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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Exam marking and results

47 replies

nightime · 12/03/2011 21:30

I am starting this thread following on from one I started a few days ago.

I have a dd in year 13 who has just failed her 2 retakes, she wasnt the only one, eevryone failed them apart from one boy who studied at home and took the exam as an independent,

She told me today that she was told by several teachers that no matter how well you did that only a certain amount of passes were allowed,

Is there anyone on here that can either confirm or totally convince me that this is not true.

OP posts:
gordyslovesheep · 12/03/2011 21:33

no it's not true

Original poster
nightime · 12/03/2011 21:34

So if 100 retakes are booked and paid for only the first 30ish will will be passed, even if the rest do actually pass? how is that fair?

OP posts:
Original poster
nightime · 12/03/2011 21:35

gordy how do you know it is not true?

OP posts:
coastgirl · 12/03/2011 21:36

It's absolutely not true! The exams are marked to published criteria which anyone can read and you can send for the marked script, so it can't possibly be true.

Loshad · 12/03/2011 21:39

absolutely not true - teacher and exam board marker here. No truth whatsoever in this rumour, as coast said you can get your script back and check.

BuzzLiteBeer · 12/03/2011 21:39

of course it isn't true. there is no logical reason why it would or even could be.

I'm afraid its just an excuse for people who failed.

ZillionChocolate · 12/03/2011 21:40

Look into whether she can appeal? I appealed a mark on some A level coursework and went from an E to a D to a B. I was encouraged to do so as my teacher was able to assess the work and the mark they thought it deserved, so more difficult with an exam but not necessarily impossible.

Original poster
nightime · 12/03/2011 21:43

im so confused, i do know that my dd's school is looking into it, im not talking about my dd here as she isnt a A student but several of her friends are and got a U. how can that be?

My dd has been told that only so many can be passed, she got an E althought predicted an C. They have questioned it before and grades have been bumped up.

OP posts:
BoffinMum · 12/03/2011 21:44

Right, the confusion arises because pre-1988 we had O'Levels, which were norm-referenced. That meant that the top whatever per cent got As, the next band down got Bs and so on. GCSEs, on the other hand, are criterion-references, which means that theoretically everyone could get an A, or alternatively everyone could fail. That may be the issue here.

jenga079 · 12/03/2011 21:47

If this is A-Levels (am assuming so as your DD is Year 13) it is absolutely not true. Sounds like the teachers were talking a load of bollocks trying to calm down their class (and maybe explain why none of the kids they taught had passed!)

Which exam and exam board was it? If you go to the exam board website (google it) you will be able to find past papers and mark schemes (which barely change every year) and help your DD see for herself where she did well and where she went wrong.

BTW, 'apart from one boy who studied at home' worries me a bit. If it's A-Levels they should ALL be studying at home. There's no way you could pass an A-Level without a fair amount of independent learning!

Original poster
nightime · 12/03/2011 21:49

BuzzLiteBeer you say its just an excuse for people who fail but when students work their arse off and are predidicted a good grade, I'm talking about the whole class here and get a U, surely it comes down to either the teaching which is a big issue in this schools sixth form or the exam bourd.?

OP posts:
BoffinMum · 12/03/2011 21:51

Sorry, should define criterion referenced, and spell it properly as well (watching TV at the same time). Basically you give a mark or set of marks for each correct answer and they are tallied up at the end, and then everyone achieving over a certain number of marks gets a particular grade.

jenga079 · 12/03/2011 21:51

Oh, and the 'appeal' you're talking about is probably a remark. For most exams there are two levels:

1 - get the paper back. You can then see the marking (but not appeal it). It's useful if she's going to take it again as she can see what she did well and where it went wrong.

2 - ask for the paper to be re-marked. Be aware that the mark could go down as well as up though.

There is a cost for each of these options though. Call the school on Monday and ask to speak to the Exams Officer to ask them to explain it properly to you.

caughtinanet · 12/03/2011 21:51

I can tell you that the exams I mark (not A level) are marked to strict criteria and the pass mark is set before the exam is taken. If a student gets the required percentage they pass, it really is as simple as that.

A student can ask for a remark if disagree with the mark (I don't know how often this happens, I haven't had any requests on papers I've marked).

I can't speak for all markers but I want everyone to pass if they have done well enough and I will sometimes mark a paper three times if its borderline. The worst paper for me is one which is 1% below the pass mark and there are no more marks that I can give.

desperatelyseekingsnoozes · 12/03/2011 21:52

There are issues with exam boards and marking at GCSE as for many schools this is the first year 11 sitting of new specifications. A Level specs have had a run through though.

Something has gone wrong though in this case.

BoffinMum · 12/03/2011 21:53

PS In 20 years of teaching and lecturing, only one of my pupils has ever failed an exam and she was bone idle (IMVHO). I certainly did not have any kids failing GCSE. I would not let them fail.

BuzzLiteBeer · 12/03/2011 21:54

could be an excuse for the teachers then, I wasn't specific, but it is someones excuse since it is totally not true.

If your dd got enough right answers she would pass, and she didn't. I'm sorry for you both, but its that simple.

noblegiraffe · 12/03/2011 22:01

If she was retaking, what did she get first time around?

And if she wasn't studying at home, when was she studying? Kids at my school don't get lessons for retakes, we're too busy preparing everyone for the next module.

melezka · 12/03/2011 22:03

Boffinmum, that one piece of information re: norm/criterion has explained my confusion over the English exam system in one lightbulb instant. Thanks.

noblegiraffe · 12/03/2011 22:04

I've just read your other thread.
"Both my dd and those of her friends that stayed on now wish they hadn't and had gone to college instead, They got their results from their resits yesterday and in one subject where the teacher takes weeks at a time off and no work is ever left for them and no supply teacher ever supplied out of about 15 students the only boy that even passed was one who doesn't go to the lessons and just studies at home"

Um, that sounds like the reason they got a U then.

Original poster
nightime · 12/03/2011 22:06

Hello jenga079

My dd spends endless hours studing at home, her main goal is childcare, she does triple health and social, History and English Lit,

Thankfuly the Health and social, ( focusing on childcare)
is all coursework which she will is on course for 4 A's grade A levels for, She loves this and sticks it out for this.

She enjoys English Lit when they have a teacher, year 12 was great but 2 seperate teachers now who conflict against eat other but History is a prob mainly cos the teacher is hardley ever there. never a supply teacher so sometimes no new stuff for weeks,

OP posts:
BoffinMum · 12/03/2011 22:07

HTH Grin

winnybella · 12/03/2011 22:07

Um...Are you sure your DD is telling you the truth re: above?

caughtinanet · 12/03/2011 22:10

From what you've posted it does sound like the school is at fault for not teaching the subject correctly. The fact that the boy who took it upon himself to learn at home has passed supports that.

It would be very unlikely that there would be a marking problem just coincidently didn't affect him.

BoffinMum · 12/03/2011 22:13

Diplomas are just not equivalent to A Levels, sorry. Some people may try to persuade you they are, but they don't have the same currency in the big wide world. They are often quite badly taught and the pupils are badly served by them. It's a shocking waste of human talent.