers prefer to deal with the class rep only, so keep that in mind.

    Depending on how well you know them, having a quick word with your tutor may be a good idea too.


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