eprintid: 10077264
rev_number: 26
eprint_status: archive
userid: 608
dir: disk0/10/07/72/64
datestamp: 2019-07-03 10:28:45
lastmod: 2021-11-10 02:06:08
status_changed: 2019-07-03 10:28:45
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Page, B
creators_name: Wyse,, S
creators_name: Walkington, H
creators_name: Hill, J
title: Degree outcomes and national calibration: debating academic standards in UK Geography
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B03
divisions: C03
divisions: F26
keywords: academic standards, assessment, calibration, degree outcomes, grade inflation
note: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
abstract: In this short intervention we report on work in progress by Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) in collaboration with professional bodies such as the RGS‐IBG, which seeks to respond to public concerns about “grade inflation” in relation to degree outcomes. We present an updated analysis of degree outcomes in UK geography for 2010–2016 showing a strong correlation between average A‐level points score on entry and the proportion of good degrees awarded by UK geography departments. We then go on to report on the results of pilot training activities within the discipline to increase the use of social calibration techniques as a means of providing transparent assurance about the high quality of assessment practices. We conclude that there is good reason to engage positively and actively with the public debate about academic standards and we make the case for regular social calibration exercises to share marking practices across multiple institutions as a potential means of ensuring consistency, reliability and clarity in academic standards.
date: 2020-06
date_type: published
publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
official_url: https://doi.org/10.1111/area.12571
oa_status: green
full_text_type: other
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 1669013
doi: 10.1111/area.12571
lyricists_name: Page, Ben
lyricists_id: BPAGE79
actors_name: Page, Ben
actors_id: BPAGE79
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
publication: Area
volume: 52
number: 2
pagerange: 376-385
issn: 0004-0894
citation:        Page, B;    Wyse,, S;    Walkington, H;    Hill, J;      (2020)    Degree outcomes and national calibration: debating academic standards in UK Geography.                   Area , 52  (2)   pp. 376-385.    10.1111/area.12571 <https://doi.org/10.1111/area.12571>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10077264/3/Page_Degree%20outcomes%20and%20national%20calibration.%20Debating%20academic%20standards%20in%20UK%20Geography_AAM.pdf