To think re-marking GCSE shouldn't be a 'no win, no fee' style gamble?

[MarvellousMonsters]

Eldest has just got GCSE results, all 7, 8, 9 so we are very happy with them. However today we got emails saying some are within 2 marks of the next grade, and we can have them re-marked. The catch is, if the grade stays the same we will have to pay £50 per paper, (if the grade goes up there's no charge) and each GCSE has 2 or 3 papers, meaning asking for re-marking is effectively gambling £200-£300 per GCSE.

A friend is a teacher at a different school and they don't charge anything for re-marking.

Is our school BU?

Isn’t the price set by the exam board? Maybe the other school covers remark fees?

I'm a teacher and my current school don't charge for remarks, nor do any other schools I've worked in previously also, it's quite problematic to only charge if the grade doesn't change imo.

I think the school abvu.

Have you been made aware that the marks could go down as well as up?

At our school, if the school chooses to appeal they pay - if the parent wants to, and the school does not support, the parent pays.

A friend is a teacher at a different school and they don't charge anything for re-marking.

The school is charged by the Exam Board, whether or not they choose to pass it on to the parents is up to them. If they don't then they're going to have a colossal bill because of delusional parents.

We're the same as Pumpkin

There has to be some restriction or each paper would be required to be marked twice!

The schools budget decides who pays. My school do not pay. Parents do.

Also I guess it depends how much they need to up Their stats

I had to pay last year for a re-mark ( it did go from a B grade to an A grade)

A couple of years ago my sons school asked for a paper to be remarked which they paid for and ds wanted two others remarked which we paid for. Two out of three moved up a grade so the money was returned. We are about to spend almost £200 on getting five papers over two subjects remarked for dd as she is within 2-3 marks of a nine. I think it is fair enough. Stops people being daft about it if they have to pay out.

I was talking to DD1 about this.
She says that those of her friends for whom the school pays they are far more fussy about whose papers they will send off.
So they'll send English/Maths to go from a 3 to a 4, but not History with 7 to go up to an 8.
Or at Alevel they'll only look at those who have missed out on a university offer.

Now I can totally understand that from the school's point of view, but from the pupil's point of view it does mean that some are denied it when they deserve the opportunity as much as the others.

The thing that stands out to me is that you say you are very happy with them. Only this sense that "it could be better" seems to be affecting your satisfaction. I'd be aggrieved somewhat at this suggestion and simply be celebrating. Feels a bit like trying to game the system. Although I'm not one for grades being higher than they need to be to get you where you want to be. It's all a vanity project after that. Its all arbitrary anyway.

Celebrate and accept your original response to the grade. Set a good example and let your kid be good enough as they are, rather than striving for some allusive perfection set out by a few mark's difference. It's a bit like gaming the system to achieve a grade that can be used as an intellectual status symbol. Which I feel isnt really in the spirit of it all.

Maybe the school cant afford to pay for the reviews?
My DC schools pays for the risk if they are 1 or 2 marks off a grade. If its more the parents have to pay for the risk.

You DO NOT have to get all the papers reviewed. It is usually best to just get the worst one done. Otherwise you take a big risk you go down a grade. Or some go up, some go down and you get no change.

Teachers should be able to help you decide which paper your DC is most likely to gain a few extra marks in a review. Also you can get one paper reviewed and wait for the outcome before deciding if you want another reviewed.

The exam boards set the fees and charge the school for every paper reviewed unless the grade is changed. If the grade is changed the school is not charged.

The fee is around £35-£55 per paper depending on level of course, board and how quickly you need it back.

It's up to the school whether they charge parents or not. I would expect most state schools to pass on the fee as they are already so so strapped for funding.

Our school only pay for reviews of marking for GCSE English and maths where they are only a mark or 2 away from getting a grade 4, or if they genuinely think there has been a mistake in the marking. If there is time they would get the paper back first for the teacher to look at before committing to the review. All the rest, parents have to pay.

