Worth requesting a remark?

[PushItToTheMax]

DD is 3 marks from an A in her best subject, which she is gutted about as she was predicted an A star and her results look well below her normal marks. She is going on to study this subject at uni, will also need postgraduate qualifications.

She is also 1 mark from an A in her 2nd favourite subject - this one was a shock the other way as she’s achieved a lot better than we expected!

She has met her grades for her firm so doesn’t technically need higher grades, but for her best subject especially she’s absolutely gutted and can’t stop crying. I think it’s really knocked her confidence about studying it at uni.

I can just about afford the remark costs but it will be tight. I’m just a bit unsure what to do for the best. We didn’t get to speak to teachers at school this morning as DD was distraught, trying desperately to hold her tears in until she got to the car. I’m trying to reassure her that BBB is actually really good, that she’s in to her firm but it’s not really sinking in.

@1diamondearing you are not correct re independent schools. I work in one and all the heads of department request and look over papers which are close to the boundary as standard, then suggest a review of marking if we think it is a good bet. I was doing this today.

You still have teachers working for nothing, this should not happen

Same. Independent here too.

I don’t see it as ‘working for nothing’- I get paid extra as a head of department and one of the reasons is because doing these reviews of marking is part of my job. Plus, I care about the students and I want them to do as well as possible.

Small mark changes are specially NOT allowed. Reviews are not remarks so the reviewer is looking to see if the original mark was reasonable, not whether they can find another mark.

If it's not urgent, I'd suggest asking for the scripts first and then taking advice from the centre.

With respect, you are part of the problem.

If you accept extra workload as and when instructed, then you put that expectation onto everyone else too. Managers demand more of teachers, teachers burn out, and the whole education system suffers.

Last year I worked straight through the night every other night for over a week trying to keep on top of the "remarking epidemic"

This year I am point blank refusing. You should too, for the sake of the education system

Don't do them both at the same time... if one goes up and the other goes down you could end up back in the same place but £100 worse off.

I see your point, but I am not doing it because I have been instructed to do it. I am doing it because I want to.

i have been in jobs where the expectations were a)incredibly demanding and b) imposed by senior leadership, and it is a miserable place to be, so I sympathise. But in my current job it is not like that at all.

@1diamondearing and how do you know that it isn’t written into the contract of HoDs at some independent schools that they are to review borderline papers, and that this work may in fact be factored into their salaries?

I very much doubt that the employment contracts at private schools are exactly the same as at state funded schools.

In a similar situation, although not at an independent school.

DD got A, A, B, D and into her first choice. She's so upset about the D that she can't celebrate her other results.

She's contacted the exam officer to ask for the papers and will ask the school to review them and see if they're worth a proper review.

It's not about getting into university for her, but about not understanding how she was getting A/A* on practice papers for months, though the exams went pretty well and the result 'doesn't make sense' in her words.

Whatever the outcome, at least she'll know that it was how she did on the papers, not marking inaccuracies or anything outside of her control

I agree with this (and others, but this says it very well), and although there are pps on here for whom this worked out well, one of my best friends did this back in the day, and it was a HORRIBLE experience for her, as what she got back was them justifying the original mark and it was awful for her seeing those justifications.

One last point. My graduate DD is currently job hunting. Potential employers care about her gcses (did she actually pass maths and English? Maybe a science) and they care about her degree. She has to take proof of both to interviews.

Literally NO ONE cares about her A levels. They're a means to get into uni, and that's it (despite the fact that the A levels were probably harder to obtain than the degree))

If this is an option that is offered though then surely the student and parent are well within their right to take this up?

As a parent, you want to do what you believe is best for your child.

I am not blaming the parents, I am blaming the system. The more papers are requested back, the less likely each one is to be looked at properly anyway. It is not a victimless crime. Teachers who are trying to prepare for the new term, as well as run their own homes and families are spending hour after hour on this, often through the night, and no, of course the 20th paper you go through isn't going to be combed through accurately at 2.30 in the morning when you have been working on the pile since your kids went to bed at 8pm, and you need to be up and on your way to school by 6am.

I get what you are saying, I really do.

There is no right answer and there needs to be a better solution in all this.

If the mark is close to the grade boundary and if the script has been seen, I’d go for it.

A Levels go on your CV forever. When applying for summer internships and first jobs, they matter, esp in v competitive industries.

It’s a matter of personal academic pride for many students. And over 20% of scripts reviewed do increase.

There is a charge but you get it back if there’s a grade change. Note it’s a charge per paper. It’s good to get advice about how the marks broke down across the paper and which is best to get looked at.

