Test paper error - maladministration?

[crestfallen]

We recently learned that DD's combined rank score means she will not qualify for our local GS. During one round, her test paper had pages missing. I appreciate it will be difficult to demonstrate objectively that, had this disruption not occurred, DD could have ranked high enough to qualify, but I can't help but feel she was at a unique disadvantage following this unfortunate incident.

I am not aware of the school having ever upheld an appeal and am very wary of entering a stressful appeals process with limited chances of success. I would very much appreciate your expertise in gauging whether the school correctly applied the admissions arrangements and if this could constitute mitigating circumstances to appeal? If so, any guidance on what evidence we would need to compile and prepare for our best chance of a successful appeal would be very gratefully received. Thank you.

Please note that further background information is available in the Appeals Box for the information of moderators.

[Etienne]

Welcome to Appeals.

I'm sorry to hear what happened during the test.

......... am very wary of entering a stressful appeals process ......

I'm afraid there's no avoiding the fact that it will be stressful.
My advice to everyone going for an appeal or review is "Don't enter the process expecting to win"!
In most cases the odds are likely to be against you.

I would very much appreciate your expertise in gauging whether the school correctly applied the admissions arrangements

It looks as if an error was made. The admission authority would have to explain at an appeal what steps, if any, it was able to take to rectify the situation.

'Maladministration' is a higher threshold - it means it can be shown that the mistake deprived your child of a place that would otherwise have been hers.

and if this could constitute mitigating circumstances to appeal?

Yes, because even if the admission authority was able to try and rectify the situation, they are not in a position to mitigate the emotional upset. Only an appeal panel could take that into account.

However, you almost certainly need more than mitigating circumstances for an appeal. You also need strong academic evidence and sound reasons for wanting a place at the school in question.

any guidance on what evidence we would need to compile and prepare for our best chance of a successful appeal would be very gratefully received.

Start here:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 35&t=35032" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Once you've finished reading, if you still have unanswered questions, do please let us know.

[ToadMum]

crestfallen, did your DD aging this to the attention of the invigilator? Did the invigilator ask everyone to check that they didn't also have pages missing, and so on?

If she told the invigilator about it, then it will be in the invigilator's log.

Have you spoken to the school / exam organisers about it?

[crestfallen]

Yes she (eventually) flagged it to the invigilator and was issued a new, complete test paper, but had to rub out and redo many answers as they were in the wrong places due to the missing questions. I contacted the school, so they are aware of the issue and handmarked her paper. However, she was not granted any additional time and had no time to check her anwers. In an another room, happening at roughly the same time, I understand that the test was stopped by the invigilators before the candidates reached those pages and asked them all to check their papers; a few papers were replaced before the time restarted.

[crestfallen]

Is it possible to request invigilator reports from other rooms where the error occured, to demonstrate if/how it was handled differently?

[Etienne]

You could try - but they might resist because such reports often contain references to identifiable children, which would raise data protection issues.

As a first step you could send a polite letter simply enquiring how this incident was dealt with in each room where the problem occurred. Ask whether invigilators recorded not only the incident, but what action was taken in each room.

[crestfallen]

I am struggling to prepare my appeal letter, namely the critical section which focuses on evidence of DD's academic ability.

DD currently attends an all-through indie. Unfortunately HT will not write a letter of recommendation (DD has been awarded a scholarship to the senior school). I am not sure if this is different in the state system, but I simply have no hard data nor evidence of her academic ability to present to the appeals panel. We only have school reports which state where DD is meeting and exceeding their expectations (which the school claims are far above national expectations).

Can you please help advise what hard data is most relevant to the panel so I know precisely what to ask the school for? I am at a loss as to how else I can factually prove her academic ability, as her GS scores were impacted by the issue of missing test paper pages.

Many thanks in advance for any advice.

[Etienne]

The Q&As?

If the school will co-operate:
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... cation#b48" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Otherwise, you're more restricted:
https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/appea ... cation#b20" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[crestfallen]

Many thanks, Etienne. Yes, in the absence of HT support I have requested access to DD's school record; I also have her reports and school books, but am sadly concluding that collating 'strong and overwhelming evidence' or indeed accessing any data (perhaps especially from an all-through indie?) is incredibly hard!

[crestfallen]

I have submitted my appeal letter and am now collating additional/supporting evidence. However, I have a few queries about what to submit (over and above the evidence proving DD's academic ability). I don't want to overwhelm the panel with unnecessary paperwork, but obviously want to submit sufficient evidence to ensure credibility:

- do I need to send the full scores/overall ranking data or will the school provide this?

- I haven't included any reference to DD's medical record in my letter as not at all central to our appeal (I only want to have up my sleeve at the hearing ie. "by the way, wasn't sure if worth mentioning this but....") It is stipulated that no 'on the day' evidence will be accepted by the panel; however, I am worried that sending it in advance as an appendix could distract from/undermine our key points and come across as weak or clutching at straws

- not a key point, but in my appeal I briefly cite from the school's admissions policy and also a relevant newspaper article - do the policy document and/or said article need to be provided as evidence?

- again, not a key point, but I have also quoted from the allocated school's latest OFSTED report to suggest it is less suitable than the school we are appealing against; does this OFSTED report need to be submitted as evidence also or will the direct quote be sufficient?

- the school we are appealing against have not provided the invigilator report which shows how the test paper error was handled differently in another room - if you think this is important, do you have any suggestions on how to handle this please?

Many thanks as always for any help and guidance.