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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

GCSE remarking

42 replies

SparkingVino · 12/09/2018 12:05

My sons year head has said that he was just 4points off a A mark for business studies and that we should consider getting the exam remarked. We’ve discussed this with my son and he seems keen to go ahead as am I. But my husband has said maybe we shouldn’t because he’s not taking business studies at A level and it’s going to cost us £40 to get the remark. So am I being unreasonable thinking that we should just go head and do it anyway because it would help to get him into university if his b turns into an a?

OP posts:

Sparklingbrook · 12/09/2018 12:06

If the school have suggested it I would do it.

Sweetheart · 12/09/2018 12:07

I wouldn't in this instance. We had 2 of dd's papers re-marked a couple of years ago but this was to get a D changed to a C - she was only 1 mark off on 1 of the papers and the outcome would have made a big difference to her for college. The remarks were unsuccessful (as I think they are most of the time). I don't think it's worth it as a change in grade from B to A isn't going to make a huge amount of difference to him in his life and it's unlikely to be changed anyway. I think 4 points is quite a lot.

theycallmebabydriver · 12/09/2018 12:10

I think it depends, does the teacher think he was clearly an a* student and therefore the paper must have been undermarked or are they just hoping to find 4 marks somewhere to bump it up to an A?

If the former I'd go for it, id the latter then I woudn-t unless I had 40 quid to spare

Medea13 · 12/09/2018 12:14

I actually don't think an A versus a B at GCSE (also aren't GCSEs now graded 1-9?) makes much, if any, difference to university admissions, especially if the grade pertains to an unrelated subject. Save your money.

Cutesbabasmummy · 12/09/2018 12:14

If it's important to you and him, do it. I had a summer job at the Oxford and Cambridge Delegacy of Examinations and one of our jobs was to check the marks on the papers against the marks on the printed spreadsheets. There were loads of discrepancies. We changed people from grade D to grade B curing the course of our checks. Of course, sometimes it went the other way too!

coldrain2018 · 12/09/2018 12:14

4 points is a lot, he might well be less than 4 points from a C, and more likely to go down than up.

Original poster

SparkingVino · 12/09/2018 12:16

He done very well in his GCSE in general, one A* 7 A the rest B’s he is also very keen to go to university in America and believes turn the B into an A will help.

OP posts:

AlexanderHamilton · 12/09/2018 12:16

Dd ws 4 points off a 7 in French and she is going for a re-mark on one paper but the school have offered to pay for it.

I would suggest looking at the Grade boundaries on the exam board website and seeing how large or not they are.

MajesticWhine · 12/09/2018 12:16

I would not generally rush to get re-marks but I would go with the school advice in this case.

AlexanderHamilton · 12/09/2018 12:18

(also aren't GCSEs now graded 1-9?)

Business Studies is one of the very few subjects that was still on the old A*-G spec last academic year.

MsHopey · 12/09/2018 12:27

I thought I'd the school suggested it they paid.
I was one mark off the above grade and my school sent it off to be remarked and we didn't pay.
But if it was my son I'd pay the £40 tbf.

Possumfish · 12/09/2018 12:29

GCSEs don't mean that much once u have higher qualifications....it depends what your son is planning on doing/where he's going

Possumfish · 12/09/2018 12:30

I currently work in university admissions btw n we only really look at maths and English

thegreylady · 12/09/2018 12:33

I used to do remarks for English GCSE and our instructions were to decide whether or not the original marker had applied the mark scheme appropriately. We were told not to ‘mark hunt’ and only change a mark if there was a very clear error on the part of the marker.
If other scripts marked by the same OM are not being queried I would save the £40!

MrsStrowman · 12/09/2018 12:37

Can you afford the £40? If so, do it. I was the year group of the A level marking scandal, loads of coursework was lost and wrongly marked, so they tried to balance that with the students who'd five all exam modules and no coursework (me). I needed AAB to get into my degree course at my chosen uni, I did four A levels and got AAA B, my tutor for the B (a subject I wasn't taking on to degree) strongly felt I'd deserved my A and suggested a re-mark. I felt that was one of my strongest subjects and the exams had gone well, I was working over the summer and said to my parents I'd pay for it. They insisted on paying because even though it didn't make any practical difference it was right that I was given the mark I deserved. I got my A and they got their £30 back (it was a while ago and was cheaper then). Not sure if it's still the same but you used to get the free back of the grade changed. My score changed substantially and I was well into the A bracket. So it depends on how important it is to your son, and if you can afford the fee, if it means but paying a bill etc don't do it, but if you can cover it, it might mean a lot to him.

