selectivedetective
Well-Known Member
Today I had to do some oral exams for a private exam centre. These are usually exams for 16 year olds, but sometimes older people do them. They gave me 4 or 5 different exam boards and 2 different languages. This would have been OK and I had an invigilator helping me to record etc, but some admin staff were away, and lots of materials were missing. We had to swap some exams around and do one earlier because the questions or admin for another hadn't been found yet.
In all the mayhem, I cut a few admin corners. Some students had been waiting up to three hours and were very nervous. They'd be sent up to the room where I was going to do the exam and were expecting to finally do the exam. Sometimes admin staff would come in quietly but annoyingly discussing something that was missing, with the candidate sitting there. Once they came in to ask me for a paper I hadn't been given. They came and asked again but this time I ignored them, to concentrate on the student, so the admin started shuffling through my papers to look for it. I also had to mark a few of the exams, as soon as they were over, but the admin would be asking to send the next candidate as soon as I had finished.
So by the end, I had written down all the info needed, but it wasn't all on the covering forms which I hadn't received. I thought in the grand scheme of things we had done well and both me and the invigilator had remained calm and friendly to the candidates so they were at ease. That was my priority. I was actually sitting at the desk from 8.30 to gone 3 without eating or drinking anything as the candidates just kept rolling in.
I hope this doesn't sound too pathetic but I was upset because after all that, when I finally finished and went in the office to ask for some of the materials, no-one was at all pleased! All the head admin woman could do was criticise me for not asking for some of the things that I hadn't asked for as everything was taking so long. They said I should have asked. The other woman called be by my name and said, "what we are saying, X, is that if you had asked, we could have given you these".
I suppose I'm also upset because I didn't defend myself very well and I'm never good at arguments. I explained that the candidates were waiting and they couldn't wait any longer and that overall, the corners weren't a big thing. But what I should have said was that every time I asked for something it was a big problem, and I was trying to smooth things over a bit by doing it this way. I could also have said that I also mark/assess these exams and I know the way I did things will not even be noticed. Later I mentioned that a form they had given me was actually an old one and they said well, they weren't teachers and didn't know all these things. And yet when I made a decision in my professional capacity as a teacher, I was told it was wrong.I just smiled when they said that because they said it in a sort of jokey let's be friends way after they had criticised me.
Oh the other thing is that even though it was mayhem, I had been very supportive of the staff and I could see they were in a difficult situation. I had not huffed and puffed while I waited for materials. I had not moaned to the candidates about them. They had given me an outdated grid for one exam, that meant some of the questions were wrong, but I understood that this was the kind of thing that sometimes happens and they may have received the new grid at the last minute and not printed it out.They had no idea what to do about the wrong grid and I could see another examiner had used it earlier in the week. I worked it out for them and wrote a note for the exam board to explain what had happened.
Anyway, I have processed this a bit now, but I wish these things didn't affect me so much. I'd also be interested in your thoughts on what to do. I am a freelance examiner and I get paid quite a bit for this. I probably won't hear more from them till there are more exams in November. It's possible they won't use me again but I think by then they might have realised I did a pretty good job. Or they might moan to someone at another branch who is very pleased with my work (and very organised with his materials) and he might support me. But do I want to work there again? I bring candidates to them too as I'm a tutor. One candidate there today was mine. Should I email anyone else in admin? I think I probably shouldn't. I'm just aware that in the past I would have done something and then regretted it - like tell them at the end that as they weren't happy, I wouldn't be coming back. Generally, now I'm older, I think doing nothing can be the best thing. I could certainly wait and then maybe make a decision if they do ask me again. I don't really quite know who is my friend in that organisation and I expect the different branches would stick together if I criticised.
In all the mayhem, I cut a few admin corners. Some students had been waiting up to three hours and were very nervous. They'd be sent up to the room where I was going to do the exam and were expecting to finally do the exam. Sometimes admin staff would come in quietly but annoyingly discussing something that was missing, with the candidate sitting there. Once they came in to ask me for a paper I hadn't been given. They came and asked again but this time I ignored them, to concentrate on the student, so the admin started shuffling through my papers to look for it. I also had to mark a few of the exams, as soon as they were over, but the admin would be asking to send the next candidate as soon as I had finished.
So by the end, I had written down all the info needed, but it wasn't all on the covering forms which I hadn't received. I thought in the grand scheme of things we had done well and both me and the invigilator had remained calm and friendly to the candidates so they were at ease. That was my priority. I was actually sitting at the desk from 8.30 to gone 3 without eating or drinking anything as the candidates just kept rolling in.
I hope this doesn't sound too pathetic but I was upset because after all that, when I finally finished and went in the office to ask for some of the materials, no-one was at all pleased! All the head admin woman could do was criticise me for not asking for some of the things that I hadn't asked for as everything was taking so long. They said I should have asked. The other woman called be by my name and said, "what we are saying, X, is that if you had asked, we could have given you these".
I suppose I'm also upset because I didn't defend myself very well and I'm never good at arguments. I explained that the candidates were waiting and they couldn't wait any longer and that overall, the corners weren't a big thing. But what I should have said was that every time I asked for something it was a big problem, and I was trying to smooth things over a bit by doing it this way. I could also have said that I also mark/assess these exams and I know the way I did things will not even be noticed. Later I mentioned that a form they had given me was actually an old one and they said well, they weren't teachers and didn't know all these things. And yet when I made a decision in my professional capacity as a teacher, I was told it was wrong.I just smiled when they said that because they said it in a sort of jokey let's be friends way after they had criticised me.
Oh the other thing is that even though it was mayhem, I had been very supportive of the staff and I could see they were in a difficult situation. I had not huffed and puffed while I waited for materials. I had not moaned to the candidates about them. They had given me an outdated grid for one exam, that meant some of the questions were wrong, but I understood that this was the kind of thing that sometimes happens and they may have received the new grid at the last minute and not printed it out.They had no idea what to do about the wrong grid and I could see another examiner had used it earlier in the week. I worked it out for them and wrote a note for the exam board to explain what had happened.
Anyway, I have processed this a bit now, but I wish these things didn't affect me so much. I'd also be interested in your thoughts on what to do. I am a freelance examiner and I get paid quite a bit for this. I probably won't hear more from them till there are more exams in November. It's possible they won't use me again but I think by then they might have realised I did a pretty good job. Or they might moan to someone at another branch who is very pleased with my work (and very organised with his materials) and he might support me. But do I want to work there again? I bring candidates to them too as I'm a tutor. One candidate there today was mine. Should I email anyone else in admin? I think I probably shouldn't. I'm just aware that in the past I would have done something and then regretted it - like tell them at the end that as they weren't happy, I wouldn't be coming back. Generally, now I'm older, I think doing nothing can be the best thing. I could certainly wait and then maybe make a decision if they do ask me again. I don't really quite know who is my friend in that organisation and I expect the different branches would stick together if I criticised.
