REVIEW OF EXAMS AND PROJECTS BY EXTERNAL
EXAMINERS
Overview
1.
The following instructions set out the process by which External Examiners should be
sent samples of exam and (where relevant) project scripts each year, to review
ahead of the final Exam Board meeting. This is known as ‘moderation’ of exams and
projects.
2.
The essential requirement is that a sample should consist of at least six pieces of
work for each assessment task, two each from the top, middle and bottom of the
range of grades. Externals should also be sent all further distinction-level or failgraded scripts or reports (or a selection, for large modules where it would be
impractical to review them all).
3.
This should be contextualised with appropriate further material. There is a full
checklist of materials to be sent out by TSO or DL Office staff, with comprehensive
guidance on what should be included.
4.
The purpose of reviewing sample exam and project work is to give each External
Examiner confidence in the appropriateness and consistency of marking (by
comparing the grades given against the related marking criteria), and also establish
benchmarks against which to make any decisions about borderline cases. External
Examiners should report back to confirm their opinion of the material reviewed using
the moderation form.
Related procedures
5.
In addition to review of sample exam and project scripts, External Examiners will
need to be sent samples of assessed module work to review. In most cases this work
will already have been moderated (in line with the School’s further separate Module
Moderation policy) and the grades will not be amenable to change.
6.
External Examiners will also need to be sent more comprehensive portfolios of
student work in order to reach decisions for borderline cases (students whose final
degree GPA falls into either the fail/pass and pass/distinction borderline ranges).
Work from such candidates should usually be excluded from the ‘standard’ sample of
work sent for moderation.
7.
To carry out these duties effectively, External Examiners should not be overburdened
with other optional duties such as second-marking of scripts.
8.
External Examiners are not required to consider extenuating circumstances other
than for students whose final degree GPA falls into a borderline range (as above).
Exam Board Chairs will have been notified of any students with extenuating
circumstances.
1
Moderation responsibilities
9.
External Examiners should be consulted by Exam Board Chairs as to precisely what
information they would like to be sent, and in what format. The relevant Administrator
should be instructed to compile information and material accordingly.
10.
The information summarised on the checklist and described in detail represents
recommended practice, but External Examiners may request that aspects be
modified or further information or scripts provided. For example, Externals for smaller
courses sometimes see all the exam papers and projects. All reasonable efforts will
be made to meet such requests, with the Exam Board Chair having final discretion
over what is provided
11.
For courses which have more than one External Examiner, exam and project
moderation responsibilities may also be divided up as determined between
themselves and the Exam Board Chair. For example, where there are two Externals,
exams may be seen by one and projects by the other; or they may choose to divide
up exam questions to review those best matched to their individual subject expertise;
or it may be felt appropriate for the Externals to be sent different random samples of
material, so their collected views will be based on a wider range of students.
12.
This flexibility is intended to support the key aim of the exam and project moderation
process – giving External Examiners a clear and confident understanding of the
standard of student work and corresponding marks given.
Instructions for providing sample exam and project material
13.
Course Administrators should complete the ‘Checklist of Material for Review of
Exams and Projects’ with details of material compiled and sent to External
Examiners, using it as a ‘cover sheet’. The ‘Details of Material for Review of Exams &
Projects’ gives comprehensive details/instructions about each item to provide. The
most critical items are:
 To give a specific grades sheet covering all candidates from the course
 To supply work for at least six candidates, two from each of the top, middle and
bottom of the grade range, for both exams and (where relevant) projects.
Sending material:
 Material should usually be sent out as soon as a full set is available. However it
may be sent in multiple ‘batches’, e.g. sending sample exam material after exam
marking has been completed, ahead of project material being ready.
 If batching material, a separate checklist should be sent for each – with a clear
‘batch number’. Boxes on the checklist should only be ticked for the material
included in that particular batch.
Format of material:
 It is likely that most material will be posted in hardcopy, e.g. photocopies of exam
scripts.
 However some material may be emailed as electronic versions where easier (or
requested by External Examiners), or a link provided.
 If all material is being sent hardcopy then the moderation form (for External
Examiners to complete) should usually also be provided in hardcopy, with a
postal address for the relevant Administrator it needs to be sent back to at
2
LSHTM. Alternatively the moderation form may be emailed, with the checklist
stating the email address of the Administrator to whom it is to be returned.
Covering information with checklist:
 At the top of the checklist, the Course Administrator should give basic covering
information, including their own contact details, and note to which External
Examiner(s) the material has been sent. A clear deadline (ahead of the final
Exam Board) should be indicated for return of the moderation form.
