Report on 2008 exam
Karen Disney
Chair, Accreditation Board
The Accreditation Board is delighted to announce that a substantial number of exam candidates - just over 65 per cent - passed the exam and earned the rank of Accredited Editor, or AE.
Successful candidates represented the full spectrum of editing; most pleasingly, a significant number really shone.
The board offers its warmest congratulations to all new AEs on this distinguished achievement. By passing, they have shown that they not only understand but can successfully apply the principles of editing set out in Australian Standards for Editing Practice.
The exam went well on the day at every venue. The board would like to thank the society invigilators and other behind-the-scenes committee members who ensured the exam was conducted in a calm and reassuring manner, and whose thoughtfulness and attentiveness helped candidates to settle and focus in a stressful situation. A special thank you, too, to our tireless Exam Coordinator, Alan Ernst.
After the exam, and led by the Accreditation Board-Exam Development Team Liaison Officer, Renée Otmar, 12 assessors met with the Lead Exam Writer, Meryl Potter, in Sydney to begin marking papers. The group discussed the varied approaches of candidates to each question, and worked to extend the marking guide to accommodate this while maintaining consistency across the whole group. Everything possible was done to ensure the utmost fairness to candidates. The weekend meeting was followed by several weeks of email correspondence back and forth on specific points as marking proceeded.
A moderation committee then reviewed the overall results. Borderline papers (those scoring 75-79.99 per cent) were reviewed one by one, and papers that had even a remote chance of making up enough marks to pass were re-marked by another assessor.
In parallel, a selection of papers (about 20 per cent) from across the candidacy was reviewed to check that markers had followed the agreed guidelines. This sampling showed that remarkably consistent marking had been achieved by the assessors.
During the entire process, all papers were identified only by the candidate reference number. It was not until the day before results were sent out that the Exam Coordinator matched names to those numbers and provided them to the chair of the board for emailing. At all times, candidates' confidentiality was protected.
The overwhelming response after the exam was that it had been a fair and appropriate one. However, the Accreditation Board was on the alert for signs that the exam had been too long to finish in the time allocated, having received feedback from approximately 20 people on this matter.
Complaints about timing proved to be groundless. A very small number of candidates failed because they seriously misjudged the time, either spending too much time on Part 2 or failing to follow the instructions by answering too many questions in Part 3. The rest managed to complete the paper, demonstrate their competence and pass despite their concerns about rushing.
Further feedback on the exam is welcomed. Please send comments to Karen Disney, chair of the Accreditation Board, at karen.disney@kbr.com, by Friday 9 January 2009, for consideration at the board's meeting on 17 January, where planning for the 2009 exam will begin. Alternatively, log on to the IPEd Accreditation Exam discussion group at http://iped-editors.org/content/iped-accreditation-exam.
As the board has made clear from the beginning, papers will not be returned and individual marks will not be provided.
Results are being analysed to identify common areas of weakness, to guide future training and generate useful tips for those sitting next year. A preliminary review indicates that the most common problems were:
- failing to follow instructions in Part 3 (answering too many questions or ignoring the brief provided in the question)
- producing an inadequate style sheet in Part 2 and applying it inconsistently
- selecting questions in Part 3 that were clearly outside the candidate's area of competence.
Work will soon start on the 2009 exam. Right now, however, it is time to celebrate the achievements of so many successful editors. To all those who have earned the new postnominal, AE, we say CONGRATULATIONS!
