The method of marking papers seems to be the sole reference acknowledged by all stakeholders in Mauritius. But “this obsession with marks has a lot of consequences on the integration of pupils in the system and even on their socialisation especially for the most vulnerable members of society,” explains Rada Tirvassen.

But there are ways of decreasing the exaggerated importance of final marks. International trends tend to point at what is called diagnostic and formative evaluation. As for the senior lecturer at the MIE, “the capacity of giving marks – which includes a certain measure of subjectivity that can however be reduced through a system of criterion-based assessment – is not the main issue in evaluation and assessment”.

Formative assessment is particularly relevant because it contains the notion of feedback in order to improve the level or the competence of each pupil towards one specific objective. It is a method of judging the worth of a programme while the programme activities are happening. Formative evaluation actually focuses on the process. An example of this type of evaluation could be the capacity of pupils to reason from a diagram in geography. Teachers would be able to give a feedback directly to the student and see whether he/she has acquired specific competencies while the module is taking place.

“Some schools are already implementing this system but we could see how this could be reinforced or more formalised in order to become an established concept in the education system,” says an official source. “Teachers might first believe that they are wasting their time but it is totally untrue, as it will help in the final assessment,” the source adds.

Up to now, according to an official source, “importance might have been given to grades and marks while there is no concrete description of what these grades or marks mean for pupils. Standards might have to be applied in order to give more useful feedback. The status of the mistake – which should be an opportunity to point at a lack or misconception – might also have to be reviewed”.

But assessment is not only about validating the acquisition of a certain number of concepts (final exams) or adapting the learning that is being done at a certain point in time (formative). “There should be a culture of evaluation where teachers are led to go beyond the culture of marking. And this culture can only come from the institutionalisation of diagnostic evaluation,” states Rada Tirvassen. This type of assessment is particular, as it is prior to the learning process. It is a pedagogic tool to help teachers see the level of each pupil in a specific subject and build up their course.

It takes the specificity of each pupil into consideration and helps reduce heterogeneity within the classroom. It includes the notion that each pupil comes with a certain fund of knowledge as well as weaknesses and should help each of them make more progress more rapidly.