 Brief comments may be given about the information being provided – especially
to note whether any more is still to follow, e.g. if sample exam material is being
sent ahead of project material. If some information is being sent in hardcopy and
some electronically, this should be made very clear. Where extensive
explanations need to be given, it may be better to give these in a separate
covering note.
 The Administrator should save their own file copy of the checklist, as a record of
what has been sent. This may also be emailed to the Exam Board Chair to inform
them of what has gone out.
Further points to note – exam scripts
14.
Certain exam papers may include questions common to multiple MSc courses – e.g.
questions may be shared across face-to-face Paper 1 exams, or across both face-toface and Distance Learning exams. In such cases, involved Exam Boards should
have decided whether to nominate ‘Exam Board designated’ staff to mark such
questions for their candidates only, or to request that such questions be marked by
‘module designated’ staff selected by the Module Organisers for the modules
concerned.
 In both cases, External Examiners should be able to review scripts including such
questions, as part of the sample of assessed material they are sent. Any specific
comments or queries fed back by External Examiners should be followed up by
the Exam Board Chair with the relevant Module Organiser(s) – ideally before any
Exam Board which covers relevant multi-course questions has met.
 In the second case, where shared questions have been marked by moduledesignated staff, the relevant Module Organisers (or another designated
Moderator) should actively moderate – i.e. (i) review the complete set of grades
awarded for those questions, including how they are distributed between students
from different courses; and (ii) review samples of student answers to these
questions from the top, middle and bottom of the grade range, and drawn from
across the different courses involved. The relevant Exam Board Chairs should be
informed of the Moderator’s findings, which may include any recommendations
about changing grades for such questions should inconsistencies be detected.
Such moderation should be completed before any Exam Board which covers
such multi-course questions has met. Samples of work sent to External
Examiners may include such work, but for review only (i.e. having already been
moderated, grades may not be changed).
Further points to note – project reports
15.
Projects are generally the last item marked ahead of final Exam Board meetings, and
hence the grades and the student feedback may not be available until the last
minute. In some cases it may be appropriate to send the External Examiners a
random sample of unmarked projects at the same time that they are sent off to
markers. Alternatively, the day of the External’s visit to the School may be scheduled
so that they have time to read a sample of projects in the morning, ahead of the final
Board meeting which may typically be in the afternoon.
3
Instructions for External Examiners reviewing material
16.
An ‘External Examiner moderation form for sample exam and/or project work’ is
provided. This represents a report to the Exam Board. External Examiners should
complete the form to confirm that the material they have reviewed has been fairly and
consistently marked at an appropriate standard. There are six tick-boxes for this
purpose, plus space for comments.
17.
External Examiners may use the form to raise issues or make recommendations
about marking – e.g. suggesting that marks from certain marking pairs should be
reviewed, or recommending that marks for certain groups of work may need to be
adjusted. Any issues raised should be followed up further at the School ahead of the
final Exam Board meeting, while any recommendations will need formal agreement
at the Board.
 If an External Examiner is unhappy about the marking of questions, papers or
projects, they can request that all potentially-affected scripts or projects be
reviewed and where necessary re-graded. The Exam Board Chair will determine
who should do this; it may be done by the External or another examiner. Revised
grades should be put forward for ratification at the final Board meeting.
 For exams where questions have been shared across several courses, any regrading must take place prior to the final meetings of any involved Exam Boards;
and if such shared questions have been marked by ‘module-designated’ staff
they should already have been moderated and hence grades will not be
amenable to change.
 Note that External Examiners may potentially have been involved in secondmarking exams (e.g. specific exam questions), but should previously not have
been involved in marking projects save in cases where two examiners were
unable to reconcile grades, and the Exam Board Chair asked that the External
act as a third-marker.
Return and consideration of External Examiner moderation forms
18.
External Examiners are asked to complete and return moderation forms by a set
deadline ahead of final Exam Board meetings, as indicated on the covering checklist
of material sent. The deadline is intended to allow sufficient time for any issues
raised to be followed up by Exam Board Chairs.
 Forms should be returned in the same format that they were sent out, i.e. either
by email or in hardcopy, to the Administrator’s email or postal address at LSHTM
as indicated on the checklist
 If forms are not returned by the deadline then External Examiners should give
them to the Chair at the final Exam Board meeting. Alternatively, External
Examiners may confirm orally at the meeting that they were satisfied with the
material provided; this should be recorded in the minutes.
19.
Each form should be reviewed by the Exam Board Chair ahead of the final Board
meeting, for the Chair to follow up in advance of the meeting regarding any relevant
matters raised.
The form should also be reported at the final Exam Board meeting, under the standard
agenda item for ‘review and confirmation of grades’ – which should include sub-items on (i)
prior module moderation, (ii) exam and project moderation by the External Examiner(s), and
(iii) any further consideration of grade distribution data
4