Strengths and weaknesses of the external examiner mechanism

Abstract

There are many differences between British and US universities. Nowhere is the difference greater than in the way in which students are assessed. US professors have considerable autonomy in how they set and grade an exam. UK universities implement a complex process that interlocks universities to create a common procedural standard across the country. A UK academic sets an exam and produces specimen solutions plus a marking scheme that are sent to a senior academic, the external examiner, in another university. The external examiner comments on the suitability of the exam and the teacher setting the exam should modify the paper if requested. When students take the exam, the external examiner samples their work and comments on the results. The external examiner is responsible for academic quality control. This paper describes the UK's external examiner system and looks at the strengths and weaknesses of the mechanism and its influence on higher education in the UK. © 2005 IEEE.