GCSE English Lit and Language review of marking

@NorthenAdventure I've been on this thread since p1 and someone mentioned the use of it and possible trials, another poster a few pages later mentioned it again, someone misread it, and ran with it and now we've got to the stage where people think it's actually happened this exam series. It's like the Mumsnet Chinese whispers.

I agree. There is a LOT of misinformation on this thread!

But this doesn't say that AI is being used to examine in this exam series. Quite a lot of posters have mentioned it is/has, but does anyone actually have a source that states that?

(I'm involved in AI/examining trials myself, but certainly not AI being let loose to independently mark the 2025 summer series exam papers!)

Well, many universities do lots of 'coursework' - ie assignments that count towards the final degree grade, especially for courses like English Literature. But it is problematic in universities, yes.

It's already been 'scrapped' for most UK exam board qualifications as GCSE. For my subject, it's International GCSE that has coursework as an optional route.

Some schools are moving away from it, or doing it under controlled conditions now (like the old 'controlled assessment') to prevent AI usage. This isn't an official requirement though.

Further change is definitely needed, I fully agree.

Since AI makes up quotations (yes year 12 students, I know the texts better than AI), I think the notion of it actually assessing live marking NOW is concerning.

Except, of course, multiple choice questions. Which it can easily do.

Have only managed to get through to school today, had to ask what the raw marks were for the grade 7 English Language(Edexl), as they were not on the statement of results. Glad I did, as was only one mark off an 8. Should know in a couple of weeks.

I'll have a look and see if I can find the link. I'm actually involved in AI marking trials myself, but those all have humans doing it as well as part of the trial- this is the first time I'd heard that AI literally has any marking responsibility!

The op has already said her son doesn’t need a 7. If he did it would be worth it. But he doesn’t so it’s not.

He was a very naughty boy - always in trouble for being late or rude ... except to my lessons.

When I asked why I was not constantly having to tell him off, he said "because you're not a dick". I'll take that.

I bet it's Edexcel. They're the only ones that do priority reviews for GCSE. I have a feeling ours has come back but the exams office is closed now based on their OOO message.

Oh this would make me cry. I'm a dyslexia tutor and it makes me so happy when I read their work and it's clear they're doing exactly what I said, it's just funny when it's word for word 😂

Sorry to hear. Hopefully not affecting next steps.

Very quick turnaround. Which board?

Oh bless him 🥰. He will go far!

I wish we could award kindness marks - but OFQUAL wouldn't approve ;)

I've just looked at one of my own students' papers. He's struggled with his "voice" all the way through so I told him to write it as if was talking to me. Several times, he's written "So, Mrs Hamlet, I'm sure you'll agree..." or variations thereof. I'm so blooming proud of him even though he didn't get his 4 :(

Exams office got back to me pretty much straight away and said Special Consideration had been applied, but they couldn’t say what. I doubt they’d go back and give him the extra mark on English Language just to be kind.

In English Literature, his Shakespeare paper was an anomaly but they’d need to give him an extra 9 marks to take him up
to a 9 (he just sceaped a 7) so chances are just didn’t do what was required on the day. His paper 1 was marked as a 9. So 8 overall seems like a good result.

This was last year.

My son was predicted 6’s, 7’s & 8’s across the board. English language he got 6. Lit he got a 3. It was the only subject he didn’t “pass”. He was one mark away from a 4.
We requested a review, but the outcome didn’t change. I didn’t see his paper, but I know it was his least favourite subject. Annoying, but I expect he just didn’t write enough.

No point in a clerical check for English - the system does the adding up for us!

DC state comp head replied to my email on Thursday saying four would go for remark (don’t pounce anyone, I know it is a review) within a week due to being very close to boundary. I have no idea though if teachers are reviewing scripts first/ deciding on which papers or what the approach is (clerical check first??). I think I’ll reach out next week. DC has his sixth form place so it’s not urgent. I am not mentioning it to DS at all (checked he was happy for them to go in last week) because just trying to leave him be so he can let it settle (grades overall down quite a bit so he is still a bit shaken)

Yes this is how it looked for us. You could see which exams had special con applied. If it was rejected it says so, on a couple of ours it was blank so they had to apply again and SLT had to sign off. But yh frustratingly it doesn't say what %

It'll be on the download - I can see who in the cohort got it but not what %. Exams might be the place to ask first - not everyone will have access to the results download. I know some of my colleagues don't.

Yes it’s probably a lottery across schools. Just a bit annoying that some schools and staff seem really proactive and ours presumably is closed but not even an out of office response to say so. We are just in limbo. Can’t see the papers, don’t know what their language score even was.

I don’t think we will bother. Someone has to be on the borderline and I think it’s a good lesson to be happy with an 8.

He had special consideration but only 1 or 2% so I might get him to check with his English teacher that it was definitely added.

I really don't think so. Like I said earlier, a lot of state schools have a stupid blanket policy of sending any papers that are 1-2 marks off the next grade and paying for it if the child is PP. Private schools don't have the hell of the compare schools league tables to contend with either.