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Secondary education

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Original poster

school has lost a piece of coursework

26 replies

longingforsomesleep · 23/05/2013 16:33

DS is in year 11 and in the middle of his GCSEs. He got a message from a teacher today to say that he needed to resubmit a piece of coursework he did in year 10 as the moderator had asked to see it and the teacher can't find it.

DS says he doesn't have it anymore - it was on an old memory stick which he no longer has. I said we need to find out tomorrow whether or not he has to redo it as it would be better to do this next week during half term than after the holiday when he has lots of exams.

DS says there's NO way he's redoing a piece of work that he's had marked and the school has lost.

Does anybody have any experience of this and advice on what might happen?

OP posts:
CajaDeLaMemoria · 23/05/2013 16:37

Was he advised to keep all coursework? We were.

I can't see anyway around this, other than for him to redo it. The school should check it over to ensure it matches the grade he was previously given, because otherwise they'll look bad too. Then it'll be sent to the moderator.

I don't think you can pass a GCSE if you refuse the moderator's request to approve the work, so it's probably not a great idea to refuse.

As for the school losing it: I'd be speaking to them and complaining about that, but it's a separate issue for the time being, unless there is any chance of them finding it.

iloveweetos · 23/05/2013 16:38

One thing i learnt through school, sixth form and uni is to keep EVERY piece of work. I used to save and print two copies just in case computers failed me. (future reference)
You can speak to the school about looking for it further as there should be a record that he handed it in.
Speak to the teacher and explain where you stand with this. Why should a piece of work that DS has done, be re done due to his/her negligence? Speak to head of year of head of dept (unless its this teacher) if the teacher doesnt help further.
Lesson learned - dont rely on anyone! cover yourself!!
Good Luck

3littlefrogs · 23/05/2013 16:42

It is a hard lesson to learn.

My DC keep their course work on:

Computer
Memory stick
In their email account.

Sorry this has happened to your ds. It is the school's fault, but he probably will have to do it again.Sad

LizzieVereker · 23/05/2013 16:44

I doubt if he would be allowed to redo it (and nor should he have to).The moderator will have asked to see it as part of a sample of work, for which they will already have received the marks. So redoing it won't help, it wouldn't be the same piece of work.

Work is lost very occasionally, and the school should just need to fill in a form, available on the exam board website, to say that they recorded the mark in Year 10, but have subsequently lost the work. It's not really your DS's problem, it's the school who need to sort it out.

Original poster
longingforsomesleep · 23/05/2013 16:44

Oh dear. I was afraid that might be the case. Do you know if there is likely to be a deadline? I'm just wondering if it's something he could do after his exams.

OP posts:
Original poster
longingforsomesleep · 23/05/2013 16:48

Sorry, posted before I saw your post Lizzie. That sounds encouraging. Good point about it not being the same piece of work. I was actually thinking, if he did have to redo it, he'd probably make a better job of it than he did over a year ago!

OP posts:
BrianButterfield · 23/05/2013 16:51

He can't redo a marked piece of work. There are forms to fill in by the school but it's not a huge deal and happens now and then - it's not ideal but hardly negligent when you multiply the number of students by the number of subjects by the number of pieces - losing one piece from all that is regrettable but it can happen. I had a girl lose a full folder once and I just vouched for it on the form; it was OK in the end although stressful for me.

TheFallenMadonna · 23/05/2013 16:53

What Brian said. It happens. Teacher fills in a form.

TheFallenMadonna · 23/05/2013 16:54

And what Lizzie said!

orangeandemons · 23/05/2013 16:55

No, he will not have to do it again. I'm a teacher who teaches Gcse. There are procedures in place for lost coursework. If he does it again, it will not be the same as the original one, and the mark may well be different. And tbh I think it is a bit off of the school to ask him to do it.

I lost a piece of coursework 2 years ago ( first one in 18 years) and it was dealt with by the exam board easily and efficiently. I can't believe they have asked him to do it again when he is in the middle of his revision!Shock

kelda · 23/05/2013 17:02

20 years ago all the GCSE and A-level course work I did was hand written. It wasn't backed up on a computer, and I certainly didn't photo copy it. I had my rough notes; that was it.

It's a good thing it's already been marked, I'm sure there shouldn't be a problem with the exam board.

