CASA Exam marking errors??

[Skillzpwnd]

Happened to me today, apparently I got 45% :mad: in Aerodynamics h, seems bizarre because I know I passed. I never got less than 92% in 8 practice exams on the AFT site - I know it doesn't mean much but still.. I got over 80% in MET,General knowledge,Nav and human factors.. .. to jump to 45% in one of my more confident exams... Has anyone successfully appealed, or had this happen (would love to hear from you)
I have a strong feeling I passed but have read a lot that CASA does not respond to appeals unless backed up by precise information.. I didn't even get a KDR because exam result was so low. Any help is appreciated

Not that it's relevant, but.. I finished my exam roughly 40mins, there were 9 others in the room sitting exams, not sure how many/if anyone else was on Aerodynamics h. Possible submitting of someone elses console who is halfway through their exam.. Have read about it happening..

[apache]

Yeah... I got the same result in three exams once. Ironically the same three exams that I sat that week! I called and asked about it.... It was gonna cost me $270 to have them re marked... Or $100 to resist all three plus have four extra resits available for further use.

You do the math.

I even asked to see the remarking .... Nope! I queried how it could be so.... Based on one being a 50 question test with an odd percentage result!

Somedays you back a winner......somedays you send your money to casa!

[grrowler]

I don't know how the exams are done these days - paper answer sheet or on the computer? If paper, is it possible that you skipped a question but didn't skip the line on the answer sheet, thereby getting all your answers out of sync? I do know of someone that this happened to and they did manage to get it reviewed successfully - it did involve the course instructor going in to bat for him, and a lot of hassling. Good luck!

[system.of.a.down]

AIC H12/03

8.

REQUEST FOR RE-MARKING OF EXAMS

8.1 There are two separate processes for candidates to address any dis-
satisfaction with the exam outcome. These are the “re-marking” process,
and the “post-exam comment” process which provides a facility for report-
ing on dissatisfaction with aspects of exam content after the exam sitting.

8.2 Re-marking. The CyberExams marking process is very accurate and
re-marking an exam is unlikely to alter the result. Nevertheless, candidates
may request a remark of an exam at a cost of $70 as specified in Civil Avia-
tion (Fees) Regulations. Payment of this fee may be by cheque or credit
card authorisation, but cash should not be sent. The application for a re-
mark must be accompanied with the correct fee and addressed to:

Civil Aviation Safety Authority
(Flight Crew Licensing Section)
(Exam Re-mark)
PO Box 2005
ACT 2601

Facsimile application (to 02 6217 1664) will require credit card payment.
Therefore, a credit card number and validity date with an authority for CASA
to debit this account will be required.

8.3 Post-exam Comments. The following will apply in respect of post-
exam comments

a. Basically, the “post-exam comment” process facilitates post-
exam appeals by candidates. After an exam, a candidate who
wishes to report on any aspect of the exam, including any ques-
tion that he/she feels could have adversely affected the exam re-
sult,may do so by e-mail to [email protected].
This service is provided free of charge.

b. Candidates without e-mail facility may submit the post exam com-
ments by post to the CASA address stated in paragraph 8.2
above, or by facsimile to 02 6217 1664, titling the report as “Post-
exam Comment”. The same procedures applying to the e-mail
post-exam comments facility will apply to normal mail or facsimile
reports.

c. All post-exam comments will be assessed by CASA and appropri-
ate action taken as necessary. However, candidates should real-
ise that CASA does not have the resources to reply to all
comments. Candidates will only be advised when action has
been taken as the result of their post exam comments.

d. Candidates should not expect to use the post-exam comments fa-
cility as a training service. The KDR provides advice to candi-
dates on topics requiring further training, and this should be
arranged through the candidate’s aeronautical knowledge in-
structor.

[kalavo]

You can ask... yet to see one that's resulted in a favorable result to the candidate though. And further questioning of the candidate has usually indicated where they went wrong.

[jas24zzk]

I'm surprised you didn't get a KDR.

Even systems post doesn't suggest that there is a lower limit that a KDR will be provided for.


One thing that really got me, was during my CPL (A) exams, i had to hand over my worksheets before I was given my KDR's. That irked the hell out of me... I no longer had a reference to what I did when I sought remedial actions.

