11 Plus Exams Forum

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36389154" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interesting news for all taking GCSEs this summer.

Looks like a judicial review just waiting to happen.

Do schools automatically get copies of scripts back now? If not, how would they know whether there was an error in the marking, without some kind of appeal?

Also, I don't know about other areas, but our schools won't send off individual challenges without payment upfront from student / parent. The school he was at at the time did send off a mass appeal for one of DS1's GCSE papers, which we didn't have to pay fo.r. We wouldn't have bothered ourselves - his grade went from an A to an A.

I am in two minds about this - it does seem that a lot of errors are made, but only certain types of parent are likely to pay out for the remark. Firstly, you have to care enough, and secondly, you have to have the money. I think what the exam regulator is saying is that it disadvantages other students who might also have been robbed of a few marks but who are never going to mount or pay for a challenge. The social justice side of me therefore likes this judgement.

On the flip side, there have been some scandalous stories of Ds going to As, and of university places being lost, and I am pretty sure I would be one of the parents in my 'bad' category above if I felt one of my kids had been dealt an injustice.

There is a 'fast track' for re-marks after A2s where uni places are at stake but I agree that the system needs to be fairer.

Supplying photocopies of a script quickly should be easy now everything is scanned.

Amber wrote:I think what the exam regulator is saying is that it disadvantages other students who might also have been robbed of a few marks but who are never going to mount or pay for a challenge.

I'm not sure "equal injustice for all" is a slogan for which I'd man the barricades. Son's school did a mass appeal for Eng Lang a couple of years ago. I can't remember whether he went up one grade or two but that one in particular is far too important not to get right first time.

mike1880 wrote: Son's school did a mass appeal for Eng Lang a couple of years ago. I can't remember whether he went up one grade or two but that one in particular is far too important not to get right first time.

An article dating back to 2012 which I find rather alarming:
Tens of thousands of pupils are receiving the wrong grades in GCSEs and A-levels because of “truly shocking” failings in the way exams are marked, Britain’s leading independent schools have warned.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/ed ... ystem.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't know the ins and outs, but in my opinion this is a job that some body like OFSTED should be doing-checking a sample from all the boards and making sure they are marking fairly for all. Not relying on the odd bee-in-the-bonnet parent /obvious whole school banjax to drive the improvement process!

There are some appalling examples of mismarking and the biggest culprit in my experience is CIE, the only board I am aware of the outsource their exam markers to overseas for English

My son's ums went up 13 marks, grade changed from B to A*
I seem to remember one of the mods children ?moved whose UMS mark went up a ridiculous amount in an objective subject like maths, how can they get that wrong?

Copies of contested papers should be released free on a teachers request with the mark scheme so teachers can recommend an appeal and remarks should also be free or at the expense of the school( if cleared by the Head)

Parents could still pay for a remark themselves is the school has not recommended it or results were inline with predictions.

Julie Swan, Ofqual's executive director for general qualifications, said it was clear from its analysis that the current system could be fairer.
"It is not fair to allow some students to have a second bite of the cherry by giving them a higher mark on review, when the first mark was appropriate," she said.
"This undermines the hard work and professionalism of markers, most of whom are teachers themselves.
"These changes will mean a level playing field for all students and help to improve public confidence in the marking system.
"We want schools to be able to ask for a review if an error has been made. Nothing we are doing will make it any more difficult for a marking error to be corrected."

Really don't understand what she is trying to say here and does not inspire confidence in me. If on review they are given a higher mark then surely the original mark wasn't appropriate! The whole point is that the mark can go down so it isn't as simple as having another bite at the cherry - wrong analogy. Yes it could mean a level playing field but that will certainly not lead to public confidence in the marking system. In fact it smacks of a cover up which will lead to less confidence. Also it appears that the cost is the factor most pertinent in the decision to ask for reviews, so whilst that it still an issue there will still be unfairness. Plus why is it a choice to return GCSE papers? How can a school know there is an error if they haven't seen the paper? GCSE results are once again the only benchmark for Uni offers and missing a grade by a couple of marks can have a huge impact on DC future options.