Wisdom of mumsnetters sought!

[KathH]

DD got her AS Levels today. She got ungraded despite being predicted a B. She's always had good reports and her essays have always got at least a B grade. What could have gone wrong? I can't understand what could have happened but understandibly cant get hold of her teacher. Want to guide her in the right direction but dont want to giver false hope about resits etc.

Should have added that this was in History.

The obvious response is that she didn't answer the questions - at least not in the way required by the AS level mark sheet.
I would request a photocopy of her script, ask her teacher to go through it and then if it has not been correctly marked, it can go for a remark. If it has been correctly marked it your DD can discuss with the teacher where she went wrong.
She can retake the paper(s) in January/next June if she wants.

Sorry she hasn't done well Kath. I don't really know much about resits - do you have the module scores - did she do poorly across the board? If it's a really poor performance in just one module that's pulled her down then maybe a resit would be worthwhile.

Thanks for your replies. I'm just really disappointed for her. A really low grade would have been one thing but undgraded - does that mean she didnt answer anything correctly?

Have you got her form with the breakdown of the score?

DS1s showed the scores for each paper and he was able to see his scores for each paper.

Hi - yes she got ungraded for both papers

Did she think she'd done OK in the exams? Did she answer the right number of questions etc? If so do what Lilymaid suggests.

I would ask for it to be remarked. There is a small charge,but as her mark was so down on her predicted grade it might be worth a try.

I hope she's not too badly upset - they do make mistakes & muddle up peoples papers sometimes and unless your dd knows she went badly to pieces in both exams & wrote little or nothing relevent it's most likely that a mix-up has occured. The school should be able to advise what to do - there's various types of remark and administrative checks and script returns that can be requested. At least with it being an AS and not A2 she's not got university places hanging on it and there should be plenty of time to sort it out.

Contact the school, there will/should be some one around to discuss this.

Agree with the others that you should investigate remarks / access to scripts (you can ask for a speedy service: 'priority'). There are timetables for these things which are quite tight - find out your deadlines. Ditto for re-sits.
Teachers and examiners have loads of students to consider at this time of year and there are always disappointments - you will have to push to get your DD to the top of the 'to do' pile.

Any further word from DD: is she surprised, too, or has she fessed up?

As it is an AS paper, your DD doesn't need to go for the fast service (which is meant for A2 students whose university choice is affected by the mark). Although action needs to be taken quickly and there are strict time limits there is enough time to get hold of a copy of the script (not the script itself) and for the teacher to advise whether to then go for a re-mark.
First of all, you can add up the marks yourself and check whether any parts don't seem to be marked or the sum is wrong! Then you must go through it with the teacher who will know about the marking scheme and will be able to say whether it is worth going for a re-mark or not.
There is a scale of charges for all these services - but by getting the photocopy, your DD can soon find out whether the marking was incorrect or if she went wrong in her answers and can then move on.

Thanks for your replies. She thought she'd done reasonably well in the exams - History has always been her strongest subject (well till now!) We will look into getting a copy of her paper as I think its torturing her not knowing where she went wrong.

KathH
Here are the details of re-marking - sent out by DS's college:

1. Priority remark - for students whose university place depends on the remark. You don't see the script before the remark is done. Costs £50 - apply by 26.8
2. Photocopy script - usually returned within 7 days. Costs £16.00 - apply by 26.8
3. Clerical check at exam board of marks (not a remark of script). Costs £16 - apply by 16.9
4. Remark by senior examiner plus checking of marks and totalling. Costs £45 - apply by 16.9

From this you can see you can get a photocopy of the script, check it and discuss with teacher before deciding whether to apply for a remark.

Did she have to do coursework? If so have you seen the grades for that?

Kath,

I recommend that you order a photocopy of her script (it costs about £10). This will enable her teacher to go through it with her alongside the mark scheme and examiner's report.

I always get photocopies of my pupils' scripts, even those that do well.

I think to get ungraded (x2) from a B prediction (ie normal classwork of a B standard) and having felt the exams went well is unlikely to be a lack of preparation - far more likely to be an administrative mistake imo. I hope she gets it sorted quickly.