Only once did the examiner break the rules and permit me to 'view' my own workings...and only probably because I had passed.
I think that rule of not being able to keep your exam workings is a crock of shoe.


As for your resit. I'd leave it for now. You're prolly too wound up about it to make a decent go of it. Put the subject on the shelf for now and tackle the remainders. Then at least you'll know how many resits you have to do. Worked for me when I flunked airlaw by a whisker. Tackled it later and aced it. Everyones diff tho, the revisit later approach works for me.

Good Luck
Jas

[jas24zzk]

You can ask... yet to see one that's resulted in a favorable result to the candidate though. And further questioning of the candidate has usually indicated where they went wrong.

Thats about how it goes. However I think that the biggest issue is that no KDR was issued.

[MakeItHappenCaptain]

One thing that really got me, was during my CPL (A) exams, i had to hand over my worksheets before I was given my KDR's. That irked the hell out of me... I no longer had a reference to what I did when I sought remedial actions.

What, they didn't let you write down all the questions and take them with you for someone else to use?
The BASTARDS!!!:eek:

[jas24zzk]

LOL.

I don't think that I saw any exam question that I hadn't seen in a practice exam at least once. So i guess no need for me to copy the questions......already done by someone else :sad:

[Jerr]

This raises some serious issues. I have marked university level exam papers, have acted on the Board of Examiners for a post graduate professional organisation certifying its members for specialist level qualifications.

These institutions have appeal mechanisms in place, and have their processes regularly reviewed.

This does not seem to be happening with ASL or CASA.

Why - well I guess if you have your ATPLs you move on, and anything less than that you have no real say or an association to fight on your behalf!

JERR

[system.of.a.down]

For those out of the loop, the exams are now computer based multiple choice. This removes errors like marking the 'X' in the wrong place on a hard copy piece of paper. It is marked instantly and the result is displayed on the screen within 20 seconds of hitting submit. The likely hood of being marked wrong is slim to none, unless there was a bogus question in there somewhere.

As for the KDR:

KDR without syllabus items

A candidate who obtains a 100% score in their CPL examinations will not have any syllabus item on the KDR.

Similarly, a candidate who scores 50% or less will also not receive any specific syllabus items on the KDR. CASA considers a candidate who fails to achieve at least 51% as not being sufficiently trained nor prepared for the examination attempt. Such a performance requires a complete re-visit of the entire syllabus for the subject if re-training is contemplated. Therefore, a candidate who fails to achieve at least 51% in a CPL subject-part examination shall consider the entire syllabus for the subject material to restudy for the KDR.

[zappalin]

system
...result is displayed on the screen within 20 seconds of hitting submit.

I gotta say some of my exam results felt like they took much more than 20 seconds!!

Skillz
I'm afraid it seems unlikely there was such an error for your exam - to be out by a factor of 30-40% like you suspect is quite a massive technical problem! Before spending the money getting the result reviewed, how about tracking down some of the others in the same examination session and seeing if they had any problems.

From personal experience, Aero confounded the hell out of me! I was also sitting on 85-95% for my other exams, and was scoring 95-98% in practise exams from CASA, AFT, etc. First attempt: 68% Probably the worst feeling you can get!
Went back to the books for the next week and resat Aero to get 65% the next time - more study was actually making me worse! :eek:
After 2 fails in a short time period, I had to have a gap of a month or 6 weeks (I think) before being able to resit it. Didn't even touch the books again in that time. Cruised through with 88% on the third sit.
You'll manage in the end, but I gotta say 45% must have been a rude shock! All I can say is good luck!

[solowflyer]

I have had an exam remarked before by ASL in NZ. Was a few years ago now. Initially failed with something like 65%. I queried a few of the questions that I knew I had got right but had been marked wrong in the KDR. Result mark goes from 65% to 85%:ugh:

[layman]

Agree with Jerr about there needing to be an appeal processes for exam marking (at a 'reasonable' cost? refunded if appeal successful?).

In more than 15 years of assessing exams and assignments (and having some reviewed on appeal), the students most likely to appeal are usually in the category of "they don't know they don't know". (real-life examples of the Dunning-Kruger effect)

Having said that, I've had students who thought they failed only to get more than 90% !!

regards
layman