Doublemarking

Doublemarking is an assessment process in which a student’s work is evaluated independently by two markers to improve reliability and fairness in grading. It is commonly used for exams, essays, coursework, and portfolios in higher education and some professional qualification programs.

In a typical doublemarking workflow, two markers grade the same submission without influencing each other. After both marks are assigned, they are compared. If the difference between them is within a predefined tolerance, one of the marks (often the average or the higher, depending on policy) is used as the final grade. If the marks diverge beyond the tolerance, an adjudication step follows, which may involve a discussion between markers, a third marker reviewing the work, or a reconciliation process to determine the final mark.

The rationale for doublemarking is to reduce random error and bias, increase fairness, and provide a verifiable record of how a grade was determined. It can help identify inconsistencies in marking standards and support quality assurance within an institution. However, doublemarking also increases the time and cost of marking, and its effectiveness depends on clear marking criteria, proper marker training, and consistent application of the rubric.

Variants of the practice include blind marking (where markers do not know student identity) and random sampling (where only a subset of submissions is double-marked). In many systems, doublemarking is one component of a broader moderation strategy intended to maintain standardization across courses and cohorts.