Missed a 20 mark question

[doodles]

poor child.

[MrsChubbs]

Yes poor kid. Real confidence knock right at the start of her exams.

[Bumblebeez]

DD is aware about distraction in every exam now. School will not grant a rest break to allow for the departure, or separate invigilation, as these were not adjustments applied for by the SENCO in February. Neither we nor DD were consulted about her adjustments. The JCQ advice about separate invigilation is ambiguous: on the one hand

there is not a requirement to process an application using Access arrangements online or to record the use of the arrangement. No evidence is needed to support the arrangement

but it seems it needs to be

• the candidate’s normal way of working within the centre

So we're stuck for these exams, it seems, but are planning our A Levels campaign.

In today's exams, which were 2 x 1 hours of Biology back to back, the whole cohort started together. DD had to ignore the five minutes left announcement, the stop writing announcement, the collection of scripts and instructions to start paper 2, all while checking her answers, in addition to the usual disruption of 170+ kids filing out while she was finishing paper 2. This is predictably not ideal, and will happen all over again for Chemistry and Physics next week.

DD has been told by school to let them know at the time if she is distracted: this instruction is in itself a distraction for a dyslexic. However, she is now in the routine of reporting to the exams officer as she hands in her laptop, as she has been told that if they record her comment it may be considered in mitigation.

She is one of a group of 7 with extra time. I'm convinced the resources should be found to meet their predictable needs.

[JaneEyre]

DD had to ignore the five minutes left announcement, the stop writing announcement, the collection of scripts and instructions to start paper 2, all while checking her answers, in addition to the usual disruption of 170+ kids filing out while she was finishing paper 2. This is predictably not ideal, and will happen all over again for Chemistry and Physics next week.

Would wearing foam ear plugs like these ones help her in any way?
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=foam+ ... 4783589991" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bumblebeez]

Thanks JaneEyre, that's a very constructive suggestion!

[Bumblebeez]

Just to close the story: I thought that if DD ended up with a 6 or below for literature at least she would do well in language. She got 7 for literature: as Amber's son predicted, almost full marks for everything else answered so missing out the unseen is a pity but not a disaster. However, everyone was surprised when she got a 6 for language. School recommended a remark for one paper and she was awarded 19 more marks and went up to an 8. This is very good news for her of course but I am left feeling uneasy about the marking of exams. Can anyone let me know:
whether there are stats kept about remarks, are they publicly available?
whether there are systems in place to check the quality of marking before results are published,
whether there are discrepancies between exam boards and
whether anyone will investigate what went wrong in this instance and see if it forms part of a pattern (eg, was there a rogue examiner making lots of mistakes?) and reviewing other marks that might be similarly unreliable.

[booellesmum]

I have no idea with regards to stats but just wanted to say I'm really pleased that she did so well inspite of the blip.
Congratulations to your DD on her results.

[Guest55]

You never hear about those papers where there is no change or the mark goes down.

Very few go up. Obviously, every paper should be marked properly the first time but examiners would need to paid more I think - mistakes happen everywhere.

[ToadMum]

You never hear about those papers where there is no change or the mark goes down.

Very few go up. Obviously, every paper should be marked properly the first time but examiners would need to paid more I think - mistakes happen everywhere.

Interesting that both Bumblebeez and JaneEyre report large discrepancies between the original and remark marks in English language, though - I wonder if this is the same exam board?

[stroudydad]

You never hear about those papers where there is no change or the mark goes down.

Very few go up. Obviously, every paper should be marked properly the first time but examiners would need to paid more I think - mistakes happen everywhere.

Interesting that both Bumblebeez and JaneEyre report large discrepancies between the original and remark marks in English language, though - I wonder if this is the same exam board?

We have yesterday found out that our son's english language was moved from a 6 to an 8 also on remark(WJEC). I only know of 6 people who had english remarks, including those posted on this thread, and all have had significant increases. It really doesn't instill confidence in the system..