Questions to Ask About Marking

• Are you marking in too much detail or not enough?

• How frequently should you mark pupils’ work?

• Should you use different colour pens or highlighters for effective marking?

• Do you need to use stamps for feedback (e.g. verbal feedback given)?

• Is there a particular style or format of marking expected by Ofsted?

A new School Inspection Update was published at the end of November 2016.

New ‘School Inspection Update’from Sean Harford (HMI National Director, Education)

November 2016 (Issue 8)

Part of this update focused on issues regarding Marking and Feedback and how they are treated during school inspections.

A link to the full document is here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/572048/School_inspection_update_November_2016.pdf

The report says that: ‘recent updates have focused on ‘myth-busting’ in response to the DfE’s Workload Challenge review groups … Marking has proved to be one of the harder myths to bust’.

School Inspection Update

The new update follows up on the DfE Workload Challenge response.

What was the Workload Challenge?

More than 44,000 people responded.

Workload Challenge

In October 2014, the Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister launched the DfE online Workload Challenge. It was a month-long consultation about unnecessary or unproductive tasks carried out by teachers.

The report concluded: ‘Marking, planning and tracking pupil progress are not unnecessary or unproductive.’

‘It is the volume, level of duplication, bureaucracy or detail sometimes associated with these tasks that can be unnecessary or unproductive.’

A link to the full Government response to the Workload Challenge (February 2015) is here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/415874/Government_Response_to_the_Workload_Challenge.pdf

Workload Challenge

The November 2016 ‘School Inspection Update’ provides further important guidance for inspectors regarding how marking is perceived during school inspections.

This may have a significant impact on schools evaluating their own marking policy and teachers’ marking habits.

These two key statements come from the document:

School Inspection Update

‘Inspectors must not give the impression that marking needs to be undertaken in any particular format and to any particular degree of sophistication or detail.’

It goes on to say: ‘there is remarkably little high quality, relevant research evidence to suggest that detailed or extensive marking has any significant impact on pupils’ learning.’

Furthermore, inspectors are therefore directed as follows:

Guidance for Inspectors

‘please do not report on marking practice, or make judgements on it, other than whether it follows the school’s assessment policy’

‘please do not seek to attribute the degree of progress that pupils have made to marking that you consider to be either effective or ineffective’

‘please do not make recommendations for improvement that involve marking, other than when the school’s marking/assessment policy is not being followed by a substantial proportion of teachers’

Ofsted Inspections – Clarification for Schools(This is an additional document provided to accompany the School Inspection Handbook, first published June 2015)https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/463242/Ofsted_inspections_clarification_for_schools.pdf

In this document, it states:

Further Guidance for Schools

‘Ofsted recognises that marking and feedback to pupils, both written and oral, are important aspects of assessment.’ ‘However, Ofsted does not expect to see any specific frequency, type or volume of marking and feedback; these are for the school to decide through its assessment policy.’ ‘Ofsted does not expect to see any written record of oral feedback provided to pupils by teachers.’

Based on the guidance, the school’s marking policy is therefore entirely up to the school to decide. This includes reference to:•the frequency of marking•the type of marking decided upon•the amount or level of detail •the colour of the pens used for markingOfsted will not judge progress or performance based on any of these factors.

Ofsted will not expect to see any particular marking format. 

Schools should look at their own marking policy and evaluate the impact and effectiveness for both teachers and pupils.

Action for Schools and Teachers

Schools are not under any obligation to produce detailed marking policies and teachers should therefore not feel pressured to mark in overly complicated detail.

• Are you marking in too much detail or not enough?• There is no specific amount of detail required for marking and

Ofsted recognises there is little evidence to suggest that detailed marking has any significant impact on pupils’ learning.

• How frequently should you mark pupils’ work?• There is no specified frequency in which marking need to be carried

out.

• Should you use different colour pens or highlighters for effective marking?• Ofsted has no expectation that marking is done in any particular

colour or any number of different colours.

Conclusions and myth-busting about marking

• Do you need to use stamps for feedback (e.g. verbal feedback given)?• Ofsted does not expect to see any written record of oral feedback

provided to pupils by teachers.

• Is there a particular style or format of marking expected by Ofsted?• No particular style, type, volume or frequency is specified by

Ofsted.

All of the above are to be determined by the school’s own marking policy.

Conclusions and myth-busting about marking

Summary of DocumentsNew ‘School Inspection Update’ from Sean Harford (HMI National Director, Education); (November 2016, Issue 8)https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/572048/School_inspection_update_November_2016.pdf

Government response to the Workload Challenge (February 2015):https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/415874/Government_Response_to_the_Workload_Challenge.pdf

Ofsted Inspections – Clarification for Schools(This is an additional document provided to accompany the School Inspection Handbook, first published June 2015)https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/463242/Ofsted_inspections_clarification_for_schools.pdf