AIBU to feel uneasy that GCSE remarks depend on ability to pay

[CassandraWebb]

My DC is only doing one GCSE this year, a year early, but as I was looking through the information to check timings etc I noticed an email about the "remark" service and the costs

We could afford to pay if needed, but I do a lot of work with people who are in financially difficult situations.

I do fully understand there's a cost to remarking. But it just makes me feel really uncomfortable that clearly the costs might mean some people just don't have that option.

Is there help for people who can't afford to pay? There's no mention of it in the email.

You could say that about the whole system.. ability to pay for a tutor impacts grades. Ability to pay for extra clubs. It’s the society we live in. However there needs to be a charge otherwise every Tom Dick and Harry would want a remark.

Most schools will cover the cost where they agree there should be a remark, and they’d have that conversation with the parents and child on the day and offer to pay, rather than making it an open offer.

This is because there will unfortunately always be some people who want a load of unreasonable remarks and schools aren’t a bottomless pit of cash. This is especially important now it’s a review of marking rather than a remark.

In dds state school, I think that if the tutor looked at the grade and the ground boundary they asked for the script and then recommended whether or not to remark. If they recommend, then the school paid for the remark. Tbf I think they only recommended when it would make a material difference, ie a 3 to a 4.

Ah, that makes sense!

Exams are not remarked any longer, they are simply reviewed to check the original marking was correct and the marks reflect the mark scheme. Very few change grade as a result so generally speaking unless tgere's a good reason to go ahead it's probably not worth it. To some extent I see your point, but there just is no budget for reviews in state education unless a school or college has real concerns about the marking (I.e. obvious and glaring anomalies).

I thought this too when my dd was getting a remark for her A level paper. However, I just don’t see how it would work if it wasn’t a financial burden because everyone would want a remark if they were close to the boundary. It needs to be something that rarely happens and that is done after some thought.

Also, my DD’s friend got her UCAS fee paid by school so I would have thought there were situations where schools are paying for remarks.

I'm well aware of that, doesn't mean we can't talk about particular elements of the system

The school i worked in paid for remarks in certain circumstances. They always had to agree the remark was needed (they could look at the scripts) and it was a pupil premium family, but they also might if they were aware of other disadvantages and it was a core subject, or something the pupil specifically needed for the next step and the script looked worth a re mark.

But on the whole its people who can afford to who do it.

And yes if the mark changes the exam board refunds

My DS had marks checked on a few GCSEs, we had to give a cheque for the cost but only cashed if grade unchanged. He had a 3 move to 4, and a 4 to a 5

Last year DD had 4 GCSEs remarked. All 4 marks went up, and three of the grades went up.

I am a teacher and for our PP students (low income families) we cover the cost of the remark. It’s also worth noting that if the mark does change, the exam board reimburses the fee.

I felt very uncomfortable about being able to afford the gamble of £43 per paper knowing that was a very privileged position.

When I was in school you got the money back if your grade changed? I had an AS level remarked and it went up 3 grades and the amount was refunded.
It seems reasonable that there’s something in place to stop everybody just willy nilly putting in for a remark otherwise it would be unsustainable.

This isn’t true. There are different services you can request, the first one being a “review” where they do an admin check and just make sure everything has been added up properly. However, you can still request a review of marking too where the paper is effectively remarked or moderated by a different examiner.

Dont worry. Wait till uni when you have to tell them they have the choice between staying at home and going to the properly shite "university" or not going at all. Because we can't afford the top up on the student loans to cover the rest of the rent and living expenses and they can't guarantee getting a job in the place they want to go as its so difficult to get one now.

Ah! That's good to know,.on both counts.

Have remarks always been a thing?

I don't know anybody who got anything remarked when I did GCSEs and A Levels but unsure if that's because it wasn't an option, or just wasn't particularly advertised by our school?

Do the marks ever go down?

My ds's school offered to pay for his remark after his teacher had had a look at his paper. We are not PP and hadn't said we couldn't afford it. We declined in the end as ds was worried about the mark going down.

Is it true you can’t go down a mark/grade?

Yes. We have had some pupils put in for reviews of marking against our advice and lose marks. I know of one who went from a 4 to a 3 in maths (and then had to resit).

The working class has been shafted over the last 30 years.

I am gen x. My dad worked in a factory, mum was a SAHM. I got a grant to go to University and it was free. I own a house and have a professional job thanks to my degree.

NO WAY would I/my family have been able to afford to go to University away from home under the system now.

No. Thats the risk.

Who do you think should pay for it OP?

They were definitely a thing 25 years ago.
I think with the lack of the internet there was less awareness so people only did it if it was suggested by the school.