Exam Marking – Use your Knowledge to Make money

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Many teachers and lecturers – both active and retired – boost their income by marking GCSE and other exam papers. It’s a useful way of squeezing extra cash out of something you already know how to do. If you’d like to mark exams for some extra income then read on…

What’s involved in exam marking?
How much can I make?
What costs will there be?
What training and qualifications will I need?
Pros
Cons

What’s Involved in Exam Marking?

Exam boards generally recruit throughout the year with the bulk of examiners employed for the summer. Most exam marking is done in June and then a bit more in January, leaving you free for the rest of the year.

You might get one other batch of exam marking if you’re lucky. However, you are unlikely to get four contracts in twelve months.

Exam marking usually takes three or four weeks for which the examiner will be paid something in the range of £500 to £1,000. The number of scripts involved varies from subject to subject, as does the payment per script. Some subjects are tougher to mark so examiners are paid more for each one and given fewer of them.

Training is provided for new examiners. In addition to this, you have to attend a standardisation meeting for each contract to ensure consistency.

Exam Marking - Use your Knowledge to Make money

How much can I make?

You can expect to earn between £500 and £1,000 over three or four weeks, more than enough to pay for a week or two in the sun!

What costs will there be?

Nothing except your time, although you will need your own computer for online exam marking. This is because most scripts are now marked through an online system.

Training days are free and most exam boards will bear the replacement costs if you have to miss a day of teaching. To reimburse these costs, exam boards will often give you a teacher release voucher. As well as this, you should get travel expenses too.

What training and qualifications will I need?

You must be fully qualified in the subject you’re examining and ideally have teaching experience in it. Computer literacy is just as important, as you’ll most likely be required to work online as an examiner.

There will be training days where new examiners learn the secrets of standardised exam marking. Here you’ll be monitored throughout the exam marking process.

Pros

You can work alongside your current role.
Three or four weeks will earn you enough to take a holiday!
Being an examiner will look good on your CV.
It will improve your teaching. There’s nothing like marking 300 scripts to help you realise what examiners like and dislike.
The training sessions provide valuable networking opportunities.
Oh yes, and you can work at home where the coffee is probably better than at work.
There even may be an opportunity to become a senior examiner too.

Cons

The work comes in short, sharp, concentrated bursts.
500 pieces of work are a lot to get through in three or four weeks.
Self-discipline and effective time management are a must. You can’t leave it all to the last minute, plus you owe the students a clear mind.