(Untitled)

[capcatalina]

Last chance to begin revising reasonably.

Comments

[snakehalf]

When do exams start again?

[snakehalf]

If the results date was, I don't know, December, they would definitely always be done. And if it was June, they would definitely never be done, right? So it stands to reason there must be a day between those points where in all but really exceptional circumstances, they would be more likely done than not. And it's probably nowhere near as far away as December. I bet it's probably not even that far in to August. Do you think the school keeps a list of every exam taken, the number of people taking it, the length of time it took to mark, and the number of markers? Or graders. Examiners? Examiners will do. Students per exam, examiners per exam, total exams that year, and time difference between exam take and results received.

[capcatalina]

I'm certain the school wouldn't, as O.W.L.s and N.E.W.Ts are administered by the Wizarding Examinations Authority and while I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm certain either way of their records management practices, I do belive you would find it very difficult to pull the data from them. The school might keep records of the results and the dates those results were received and with some effort it would be possible to work back to the useful data points, but not the data on the examiners--although it occurs to me as I'm saying this that having any of that information likely constitutes a massive breach of privacy unless it was anonymized and halfway analyzed before it got to you and therefore not nearly as useful as one would want.
I think this project would have to be undertaken institutionally.

[snakehalf]

So only DoME can do it? That makes things difficult.

[capcatalina]

You could try to gather the data from two sources. The amount of students and the dates in which the results are received could be gathered from the school. The amount of examiners and the amount of examinations taken would likely have to come from the ministry.
On second thought, it might be possible to account for the amount of exams taken if Hogwarts keeps any data regarding room reservations. The physical space at Hogwarts must be booked somehow, or at least someone must, at some point, know where to direct people during exam days.
That assumes Hogwarts keeps that information. All of this assumes that this data is being archived and can be recalled, which it may or may not. Assumptions. It's hard to tell considering we have no personal knowledge of the the records management practices for either institution. DoME might even keep public records and all of this speculation is moot.

[snakehalf]

That's a good point. I should write to them and ask before I do anything else.

[capcatalina]

Out of curiosity, I would be interested in what they say as well.

[snakehalf]

I'll tell you if they say anything. The Ministry isn't great at replying to people, though.

[capcatalina]

I've gathered as much. Still, you have to exhaust your options before giving up on an inquiry.

[snakehalf]

Yep. And no point starting on the complicated options until you've used up all the simple ones.

[capcatalina]

In my experience, the complicated finds you readily enough and there's no need to look for it.

[snakehalf]

That was ominous!

[capcatalina]

It was? What I mean is: our choices are often the aspect we have most control over in any given situation and, intentionally or not, other factors seldom take our needs and desires into account, therefore, it doesn't make sense to act in a way that compounds the complicated nature of being alive when there are good alternatives to doing so.

[snakehalf]

"No matter what you do, life will be a mess," is not really a fun thought.

[capcatalina]

I was trying to say something to the effect of, "Life is a mess, but it's possible to manage it."

[snakehalf]

Oh! I like that much better. Okay, let's go with that.