Any A Level History Teachers - advice re - coursework disaster?

[courseworkdisaster]

DD has just has A Level NEA mark back of 29 / 40.

This has come as a complete surprise as she is predicted A Star * *and does well in all of her school work/ exams consistent a star /a

She was told throughout the process that she was on track with the coursework too. Some amendments were suggested and she was told by her teacher not to make any further amendments.

So today she's received the above mark which equates to a B according to last year's mark scheme. To say she is surprised/ disappointed is an understatement especially given the feedback from school.

She now thinks there is no chance she can get the A she needs overall in her A Level for uni. It doesn't help that today is her 18th Birthday so she's really upset.

I know that things can go wrong/ etc and that it's only one element.

I've emailed the school to ask to speak to the teacher to check no obvious error etc.

But can anyone give any glimmer of hope. Can marking mistakes happen? what would you advise.

At the moment she feels like completely giving up!!!

I think he needs a bit of perspective - a B in coursework isn't a disaster.

I think you both need to calm down a bit and soldier on

She's autistic and was told no amendments necessary.
She needs an A overall for the university she's applied to.

So it's not a disaster but it is unexpected given the feedback. It also means she needs to do exceptionally well in the exams to make the grade.

She was interviewed by Oxford for history to put it into context.

i expect you are both right, but her autism/ anxiety doesn't help. I hope school will give her some reassurance.

Nearly all the coursework in Hostory has been marked on the cusp of A/B at DCs sixth form. Same re predicted grades here. With 29 in one element A* is still possible, A highly likely.

Remember there will be external moderation and a couple or 3 marks up and down might easily occur if the whole cohort are under marked

Anxiety is understandable for anyone at this stage in proceedings. One of DCs friends got 26, but has been the best student throughout the A Level

Hi, OP -

It is very bad luck this indeed that this news came on DD’s 18th.

The Exam Board will send a moderator to each school, probably this month, to check the coursework marking anyway.

DD’s mark is over 72%. I am in STEM, hence unfamiliar with grade boundaries for Art, but if this is a B I would think it a high one. That could matter very, very much as it is the per cent not the grade B that will be used in calculating her overall grade.

The Personal Investigation is worth 60% of the overall mark. If DD gets a solid A on the Examination element, she will easily get a low A overall. There is still everything to play for.

Example. For the sake of simplicity let’s say the boundary for grade A in both elements and overall is .78. DD has .725 thus far. We solve

.725 x .6 + ?? X .4 = .78 to see that ??, the mark she needs on the Exam element, is 86.3%. High but far from impossible.

Please remember that I have pulled the grade boundaries from thin air. However the computation is sound. I hope this helps. Best wishes to DD

God, I can see why she’s upset! It does sound like something’s not adding up if she’s been predicted an A* by the same teachers that then told her her coursework was fine and then marked it! Be interesting to see what they say.

However, going forward, it’s probably best to put that aside and focus on the exams. All is really not lost. Don’t know the exam board, but my DDs did AQA and the overall grade boundary was around 72% for an A (depends on the exact option) and your DD’s already hit that for her coursework. Based on her predicted grade, she must be at least a pretty solid A student, so assuming no major disasters in the exams, should be able to clear that.

Good luck!

An A is - I think - 32 out of 40 for Coursework element. So there’s a good chance of a moderation increase if the school marked ungenerously overall.

Thanks for all of the reassuring messages.

She has come down from the complete meltdown now and accepts that she can still achieve overall. BUT, she's really cross with the teacher. She really thought she was in the A* boundary having been told to 'do nothing more' with her final draft.

OP just tell her to keep pressing ahead 👍🏼 she will be ok.

Is that a moderated mark or internal provisional ? There is a limit on the input teachers can have on coursework.

My dc did horrendously on geog nea (D) but amazingly on the exams (high A star) and got an A overall - so a B shouldn’t be a disaster

Internal provisional.

Coursework marks in History are arrived at following internal standardisation by the History teaching team. At this stage they remain provisional and could increase or decrease as a result of external moderation of a sample of work by the awarding body, which will take place between now and the publication of A Level results.

I quote from the document parents at our school were sent.

Very, very gently, OP, I have some sympathy for the teacher here. It sounds like there may have been a misunderstanding.

The teacher could have been answering the implicit question, ‘Is my project complete to a reasonable standard?’, while your DD could have been asking the implicit question, ‘Does my project need anything more for a top grade?’

Im my STEM discipline in HE, I have come to loathe early year projects partly for this reason. Our students all had top A levels. Attempting preliminary feedback creates the dilemma I’ve outlined. Some students really struggle with eg the idea of having only one rough draft assessed and no predicted mark. But the sooner they learn to think independently, the more successful they will be at university.

I see where you are coming from. However, if one has a DC proving they can independently research to a high standard in other subjects and the overall scores in one subject are lower across a selection of top students it seems slightly off.

DC 3 A* pieces of coursework and one in History on the border A/B

Yes I accept all of that and I think you are right.

The problem is with literal thinking/ managing expectations.

A literal thinker will assume that 'do nothing more' or words to that effect to an A* student means that they are in that ball park. The teacher knows the individual expectations/ aspirations of the student, this teacher was the one who encouraged DD to apply to Oxford.

It does seem that it is wires crossed but nonetheless..

Librarybooker was the other coursework in different subjects? It does seem odd that there is so much of a difference.

Yes, OP, I know it is especially difficult for literal thinkers and I have special sympathy for them.

Yes, but the difficulty with History is that lower scores and very harsh marking have been happening to a lot of students.

DC also got A* in EPQ which is basically a qual designed to show independent research skills

But, as close as 29 to the A/B boundary is really not too much of a worry all things considered. Just keep your DC focusing away from anxiety 💕

She's just so down today. Shame as it's her birthday but that's life I guess.

She just doesn't think she will make the grades for her university of choice now. I am trying to reassure that it is, of course, possible. But you know what they are like!

Most unis do have some flexibility on offers. If it’s A A A for example.

It is also true that many people have a weakness in a particular subject. Here I am with a PhD in a notoriously difficult field and I would struggle to produce a decent piece of original art, though I deeply appreciate the work of others.

Many otherwise intelligent people have a Maths block. DH got his Russell Group Maths professorship quite young but actually failed one of his academic GCSEs despite working reasonably hard in the subject. I could go on this way for a long, long time, especially bringing in less dramatic examples.

Intellect is poorly understood