LIZS · 23/05/2013 17:06

Did he email it anywhere ?

ravenAK · 23/05/2013 17:56

What everyone else says about the 'oops, we've lost it' form. It happens!

The cynic in me wonders if they've lost half the group's work. Or realised they've totally overmarked it. Unfortunately, that also happens.

ShipwreckedAndComatose · 23/05/2013 18:02

It sounds to me like the school is trying to cover their arses by getting him to print it off again.

However, as others have said, this is not your DS's problem. the school would have submitted the marks and the moderation process is about providing the evidence for that mark.

The school will have to fill in the form and let your son get on with his revision Smile

Original poster
longingforsomesleep · 23/05/2013 19:11

That's all very reassuring - thanks people. To be honest I'm a bit confused because I thought they only did controlled assessments nowadays, not coursework. DS knows which piece of work the teacher is talking about though and, as I said, is adamant it's not his problem. He says he's had a mark for it so as far as he's concerned that's that!

It's PE by the way. To be honest, I'm a bit peeved by the fact that the school didn't contact me or DS directly about this. The head of department saw ds's brother waiting for me outside of school this evening as he drove past. He pulled over and apparently said, "can you ask xxx to let me have a copy of xxxx because the moderator wants to see it and I can't find it".

Sounds like DS (who is now on study leave) should just keep his head down and get on with his revision!!

OP posts:
circular · 23/05/2013 19:12

I thought all 'coursework' was now 'controlled assessments' done under controlled conditions, and did not leave the exam room.
In which case how could he be expected to keep a copy, electronic or otherwise?

ravenAK · 24/05/2013 16:06

The vast majority is, circular, but some boards/subjects still do old-skool coursework.

Definitely he should just keep his head down. It's the teacher's problem.

WastedTomatoGuts · 25/05/2013 21:49

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HettyD · 25/05/2013 22:16

Please don't distract him from revision, THAT is his priority now. His marks for c/w will have been submitted by school and then moderator asks for examples (unless edexcel who do it both together). If teacher has lost the work then TEACHER needs to inform exam board and fill in form. If you speak to the school's exams officer they will ensure this happens correctly. Don't let him worry either, teachers submit 10+ pieces of work for each unit, exam board will be able to judge marking from the other 9 and grade accordingly, just as they do for the work not sent off. Hope that helps!!

Isthiscorrect · 26/05/2013 18:40

If it makes you feel better, exam boards lose work as well. DS asked for a copy of one of his January exams, he got 96 UMS, to see where he lost his marks, sadly they couldn't find it! I was speechless and 100dhs down.
I'm pretty sure your DS will be ok and the school will sort it. I just think the teacher is being lazy. Call them tomorrow and speak to the exams officer, all will be well. DS need to concentrate on his revision.

Caitycat · 26/05/2013 18:46

Yes there's absolutely an oops we've lost it form and ir is illegal and unethical to ask him to redo it, if they try to insist you can threaten to contact the exam board - arguably you should do so anyway but you may not want to jeopardise your relationship with the school. Please don't let him redo it as it could mean his grade is adversely affected if they are found out.

cardibach · 26/05/2013 19:18

As others have said there is a procedure for lost work - if you think about the number of pieces involved at all the schools it is almost inevitable that some will be unlocatable at the appropriate moment! Exam boards also have a policy of not penalising candidates for teacher error - for example if a teacher used the wrong title for Controlled Assessment the Board would accept it as it isn't the students' fault. They would take it up with the teacher/centre, though! Tell your DS not to worry and to concentrate on revision.

blondefriend · 26/05/2013 20:11

As a Head of Department for many years I can say that this does happen occasionally. However the exam boards know this and the school can fill in a form to explain the case and send another student's as an example of a similar graded piece. The exam board is not checking your son's work, it is checking the school's marking so it is not a huge deal to send another piece in its place with explanation. It sounds like the teacher (and HoD) is inexperienced.

xylem8 · 27/05/2013 16:48

Doesn't this open up a huge loophole in the moderating process?

greyvix · 27/05/2013 18:16

If a school was consistently losing coursework or pretending to lose it, it would be picked up by the exam board. It is unfortunate, but inevitable, that the very occasional piece will be lost, and exam boards understand this. In an ideal world, the school would have realised before the sample was called for, and could fill in the form in good faith when the marks were originally submitted.
Your DS needs to be focusing on exam revision at this stage, and the school should not expect him to redo coursework that they have lost.