There needs to be better marking training. 2/3 of ds grades went up and I know of another child who got an extra 15 points. If schools are going to put all this pressure on kids then the markers need better training to get it right. A couple of marks, fine, it 15 which was nearly two grades more?!

Chanteuse I don’t understand how you can be a teacher and not understand that this is the exam board system. They charge for any remark which does not result in a change. It is nothing to do with the school. Some schools cover the cost, some don’t, but the charge is from the exam board.
xyz some boards have an either/or system. Either you have the paper back or a remark. If you see the paper you can’t apply for a remark. It’s madness.

I think it’s odd OP. Either charge for the remarks or don’t, it’s strange imo to only charge if the grade stays the same.

You might find that the smaller schools will pay for remarks as a few grade increases will make a big difference to their average at A level when each extra student means more cash so it is an investment to get remarks. A school with a full sixth form does not need to attract students.
Students starting sixth form are given target A level grades based on their GCSE score so a student one mark below a 7 is more valuable than one who has just made it even though there is effectively no difference in ability so it is of little interest to a school with a sixth form to pay for remarks so the parents have to drive it

I'd get a re-mark if any were English or Maths.

Everything else - nope.

If the school is suggesting the review (it's not a remark any more, it's a review of marking), they should pay.

Unless there's a university place hanging on it, it's the school pushing it for their performance tables. They should pay. Reviews of marking at my school are costing many thousands of pounds. We don't ask students to pay unless they want a review of marking we don't recommend.

I don't think there's any point getting a paper remarked just because they were a few marks off the next grade, unless it seems much lower than what they were expecting (ie you think there was a mistake made), or they're just below a pass/grades they need to get into A Levels or Uni.

I remember when I did A Levels, one module in one subject everyone in my class got marks about two levels lower than we were expecting - I got a C on this paper, but had As and A* on the previous ones). The school got a sample remarked, and when they all went up two grades, the rest got remarked too (I went up to an A). But I don't think any of us would have thought about remarks unless it was so obviously a mistake.

Every school I have worked at has charged for remarks if we didn't recommend it. If we decide for a remark, then we pay, and it will be because it is close to the boundaries that make a difference to our figures.

The reason you are charged if it doesn't change is because there hasn't been an error in marking
.if it goes up; there has been and the exam board eat the cost.

For those suggesting better training for examiners; it lies with the exam board. I'm lucky as I'm Science so it is quite black and white, but even this year I have had multiple debates about the application of the mark scheme with my team leader. I can't imagine marking something like English!

As others have said, it's a review of marking to check the mark scheme has been correctly applied, not a remark based on difference of opinion within a band.

There is always a cost. Whether schools cover the cost or parents depends on th school and situation.

E.g. Parent A has a child with lots of 7-9s, they were close on some boundaries but the overall performance was in line with what the school was expecting,parent probably pays for review as it is unlikely to be a misapplication of the mark scheme and isn't out of step with expectations

Parent B has a child who has been working in the top band for 2 years but comes out with a 5 and the student felt the paper went well, school would probably fund the review as it's significantly out from expectations.

Schools may also enter any borderline 4s and 5s in where there is a real chance that a mistake was made.

Comments here on ‘needs to be better marking’

If you understood how marking works you would see this isn’t how it works. For example a six mark question has a tolerance of 1 or 2 depending on board. It’s awarded in pairs, 5-6 marks for example. A second review by someone else might give it 6 when the previous marker gave it 4. Out of a 90 mark exam 2 marks is nothing, it’s not down to ‘bad marking’. Exam board marking is extremely stringent. Your not just left to mark exams alone. You mark hundreds of the same questions over and over with planted questions in there that if you get wrong, you have to stop and discuss with a team leader. They also backmark your work for some exam boards.

@brighteyeowl17 yes this!

I’m a GCSE marker and the rules are very tight. A big proportion of the questions are double marked. If I don’t hit the same mark as the chief examiner I get taken off that question.