CityFarmer · 12/09/2018 13:41

Pay the £40 :)
Suggested by school, I'd vote yes. If he can afford to go uni is usa, i vote yes again as I'm guessing that means you can afford the £40 and wont miss out on food/paying a bill to afford to do so

TeenTimesTwo · 12/09/2018 13:58

This is my understanding. It may be wrong.

They aren't remarks any more they are a review of marking, which is subtly different. If the marker is put a question in the right band, then the mark stays, even if the reviewer would maybe have given it a slightly higher mark.
(e.g. mark band 8-12. Original mark 9. Reviewer would have given it 12. mark is thus unchanged as correct band.)

ShalomJackie · 12/09/2018 14:12

Marks are reviewed now and far less likely to change. ds was 1 mark off an 8 in rs so we did apply. Stayed the same.

Some grade boundaries are very narrow and he may be in the middle. If you search this board there is a tale of someone who was one mark off a higher grade, went down 10 to a lower grade. Is he aware the grade may go down if it is judged he is in too high a band? See previous posters comment on bandings.

Rezie · 12/09/2018 16:48

If you can afford it and school reccomends it then why not. I doubt it will change, but what's the harm? Then you won't have to think about it.

Not sure how important business studies GCSEs are if he has no intention of studying business and he is doing A levels. But again, I doubt it will do harm

MaisyPops · 12/09/2018 16:51

TeenTimesTwo
You beat me to it. They aren't remarks anymore (and it irritates me if there are schools saying 'oh it's borderline so go for a remark).

It's a review of marking as in a clerical check and a check that the mark scheme has been applied appropriately.

There will only be a change if the mark scheme has been wrongly applied (which often means larger swings). The days of 'send borderline papers for a remark to see if a 2nd market can find the extra mark' are over.

RolyRocks · 12/09/2018 17:17

There will only be a change if the mark scheme has been wrongly applied

Yes, exactly this. Or to put it another way, if an answer is very clearly wrongly marked, it will change but if it is down to benefit of doubt or just another person’s judgement, it won’t. So unless you are happy for the grade to go down if it comes to that, I wouldn’t take the risk. 4 marks is a lot and not actually that close (for example, in my subject, the boundary between a grade 7 and an 8 was just 6 marks difference. Remember that UMS is not the same as a raw mark.

Sunnymeg · 12/09/2018 18:01

One of DS's GCSEs is being remarked / reviewed, but it has been instigated by the school and we don't have to pay for it. DS is a couple of points away from a 9 hence the request to reevaluate. We are all very happy with his 8 and are not concerned in the slightest about it. If it had been our choice we wouldn't have bothered.

MaisyPops · 12/09/2018 18:09

Sunnymeg
Personally I think the school are being vain and a bit arrogant there.

We worked it out for our subject and if the 8 was close to the 9 then the answers would almost certainly be in the same band unless they happened to have one question that they massively dropped on. Based on a review of marking, a change in mark has to be where the mark scheme has been incorrectly applied - not personal opinion on marks within a band. We concluded there was a greater chance of an 8 going down than getting the 9 (most likely outcome is it stays the same).

I wouldn't want to have made that call as a teacher. A child happy with an 8 is an excellent outcome and I'd question any school school asking a child to gamble an 8 so their figures might look better (and that's it is about).
Fingers crossed for your DC.

IsThatYouPaul · 12/09/2018 18:16

We’ve just had a remark, being 1 mark off a higher grade in a subject that really mattered.

Came back 3 marks higher, so up a grade

We also got the paper back - original marker had not credited three clearly correct answers. (DS said it was weird seeing the paper again!)

Tunnocks34 · 12/09/2018 18:18

To be honest, as a teacher, it’s very rare (at least in my own experience) for a remark to be successful. I wouldn’t bother in all honesty.

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