Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

GCSE remarks - chance of going up a grade?

41 replies

reallybadidea · 25/08/2016 11:16

Ds1 got his results and is very happy with his results, as am I. There were 3 subjects though where he dropped a grade compared with his prediction and having looked at the boundaries, it appears he was 1 UMS off the higher grade in two of these subjects Shock

One is English language and the other statistics. Does anyone know what the chance of going up a grade is if we pay for remarks?! I can sort of see how in English it could be relatively easy to pick up an additional mark or two but statistics seems less likely to me somehow. I presume that being that close to the boundary makes the chance of going down a grade very low Confused

I'm a bit cross with myself for even checking his scores now!

OP posts:
noblegiraffe · 25/08/2016 11:45

Grades change in about 1% of cases, according to Ofqual. That may vary by subject, and obviously you've got a much better chance if only 1 UMS off.

They've changed the remarking rules this year to make it even less likely to go up a mark, but if you can afford it, it's worth a punt. Some schools would enter these for a remark as a matter of course (and pay for it), especially English.

Original poster
reallybadidea · 25/08/2016 14:25

Thanks. I think English must be worth a shot, statistics less so as it's only 1 exam and he got very high marks anyway. Damn controlled assessment really pulled him down

OP posts:
PotteringAlong · 25/08/2016 14:26

Does he need the higher grade to enable him to do what he wants to next? If not, then you don't really gain anything from a remark.

Original poster
reallybadidea · 25/08/2016 14:34

Not for what he wants to do next, no, but might make a slight difference with university applications.

OP posts:
PotteringAlong · 25/08/2016 14:39

I assume he's got more to loose by going down a grade than he gains by going up a grade so I wouldn't risk it.

MrsPigling · 25/08/2016 14:45

It's harder to know what to do if it's not critical to 6th form, but might be an issue later, isn't it.

We've been trying to find out more info today about remarks. In dd's case, the coursework bits for music and industrial tech have come out much lower than expected.

For music she got 6 marks and an e, whereas her teacher said it should have been more like 16 marks. The music teacher went to find dd, armed with the remark form and is pretty sure an error has been made. Other units were A, A and A and she got an A overall, so really not critical to remark, but dd's so pissed off I think we will!

For industrial tech, her teacher (also hod) wasn't there to ask, but dd's course work was graded in school as A and A but the results after moderation are a D and an A. The A down to A seems reasonable, but to drop A to D seems odd. Apparently it might not be possible to get that one bit remarked though.

In dd's case, neither grade will make a difference for 6th form. I'm not sure if the industrial tech will cause an issue though. She might well be applying to Oxbridge (once she's worked out what she wants to do) and the grade at the moment is a B (from D & A on coursework and A* on exam). dd doesn't care, she's just thankful she never has to take that subject again!

Original poster
reallybadidea · 25/08/2016 14:50

A to D is just bizarre! I think coursework can only be remarked if the school requests that the whole cohort is remarked, which seems a bit unfair.

I suppose if rule changes mean that it's harder to get a grade changed than previously, this should also mean that it's harder to go down a grade also...so perhaps a bigger incentive to ask for a remark than previously!

OP posts:
Maverick66 · 25/08/2016 14:56

I got to remarks done for DS last year.
He was 1 mark off in one subject and 3 marks off in another.
Two of his friends were in a similar position.
None of them were marked up. Grade stayed same.
It was expensive and in our case not worth it.
However
When DD did her A levels she was one mark off an A in her chosen language A level I got this paper remarked and she was successful in moving up a grade.

Original poster
reallybadidea · 25/08/2016 15:00

Hmm. It's a gamble. What subjects if you don't mind me asking?

OP posts:
girlandboy · 25/08/2016 15:18

DS's school are putting both his English Literature and English Language in for re-mark. He missed grade C's in both by 1 mark and 3 marks.
What will come of it I don't know, but fingers crossed because he's devastated. As am I.
This is not a happy house today Sad

worriedworker01 · 25/08/2016 15:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

janinlondon · 25/08/2016 15:22

What does one UMS mark equate to in that Board and subject in terms of actual raw marks from that paper? Because that's how many he will need to pick up to change a grade....It may be many more than one mark.....?

Kate3003 · 25/08/2016 15:39

I would go for it. We put in for a number of appeals in English last year and about half went up....

Original poster
reallybadidea · 25/08/2016 15:56

English is WJEC and I can only see grade boundaries for UMS rather than raw score on their website. Can't remember which board he did statistics with and paperwork at home. I really think stats is unlikely to change tbh.

Haven't heard back from school's exam officer yet but I may email his teachers and see what they say.

OP posts:
janinlondon · 25/08/2016 16:07

(Sorry! that doesnt seem to have English on it...........)

Maverick66 · 25/08/2016 16:53

Sorry really only getting back now.
DS subjects were with AQA maths and English .
I think it is a gamble and it depends on the person remarking.
Good luck

polarpercy · 25/08/2016 17:04

Can I suggest people looking into or talking about remarks look at the rule changes this year: from Guardian Changes mean that it is not strictly remarks but checking for clerical or administrative errors rather than a second marker checking and reinterpreting. Marks will only change if there was a marking error not if another marker would interpret the mark scheme differently. Just check before you pay!

polarpercy · 25/08/2016 17:07

Those trying to convert from UMS back to raw, on the exam summary result sheet given to students you should have both the Raw and UMS. if you don't many exam boards have a converter on their website. Moving 1 UMS mark could translate to 3 or 4 raw marks for example.

polarpercy · 25/08/2016 17:08

Sorry, me again! The student room forum also has a good sticky where they post links to the exam board boundaries which are really useful to look at.

Original poster
reallybadidea · 25/08/2016 18:06

Thanks all, really helpful.

OP posts:
Naggity · 25/08/2016 18:32

'Mrs Pigling - For industrial tech, her teacher (also hod) wasn't there to ask, but dd's course work was graded in school as A and A but the results after moderation are a D and an A. The A down to A seems reasonable, but to drop A to D seems odd. Apparently it might not be possible to get that one bit remarked though.'

My DD did Tech. She was graded a B in school for course work, but her moderated result is an E! Thankfully she got an excellent exam result, so came out overall with a C. I saw her work and have experience in the industry. I know she does not deserve an E.
Her friends have suffered the same problem - one of them had an A* dropped to a C and another had a C dropped to a Fail.
I had a chat with the Tech teacher, who was clearly very confused and upset about the results. She said every grade in the class had been dropped. She, also, said we are not likely to get an appeal as coursework can only be reviewed if everyone on the course agrees, but she was going to speak to the Head and see whether anything could be done..

Original poster
reallybadidea · 26/08/2016 07:39

Whoever linked to the student room which links to exam boards raw marks/UMS data - thank you so much!

I've just checked ds's statistics results. For his CA he was given the mark in school of 33/40. On the exam board PDF this should give a UMS of 45+ (A*) However his printed results show him getting 33 UMS (C). Does this sound like a clerical error to anyone else?!

OP posts:
Rosieposy4 · 26/08/2016 17:53

Could be clerical error by school, or the school was moderated down. Easy way to check that is to find a friend and see if their CA marks altered. If they didn't then clerical error, school need to put their hand up and it should be sortable. If theirs altered as well more likley is that school over marked and so the entire cohorts results will have gone donw on moderation.

titchy · 26/08/2016 18:12

Sounds like the entire cohort might have had the CA moderated down...