My Neighbourhood Watch #107- Reporting Events Around us

The Event that is ongoing in my area is the coordination and marking of the just concluded West African Senior School Certificate Examination(WASSCE) answer booklets at a central point in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The marking Centre is at Adiahaobong Secondary Commercial School, Nwaniba Road, adjacent to Ben Udo Street and General Edet Akpan Avenue, Uyo.
First of all, invitation for marking were sent across to all the Chief examiners,Team leaders and assistant examiners to notify them of a coordination meetings.
The aim of these meetings were to update them on the current marking scheme and procedures in marking scripts and entering the candidates' scores electronically online (this one is a new development).
Thereafter, Chief examiners and team leaders on different subjects were called to a meeting by the centre coordinator and other WAEC official at the marking venue.
Next was the normal coordination meeting with the assistant examiners and scratchers(those who were not invited officially but has the qualifications and the interest to mark) in their respective subject areas.This happened on the second day.
The essence of this central meeting is to mark dummies answer booklets according to marking scheme and to also spot out some typing error(s) in the marking scheme which will guide every examiners during the actual marking.
(dummy for Physics 3 Alternative A)

(dummy for Physics 3 Alternative B)

So many senior school subjects were available to be marked. But it is advisable to stick to one's area of specialization to ease the workload and ensure better marking. I have been marking Physics 3 (Practical Physics) since 2022 as a Scratcher but this year 2025, I was officially invited as an Assistant Examiner to mark the same subject in my area of specialization.

Actual Marking

Each examiner is apportioned parcels from different centres containing answer sheets to be marked. I was given 6 parcels from 6 examination centres containing a total of 242 scripts.
My Parcels from six exam centres

Marking of examination scripts is not that easy especially if you unfortunately happened to mark a centre where many candidates' writing is not legible. It will slow down your marking speed. Don't be surprised to see many teachers wear lenses. It is because they strain and stress their eyes beyond elastic limits so as to make sure that candidates don't lose mark unnecessarily.

some distraction @ home while marking-Daddy I want to write

The most easiest part to mark is the calculation aspects and table of values which have their formulas to express the answers. But when it comes to short questions that candidates have to state a law or principle guiding the experiments carried out, and the plotting of graphs; this is where most candidates are found wanting. And this is the marking areas that stress the examiners most because they have to slow down and make sure that all marks are not lost if possible, especially the question that a marking scheme prescribes 2 or 0, 1or zero. etc. which means that the candidate has to state some key words to the law/principle of Physics to score 1 mark or 2, otherwise zero.

Marked scripts piled up in envelopes

Checking of marked scripts

Checkers are employed during the marking exercise to do the comparison between a score entered by examiner on the scripts marked and the one on the 'marks and attendance sheets' he has transferred whether it tallies. So after marking and manual entry of scores on the 'marks and attendance sheet', an examiner will submit the entire scripts to the checker's room for checking before proceeding to electronic data entry.

Checkers@work

Electronic Mark Sheet(EMS)

After the manual entry of scores have been checked and signed by checkers, an examiner will take his manual 'marks and attendance sheet' and proceed for online electronic data entry which is a new development for 2025 marking exercise. He has to meet his subject officer for a code to have access to the electronic data entry sheet online.

Screenshot of electronic score entry

He will then carefully open each centre marked according to centre number and enter the scores for each candidate, transferring from what has been checked to electronic score sheet. Submit same and logout.

Final Reading of Scores

To ensure that the manual data so entered on paper coincide with the online electronic data just keyed in, the examiner will notify his subject officer that he has submitted his scores online. Therefore, the officer will login from his end and ask the examiner to read his hard copy, while he is cross checking the online score whether it tallies. Reading is done from candidate number 001 to whatsoever is the last registration number per each centre.
sitting before subject officer to read and confirm scores

Afterwards, the subject officer will endorse and clear the examiner. With his clearance form, examiner will proceed to the account unit for his Expenses & Claim form to signify end of marking, and awaiting when his marking fee will be paid.

Done and dusted for this year
All images are Author's own except otherwise indicated
I welcome the following friends to join the contest; @ninapenda and @manuelhooks.