Mark scheme
A mark scheme is the document that sets out how marks are awarded for each question in an assessment - the answers or qualities that earn credit, and how many marks each is worth.
What is a mark scheme?
A mark scheme is the document that tells a marker how to award marks for each question: what counts as a creditworthy answer, how many marks it is worth, and how partial credit works. Exam boards publish one for every paper, and departments write their own for internal assessments.
A mark scheme is the contract between a question and a mark. Without one, marking is an opinion; with one, a mark can be explained, checked and defended. That is why exam boards publish a mark scheme alongside every paper, and why the first thing a department does when writing an internal assessment is decide how it will be marked.
Points-based and levels-based mark schemes
Most mark schemes take one of two shapes. A points-based scheme lists the specific things an answer must contain, each worth a mark - common in the sciences, mathematics and short-answer questions generally. A levels-based scheme describes bands of quality and asks the marker to decide which band an answer best fits as a whole; this is the norm for extended writing in English, history and similar subjects. Many papers use both, points-based for the early questions and levels-based for the longer ones.
Why mark schemes still need interpreting
A mark scheme reduces disagreement but does not remove it. Phrases like "clear understanding" or "well-supported" have to be read against real student writing, and reasonable markers read them differently. This is precisely why departments standardise before marking and moderate after it: the mark scheme sets the standard, and those two processes check that everyone is applying it the same way.
Key takeaways
- A mark scheme sets out what earns credit for each question, and how many marks it is worth.
- Points-based schemes list creditworthy content; levels-based schemes describe bands of quality.
- Exam boards publish mark schemes for every paper; departments write their own for internal assessments.
- A mark scheme narrows disagreement between markers but does not eliminate it, which is why standardisation and moderation exist.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a mark scheme and marking criteria?
In everyday use they overlap. "Mark scheme" usually means the exam board's published document for a specific paper, while "marking criteria" tends to describe the qualities being rewarded more generally - the wording inside a levels-based scheme, or a department's own criteria for an internal task. Both answer the same question: what earns a mark?
Do teachers have to use the exam board's mark scheme?
For work that counts towards a qualification, yes - the board's mark scheme is the standard. For internal assessments a department can write its own, and often does, though many choose to mirror the board's structure and assessment objectives so that internal marks predict external ones more closely.
Related terms
Assessment objectives
Assessment objectives are the categories of skill a qualification tests - commonly labelled AO1, AO2 and AO3 - each carrying a defined share of the available marks.
Levels of response marking
Levels of response marking awards marks by deciding which band descriptor an answer best fits as a whole, rather than by adding up credit for individual points.
Standardisation
Standardisation is the process of agreeing how a mark scheme should be applied before marking begins - typically by marking exemplar work together - so that every marker works to the same standard.
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