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Original poster

Media coursework moderated from A* to a D

161 replies

FancyBird · 14/08/2025 17:55

DD got an A* grade by her teacher and after receiving results, this dropped to a D. Her teacher has left, and I am wondering how this grade could drop by so much. The school does not want to get it remarked as they say they would have to remark the entire class' work. Is this a thing? What can I do?

OP posts:
BunniB · 14/08/2025 17:57

That’s shocking! Surely if one grade was so wrong they should be obliged to remark everyone?

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 14/08/2025 17:58

Yes it’s possible to drop that far. And yes there will have to be a remark for the whole class.

When pushed for a whole class remark, the moderator came in and kept the grades the same. So it was pointless.

Althoigh A* to D is a big drop. When l moderated ( not media studies) were were allowed a tolerance of 3 marks either side. So the marking must have been very far out of tolerance. The teacher may have left but there should still be a head of department, unless they were it.

Soontobe60 · 14/08/2025 17:59

Clearly the teacher got something very wrong.

Bobbybobbins · 14/08/2025 18:00

That is a huge drop and could suggest the teacher was not familiar with the assessment criteria….

Piggywaspushed · 14/08/2025 18:06

Just to clarify... is this A level Media Studies or IMedia? Secondly , who told her an initial grade? Because you are never supposed to do that!

The school will know if marks were definitely moderated down as they will have the moderator's report.

Piggywaspushed · 14/08/2025 18:07

Moderators can also get things wrong, to be fair !

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 14/08/2025 18:16

Piggywaspushed · 14/08/2025 18:06

Just to clarify... is this A level Media Studies or IMedia? Secondly , who told her an initial grade? Because you are never supposed to do that!

The school will know if marks were definitely moderated down as they will have the moderator's report.

Class teacher has to tell them the final mark before it goes to moderation. That’s from QCA.

All previous grade boundaries are available online. It’s easy to work out what your numerical grade converts to

Piggywaspushed · 14/08/2025 18:21

The mark , yes, but not the grade. We don't and mustnt tell students those ( because we dont know!). If they stumble across them , sobeit. But they absolutely should be warned about a) moderation and b) hugely variable grade boundaries

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 14/08/2025 18:50

Piggywaspushed · 14/08/2025 18:21

The mark , yes, but not the grade. We don't and mustnt tell students those ( because we dont know!). If they stumble across them , sobeit. But they absolutely should be warned about a) moderation and b) hugely variable grade boundaries

Edited

They usually work out the grade themselves though.

And the op’s dd might have had a grade of 99/100 or full marks which would indicate a high grade.

Piggywaspushed · 14/08/2025 18:59

Maybe so! But , honestly, in Media, not 99, but, say 93 % could be an A star one year and a B the next.

A lot of what the OP says needs clarification because exam results slips don't have grades for individual components on them either.

Are you there OP? Have you spoken to school at all re moderators report etc?

Teenytwo · 14/08/2025 19:12

I don’t understand why the full class needs a remark? If that is the case (I only teach up to gcse) could the school ask another media teacher - at their school or elsewhere to mark the coursework and then decide based on that if it is worth kicking up a fuss.

BrieAndChilli · 14/08/2025 19:14

all of DDs class course work was moderated and driped 2-3 grades for the whole class. She saya spanish was similar (from friends) and other coursework also dropped greatly. It is a bit concerning.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 14/08/2025 19:16

Teenytwo · 14/08/2025 19:12

I don’t understand why the full class needs a remark? If that is the case (I only teach up to gcse) could the school ask another media teacher - at their school or elsewhere to mark the coursework and then decide based on that if it is worth kicking up a fuss.

Because they have these stupid algorithms that move everyone’s grades accordingly.

So the whole class will have been moderated down. If they move one up, they all have to go up.

Where’s the head of department in all this.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 14/08/2025 19:18

Piggywaspushed · 14/08/2025 18:59

Maybe so! But , honestly, in Media, not 99, but, say 93 % could be an A star one year and a B the next.

A lot of what the OP says needs clarification because exam results slips don't have grades for individual components on them either.

Are you there OP? Have you spoken to school at all re moderators report etc?

The Dd will have worked it out from the numerical mark she was given by her class teacher after it was all marked internally.

We used to give them a letter with it saying it was subject to moderators change.

Piggywaspushed · 14/08/2025 19:27

Yes, I do get that but the grade boundaries change mahoosivley in media so that's a risky game. The OP suggests the DD was explicitly told...

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 14/08/2025 19:50

If you get a remark it won’t take place until Autumn

MrsHamlet · 14/08/2025 19:52

Teenytwo · 14/08/2025 19:12

I don’t understand why the full class needs a remark? If that is the case (I only teach up to gcse) could the school ask another media teacher - at their school or elsewhere to mark the coursework and then decide based on that if it is worth kicking up a fuss.

Because you can only have remoderation at cohort level.

Original poster
FancyBird · 14/08/2025 20:19

To clarify, they did change the whole class’ marks. Her teacher was the head of the department and the only teacher. This is A-level Media Studies. They did not mention a moderator’s report, and said they only found out the marks were changed today. Apparently, some marks went up.

She was told about the possibility of moderation changing it slightly. Today, we were trying to convince the school to find a way to get it remarked or appealed in some way, as it is a massive change. It is not even by one or two grades, it changed from one end of the spectrum to another.

The school told us today that this has not happened in the school for twenty years and when they appealed it, the exam board acknowledged the evidence but did not say anything about changing the grades. I have not heard of the possibility of another media teacher from another school marking it, I will look into it.

The exam results did not have grades, but the AQA website has the grade breakdowns for each paper.

OP posts:
MrsHamlet · 14/08/2025 20:22

The only option is remoderation, which costs a fortune, must involve the whole cohort, and rarely changes anything.

Asking someone from another school marking it is futile. That's not how it works.

Piggywaspushed · 14/08/2025 20:24

FancyBird · 14/08/2025 20:19

To clarify, they did change the whole class’ marks. Her teacher was the head of the department and the only teacher. This is A-level Media Studies. They did not mention a moderator’s report, and said they only found out the marks were changed today. Apparently, some marks went up.

She was told about the possibility of moderation changing it slightly. Today, we were trying to convince the school to find a way to get it remarked or appealed in some way, as it is a massive change. It is not even by one or two grades, it changed from one end of the spectrum to another.

The school told us today that this has not happened in the school for twenty years and when they appealed it, the exam board acknowledged the evidence but did not say anything about changing the grades. I have not heard of the possibility of another media teacher from another school marking it, I will look into it.

The exam results did not have grades, but the AQA website has the grade breakdowns for each paper.

The teacher from another school marking it is a red herring. That would have been at a much earlier stage pre external moderation, unfortunately.

Piggywaspushed · 14/08/2025 20:25

How did the school appeal it? This is irregular! A moderator's report definitely exists.

Original poster
FancyBird · 14/08/2025 20:26

What kind of price would this be?

OP posts:
MrsHamlet · 14/08/2025 20:35

FancyBird · 14/08/2025 20:26

What kind of price would this be?

Depends on the board. £300 ish.

MrsHamlet · 14/08/2025 20:36

Piggywaspushed · 14/08/2025 20:25

How did the school appeal it? This is irregular! A moderator's report definitely exists.

This sounds really odd. They can't have already had remoderation, can they?

Original poster
FancyBird · 14/08/2025 20:38

£300 per pupil or £300 overall?

The school believes that you cannot appeal it, yet the AQA website suggests otherwise.

OP posts:
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