A comparison of examination scores under decentralized and centralized systems of marking in class VI mathematics in Bhutan

In 1999, the Department of Education in Bhutan decentralized responsibility for administration and scoring of the National Level Examinations for class VI. While the objective of decentralizing the exams was to invite schools and teachers to assume a more prominent role in the assessment of students at a local level, the shift in examination policy caused considerable anxiety among the general public and teachers. Generally, the concern revolved around how much reliance could be placed on the results of the new system and whether or not they could be treated at par with the traditional system of marking.; This study investigated the reliability of marking of the 1999 class VI mathematics answer scripts under two different conditions of scoring (decentralized and centralized). A sample of 1100 maths answer scripts were systematically selected from a population of 7500 papers for this purpose. Ninety-one primary and junior high schools out of 178 schools were represented in the data. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...