English GCSE remark : expert objective advice needed!!

[Piggywaspushed]

Ok, I have been batting this round on a few threads and need to preface this by saying I am an English teacher... but it isn't helping me at all!

DS got a 5 in Lang and a 6 In Lit. Both below (rather generous ) target grades of 7.
We d found out he was 5 UMS marks into 5 in Lang and therefore needs 8 marks (I think) to get a 6. Not normal remark territory and I'd be terrified of him being downgraded.

However, I have now found out his breakdown and it is bizarre:

Language paper 1

1.4/4
2.4/8
3.3/8
4.12/20
5.8/24 + 6/16

Language paper 2

1.4/4
2.5/8
3.5/12
4.6/16
5.18/24 + 11/16 (this is amazing compared to paper 1!)

The last wording is not mine but the HOD.

The discrepancy between P1 and P2 is marked and the section Bs are the real oddity given that they aren't very different tasks. I have checked and he did paragraph. You also need to know his spelling is highly proficient. He has that teenage predilection for commas and probably didn't use much punctuation other than full stops and commas. His handwriting is hard to read sometimes but he does tend to write quite lengthy answers and was (before the exams) quite confident in jumping through the hoops of each question.

I would be interested to hear from fellow English teachers who have no emotional investment in this what they might advise? I'd like Paper 1 looked at - but once seen it can't be remarked.

I know a 5 is 'good enough' but he is a better student than that. In one of his lit papers he missed an 8 by one mark!

Any thoughts gratefully received.

I would go for a remark, we have had uplifts of well over 10. I think there was a big admin issue at AQA this year, we have had very swift responses with big changes.

We are having AQA English Lit reviewed because of a big disparity between papers that school think looks odd. The grade can go down scares me although DD still ok for her college if she drops a grade and only needs 1 mark for the next grade.

No-one at school this week to ask about the specific marks by question.

Piggy no we haven't had a breakdown of marks by paper, only that she scored 10 marks under a level 4 overall. Her teacher said there was no point in a remark but now I'm thinking there might be based on other people's experiences. Thanks very much everyone I'm glad I found this thread!

Quick question - if we ask for a clerical check & copy of the script, can we subsequently ask for a review of marking if anything comes to light from that?

no , you can't

But if the clerical check found an error, it would be corrected?

Has anyone come across marking issues with AQA Geography B and AQA RE.
DS predicted C in Geography, but got a D and predicted a B in RE, but got a D. Poor across all the papers. He doesn't need them for A level.
Debating if it is worth asking for a review.

Oh yes, it would : but no remarking would occur.

I am not sure if you can ask for a remark after a clerical check , but certainly you can't after seeing the script (Edexcel aside)

Thanks piggy. I think we'll just ask for the clerical check.

Redrule - please look at your inbox, have PMed you

For my DD it was the the HT that said she'd look int her marks. she said if they thought it was close enough to the next grade or not run of the mill between questions/papers then they would get it checked. Is it possible they have just gone ahead without telling us her marks? It was AQA Eng Lang.

That would be very foolish....did she not mention grades could go down?

They can't do it without you and DC filling in a form anyway!

On the basis of reading all the most helpful insights on here, we asked DS's English HoD about his grades (He got Level 6s in both, a surprise as he was always deemed much better at Eng. Lit. than Eng. Lang.).

He was one point off a Level 7 in Eng. Lit and only four points off for Eng. Lang, so we have put in requests for reviews. Let's hope for upgrades.

He has managed to scrape into his sixth form after a very stressful 48 hours awaiting the HT's decision (and believe me, DS was very, very lucky to be accepted). To get the two extra A equivalents would mean that his passage would be automatic rather than leaving him/us feeling beholden to the HT's largesse and possibly at risk of being turfed out if he's not deemed to be progressing - academically - well enough.

Yes we know grades could go down, thats why we were waiting to hear what her marks were. It's not urgent at all(she got an 8 anyway) and I know there are children for whom the grade makes a difference as i Teddy's DS's case.It's just so many on hear seem to have got th remarks within a day or on the spot.

*It's just

*here

Eng Lang fail!!!

MsHarry - we had to fill in a form for remarking.
So they would not just go ahead.

Yes @ProfessorLayton1 we did too - and I'm beginning to wonder whether we would have been advised to apply for reviews had we not taken the initiative and asked the question.

I think you might be expecting teachers to absorb a lot of info in a short space of time and this is where , I think, students and parents play such a crucial role.Families can look at and analyse one set of results in detail . An English department might have as may as 800 results to look through.

School are genuinely very happy to advise and consult but are also very grateful if some of the burden is taken off them to take the decision. They will look closely at some key students - but probably won't look at the breakdown for all of them. Not even a class teacher would easily find time to do this.

Sorry @Piggywaspushed wasn't meaning to have a pop at teachers. Possibly showing my ignorance because I don't have any family/friends in the profession.

I do agree it's right that the onus of responsibility falls on the parents/pupil BUT what happens if that support isn't there? It disadvantages those children automatically, as it does those whose parents aren't able/prepared to pay for reviews.

It's fine : I think aybe some dodn't realise all that number cruching never used to be there at all!

I agree absolutely about your second paragraph ... it's a real bête noir for me. Absolutely it disadvantages those children. If the are Pupil Premium (ie Free School Meals) and have underachieved, and someone looks into their results for them, PP children should have remarks etc funded by the school. If they haven't underachieved , of course, but could just have done slightly better or are themselves a bit disappointed then they won't receive the same input , no doubt.

Just like the success attributed to some children (and their schools/ parents) really masks the amount of private tuition that goes on in some circles!!

Excuse typos ! I would have been buggered in the 50s sat behind a ladylike typewriter learning how to be a secretary .

Way to go with a fragile child's self worth btw.

he has just turned up at his (second choice) institution with their minimum requirements easily achieved and a points score more than is needed for A level economics (the only subject to set a minimum) and been told he is basically going to fail. Bear in mind this is a sixth form college which is quite new and distinctly takes students who have nowhere else to go as its profile.
He has a 6 in GCSE maths. He is hardly an incompetent. I am sure the lady was using statistics, but maybe today wasn't the right day.

It's all a plot to get them all to do Business Studies.

DH has just phoned to update me : the woman was looking at the wrong stats (as I think both DH and the economics teacher who trotted along pointed out!).

However, because she used concepts such as easy and hard on a boy of all creatures, he now says he wants to do Business. Which he has never shown even any passing interest in.