Exams body seeks suppliers for computer-based test marking

Pupils exams will be marked electronically

Exams body the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is to trial the use of computer-based marking for tests and is looking for IT suppliers to help provide suitable technology.

The agency intends to trial on-screen marking for reading, writing and mathematics single-level tests (SLTs) in May and June 2010, with further pilots during the summer.

In anticipation of successful trials, the QCA is inviting vendors to bid for contracts that could be worth up to £10m over four years.

The system will be required to scan several test papers from up to 55,000 pupils in the trial, store these securely and make them available for electronic marking by assessors.

“This will be a framework agreement intended to cover all QCA onscreen marking requirements during the proposed four-year period,” said the contract notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

“The total scope of this is difficult to quantify at this stage and is dependent on successful outcomes of the SLT trials and future government policy on testing.”

Interested bidders should contact QCA by 8 September.