Personally, I think looking at scripts post-exams and giving advice to students om results day re Clearing etc is a vital part of the job. It’s usually the Head of Dept. Results day, Clearing, reviews of marking - it’s all vital for students getting the best outcomes. What’s the point of working so hard to help students get ready for exams and not finishing the job off with the last bits of work needed in August?

Im amazed at schools and colleges who don’t have someone available to give advice about Clearing options and help distraught 18 year olds who’ve missed their offer, or give info on grade boundaries, review of marking etc. It’s not the case that someone needs to be available 24/7 but schools or colleges should make it clear where and when help is available. It’s often SLT and Heads of Dept and I think it’s reasonable as part of their roles.

And what many schools will offer is quite simply someone to share grade boundaries and the breakdown of marks per paper. They aren’t marking the scripts.

It always has to be the student who decides if to go ahead and ask for script, if to pay for review and to task the risk of the mark going down. But the process needs explaining and level of risk explaining in relation to where student sits in relation to grade boundaries. That’s where the teacher comes in or someone from school or college.

The local independent I know has staff in school all morning of results day. They have spent the day before analysing results and identifying those who might need meet their Firm and have people ready to speak to them on results day. They work with students and family on results morning and then by email or phone in the afternoon and next day until all students have got a plan, if the original hasn’t worked out. Admin staff are putting in for reviews of marking and scripts from results day and processing them as they come back.
On one hand, this is what people are paying for. But on the other hand it seems odd for any institution to wave their students off after the last exam and to then expect to have zero contact with them (some won’t let anyone come in on results day for help) or input over the fraught period of results and uni admissions.

There are always late applicants who need a reference or support with the Personsl statement. Sometimes they need a reference for a job. The cohort don’t all vanish mid June and become as if they’d never existed.

Yea I would ask school to review.
Ds is year 12, so A levels are next year but we have experience of this from GCSEs last year. Two of his subjects went from grade 8 to 9 because when the teachers reviewed his papers, he did have marks 'missing'. Errors in marking do happen.
When the teen is in the middle of the grade anyway, one or two missing marks don't matter. But when it's extremely close, you are potentially accepting a lower grade than they actually got- and it's down to human error.
So if teachers recommend a review, I'd go for it.
Obviously, the grade may not change.

I just wanted to say ‘thank you’.
This is what makes a fab teacher ☺️
I’m not a teacher - I work in mental health - and I’m happy to give a bit of extra time when people need it, because I like to see positive outcomes.
Kudos to you!

My DS is having a priority review as he was just 2 marks off the A he needed for his first-choice university, and it’s the subject he hoped to study. Because of this he got refused by the first choice Uni but got accepted by his insurance choice. He achieved A, A, B, needing three As. Understandably, he’s gutted. His English teacher was there on results day to support him and suggested a review, as he was only one mark off an A. That wasn’t his main concern, though, it’s the unexpected B that’s most disappointing. Sadly, that subject’s teacher wasn’t around on the day. We’re not holding out much hope, but he worked so very hard, and for 2 marks, it’s worth a try.

It isn't "a bit of extra time" it is the equivalent of more than 1 week full time work, done while you are trying to do your normal job, which is likely 60+ hours a week anyway. It doesn't make "a fab teacher" it makes a burnt out teacher too tired to see straight let alone assess exam questions accurately, and it supports a totally failing system.

If teachers started refusing to do this, another system would have to be put in place, and more people employed to do it

I am sure that lots of retired teachers or private tutors would be happy to take on a few weeks extra work like this at this time of year

@1diamondearing but it isn’t while you are doing your normal job- it’s before term starts. I always put my DD into holiday club for a couple of days (results day and the day after) and I find that this is plenty of time to do any reviews necessary. Sorry if you have had a more stressful experience though.

The A levels are mostly before term starts, but the GCSEs mostly can't be done until the A levels are finished, and that is 100x the workload.

I am sorry you have to put your DD in holiday club to work on days you are not paid for - There really has to be a better system - but of course paying people to do it costs money that noone is prepared to put into education

I review for my school and they always hold them back until the start of term, which is a massive pain in the arse.

Yes, it isn’t right, but teaching isn’t the only industry where, at certain crunch points, people put in extra time to support people over and above because they care. Thankfully, there are some dedicated teachers who do care.

Hmmmm. I think we have to be careful about suggesting that teachers who don't review scripts in schools "don't care".

I do it because I have expertise in the area. It would not be a good idea for many of my colleagues to do it because they simply don't have that skill set. It's not that I care more and they care less.