ABSTRACT
Many marine topics are common to one or more grade of certificate or qualification. Also, it should be borne in mind that the examiners can be expected to ask questions on previous qualification grades to ensure that the candidate’s prior knowledge and his/her competence as a Junior Officer is evident. The obvious area of guidance must therefore be the respective syllabuses for the relevant examination. As with any assessment, it must be fair and it must be valid. Marine examiners are aware of these parameters when carrying out examinations and usually ensure that questioning of the candidates always falls within the categories of fairness and validity. They are equally aware that no one man or woman can expect to know all the answers to every topic and question. Clearly, within the conduct of any examination, a level of common sense must be seen to exist on the part of both the candidate and the examiner.
