GCSE English Lit and Language review of marking

AQA Eng Lang which I believe is 80 marks for each paper, unless our super helpful resident experts correct me.

Good news @RubyFlewToo

Same - aqa paper 2 sent off on Friday morning and no news yet. Good news for us though, as DS’s first choice school let him register for A-levels today, with the proviso that if he doesn’t get re graded to a 5 that he has to re-sit it in November. 😬 I don’t care though… he has a place! 😁🤩

Thanks @scrumdiddly123 good luck. Pls post when you hear back. I will too.

Still waiting- AQA language paper 2 sent off Friday morning

Reviews go on for weeks yet - I think the deadline is just before the end of September. There is plenty of time.

Thankyou that’s really reassuring. I’m worried I make her miss out. ADHD fear of forgetting/getting it wrong 😭

Is this for AQA English Lit? Or Edexcel English language? If so, those papers have different marks allocated. 64 and 96.

That's correct.

11 marks difference when the papers test things in different ways isn't wild. I'd have a look if they were mine but it wouldn't surprise me.

@EnglishTutor25
hi, I saw your post about being able to check AQA English papers and I’m really hoping you might still have some capacity to check my dd’s if at all possible?
she is 3 marks off a 6 in Literature and has never scored less than a 7 in all her mocks so any advice would be welcomed.
we have the papers back from school.
keeping my fingers crossed that you have not already been inundated with requests.
thank you

English marking is done in levels and 11 marks isn't that big a difference tbh, I would think the same marks on both papers would be more weird.

So is it like you enter marks for each question you mark and the system totals it?

I was wondering our 11 mark difference between papers was in some way a clerical error as that's the biggest gap between papers in any subject.

Just wondering if anyone has had either AQA English reviewed this year and already had the response?

Our DD review was sent of last Thursday morning and outcome could significantly impact next steps.

Btw- DS had his English Language reviewed last year and he just reminded me he went up 8 marks

@OhCrumbsWhereNow yup and ultimately if someone opens their results, sees they're close to the next grade and the first thing they think is, let me send for review in case it's wrong, than we are in a pickle in terms of confidence in exams. That shouldn't be people's first thought.

Whatever the reason for a mark review, whether that's going from a 3 to a 4 or a 7 to 8, everyone should feel confident that they've been done justly by the system and that's not the case at the moment.

Some of these are a complete waste of money, but that's because of the misinformation people have, not because it's wrong to want a 7 when you've got a 6.

Sure the more unhealthy trend is the number of papers marked incorrectly.

Children are missing out on university places, 6th forms, subject choices, being compelled to sit resits to say nothing of the stress and damage to confidence and self-esteem.

Of the people I know irl who have had reviews this summer for A level, every single one of them saw a grade uplift. And not 1 or 2 marks... 9 marks, 13 marks, 6 marks. That's a problem.

When you combine that with a non-level playing field in some subjects, it is any surprise that parents are opting for checks? You'd be mad not to.

Do some exam boards make millions in profit, per chance? Also they are paid for remarking? Starting to sound like immigrant hotels now.
On the other hand, examination work is profitable for teachers as well and tops up their income, so that is probably a good thing.

Hopefully AI will get to the point where the student can choose how best to showcase their own knowledge either via long form writing, with or without laptop, multiple choice etc rather than being dictated to. At the end of the day, exams should always be giving students the chance to showcase what they have learnt, not to set them up for failure. And that is why I object to the current system despite having my own high achievers. It is terrible for society as a whole to tell 30% of youngsters that they are not good enough, when I am sure every young person has their own unique talents.

What is the point of Mumsnet? I thought it was to get other people’s opinions, not simply to have your own opinions validated.
Of course I can’t decide if the grade is changed. But I do have a right to complain about the absolute waste of money that this unhealthy trend is causing.

@Molko1503 I understand the worry but schools will start back next week and I'm sure they'll reply then.

I know our exams officer is working from the influx of papers in my inbox today - but we won't be contacting candidates with feedback until next week. I've looked at up to two of the up to 4 English papers, but one of my colleagues is definitely still away. We all need to have looked at our papers before we can advise.

@NorthenAdventure thanks for trying. This thread has helped educate us a bit so you are helping us navigate. I suspect there isn't much more you can do other than continue to raise awareness in places like this, your MP, Dept for Ed etc...

I know there is no perfectly fair system but I wonder if some are fairer than others.

I’m so jealous you guys are getting responses from school. I don’t know what’s happening with my daughters and I can’t cope with the unknown. No one is answering me.

@OhCrumbsWhereNow definitely get it checked or you’ll always be wondering what if. I hope you get the result you want, keep us updated on what happens. I’m just gutted I didn’t push her for physics now or kick up a fuss about the extenuating circumstances. She wasn’t planning on going to that sixth form so didn’t think we would need 7’s at all. I can’t express how proud I am that she got straight 7’s.. I’ve been so worried since Year 3 when she wasn’t getting anything.. and really started panicking when mocks were coming back with 3s and 4s. So I’m elated, and shocked. But we spent hundreds of pounds on tutoring and she devoted every last minute to revision in the end. And I just want it recognised for her really - English and biology she poured her heart and soul into. And going from a 4 to 1 mark off an 8 in months is brilliant. Those two subjects was all she cared about doing well in (was desperate for an 8 or 9) and I want her to see hard work pays off.

My DC doesn’t need the higher grades for his A levels at his school, but school said they are sending four off. I offered to pay but they said no. With a 20% chance of an upgrade seems a no brainer tbh. If school had not wanted to I wouldn’t bother in our situation, but that is just me.

Exactly this!

We don't 'need' the 6 in Lit, but DD is so disappointed not to have got it given the work she put in that it seems silly not to have it reviewed given she'd have had a 6 last year with same mark.

The Language is more of a WTF, and also my concern that some universities seem to want a 5 in Lang.

Either way, I want to be sure that she has the right marks to be best of the system's ability,

Isn’t just about grades needed. It’s about getting the child’s hard work recognised, boosting morale. My child has worked exceptionally hard to achieve what she did (I think she’s always been capable but ADHD ruins a lot) she had a lot to catch up on and she did it. She was struggling with Year 3 maths a year ago there were that many gaps in her knowledge. She finally applied herself and Being 1 mark away on several subjects is a mood killer. Going forward it’s ’what’s The point of working hard’. Nothing wrong with giving the kids some confidence. If they’re a few marks away I think it’s unlikely they’ll get pushed to a lower grade. So I don’t see any harm in it. Even if she didn’t need the 7 to do her course I’d still do it as Biology and Chemistry she’s really good at (eidetic memory) but if she’s not interested in the subject (Physics) it ain’t getting looked at. So it’s pulled her grade down and made her feel rubbish that her knowledge of biology and chemistry isn’t acknowledged.

Haha yes - that's exactly what I saw too. It seems to have ended up with the belief that AI marked some of these students essays in exams this year, which, to the best of my knowledge, is not the case.

Ah, I'm an examiner (have done GacSE and A Level, for multiple exam boards, over the past 10 years). What I see horrifies me.

I once emailed an article proposal to a national newspaper, offering to share my 'behind the scenes' experience as an examiner as I was so appalled by what I saw. They never got back to me - presumably because it's not really news. I think there is a wide awareness that the system is not fit for purpose, although many pupils/parents don't necessarily know quite how bad it is.