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.

i agree with you OP. DS got his results this morning, two of the results are 1 mark below the next grade, so regardless of if we think it is wrong or not, we are paying for those two to be remarked. Ours will be £49 each (each exam board is different). We can afford it, but it’s wrong you only get this option if your parents can pay at our DS’s school, unless the school really think something has gone wrong.

DD2 did an AS level in a Science and only about 900 kids took this AS level. She is 1 mark off the boundary to the highest grade. Her teacher took a look at all the kids on the boundary briefly and has advised she thinks one long form answer which was marked level 2 should have been a level3. A level 2 would be 3-4 marks, a level 3 would be 5 to 6 marks. Now if the examiner awarded 3 marks instead of 4 but it really is a level 2, the extra mark won’t be rewarded. But if in the review of marking it is found that it is a level 3 answer, then she will get 5 or 6 marks for that question. Sometimes really bad mistakes happen like the points aren’t added up correctly, but that is rare. My understanding is that the marks typically go up only if the level assigned was found to be wrong/whole pages were missed etc

Quick questions for those in the know:
How long do you have to decide to appeal/review?
Can you override the school advice/exams officer if they do not agree but you are the one paying?
How long do you have to appeal in Art when they are usually marked to be moderated before exam season proper?

Thanks in advance 💐

Can I ask why? Is it because of rent costs? The debt is high but it’s essentially repaid as an additional tax and only when you earn a certain amount. I still believe the overall value of attending uni outweighs the negative of debt. I was in 75k of debt when I finished my MA and was lucky to get a funded PhD.

Anyway, I did think the same when I read this OP. The risk seems high too because marks sometimes go down so you’d be paying to make your child fail? It does say you don’t pay if they agree the grade was too low however. I feel for anyone who fails multiple subjects.

How do you know this? My DS didn’t get his marks, only the grade.

For A level reviews, our school charge £5 for each paper script and then £85 per paper for review. £90 per paper. When you are trying to get your child on to their degree course this can be a crippling amount of money to fork out. It definitely stops some children being able to get their exams reviewed

My son's school said that if the result went up you wouldn't have to pay. We asked for one remark, and the grade did go up, so we didn't pay.

So I guess it's not so much depending on ability to pay but having the courage of your convictions and being right.

Yes they do. Unlikely if they've been properly checked by someone who knows what they're doing before sending to review though

You should be more annoyed that the current marking system is terrible and the remarks people pay for are skewed massively in favour of the exam board. Most examiners get almost zero training these days - and pay is poor. It's a scandal well hidden in plain sight. Subjects like maths where things are less subjective are still mostly ok. History, English etc - crazy marking often happens.

The decision is the candidate's, not the school's. If they want it reviewed, even if the centre advises otherwise, it's their choice. Or vice versa.

GCSE reviews start today and end at the end of next month so you have time.

Art needed to be challenged at the time when the provisional grades were given out.

As HOD I often review the papers which students can get for free. Sometimes I’ll pay for a remark from faculty budget especially for disadvantaged students or those I think there’s a very strong chance. Others I’ll say it’s worth a shot but I can’t afford to pay for more than a handful as it’d clear out my budget in one fell swoop

The review of marking is also basically if it’s reasonable - if it’s in the right band for my subject it’ll stay there. Which over two full papers can be a full grade but it’s a subjective subject.

it can go down, there’s no grade protection. Feed refunded if grade changes not the mark (which k dislike but it’s the way it is)

we’ve never queried one we think had been marked too high though 😳

Then they’re adding an admin fee on top.

those aren’t the exam board charges unless you’re perhaps doing g something like international

There’s a shocking number of people who don’t know how the system works and there I think schools should be informing students and parents more clearly about all the options and processes available to them

Yes. Several years ago we sent about 50 borderline scripts to review without anyone looking at them first. Only one moved.

It was a hideous waste of money.

We got the marks for each paper. We’ve also seen English lit there’s a big difference in the two papers, so debating if we pay for that one as well.

My DS got a remark through the school for free because they believed he should’ve got graded higher and was only one mark off. It got remarked and was awarded the higher grade. It was only done for one subject and it was the teacher who pulled us to one side to tell us we should ask for it.

Frustratingly DD has 5 exams that are one mark away from the next grade. For a few, she’s done really well in eg paper 1 and then surprisingly badly in paper 2. Her grades are all below predicted and what she got in mocks so the poor papers are a surprise. Would you pay to just get the poor papers remarked or should we pay to get both remarked given we’re only looking for one more mark? We’ve asked to review the papers but not received anything yet - not sure whether to just go for the remark regardless.

I actually don't think remarks should be allowed. Smacks of feet stomping to me.

Can I be nosey? What were the original grades and regrades if you don’t mind me asking? My child did well but is 2 marks off a higher grade in one of her a’level choices and in one paper in a subject she’s not taking but for which she was predicted a 9 but got a 7, she got a 5 in one of the papers. She is g&t in the subject, never got below an 9 in 5 years and got almost 90 per cent in the second paper so feels a bit off somehow? Would she be able to challenge or look at this somehow?

While I get that, mistakes happen and a second opinion is sometimes needed when so much depends on these numbers.

What I do think should happen though, is if one person pays for a remark and their grade goes up, every paper marked by that examiner should be reviewed for free.

Completely agree. If there is a remark and the initial grade is overturned, the whole cohorts' papers need remarking.

Tbh I agree with you in principle-but when you hear of pages not getting marked and questions being missed it doesn’t fill you with much confidence in the process.

I agree with PP who think the original marking should be more robust - double marked/reviewed etc. As it is now, if your child gets a mark that is way off what’s expected, then it’s only natural to want to find out what went wrong - did they just mess up on the day or has it been mis-marked? It shouldn’t happen but it does as we know from all these stories re jumping up grades. I agree that it isn’t fair that only those who are willing to pay can check but sounds like the schools help out where they can.

Even when it’s down to the marker’s poor command of the English language? That’s what mine lost marks on in a subject where precise terminology is not required.

My daughters history paper was moved up a a grade, it was her favourite subject, she was straight A star, one paper came back a star, the other a solid b,, her history teacher said there is no way, somethings wrong, go for a remark. We did and it was moved to an a. It was a quite a significant difference too

it did make me wonder how many kids get erroneously marked papers , either too low or too high and no one knows.