GCSEs 2018 (3)

[mmzz]

Following on from:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3113917-GCSEs-2018-2

He’s autistic odd socks & had to change schools because his old school kept punishing him for autistic behaviour instead of making adjustments so he didn’t melt down in the first place. But the one thing they were good at was allowing laptops in exams.

I believe that as long as they use the laptop for normal work within school it can be allowed ....This was suggested to DD for her hyper mobility at the end of Yr10 but far too late for it to be implemented - same issue with SENCO who didn't action requests.

Mr Salles said something along the lines that examiners tend to love their subject. They did it themselves at A level, maybe university and then chose to teach it. So, even for the questions that get no SPAG points, the examiners feel that the subject they love is being disrespected when the student can't be bothered to write neatly, use the right terminology and spell accurately. This makes them feel that you aren't the academic type like the examiner and they don't feel inclined to be generous when marking.
Moreover they are tired, get paid relatively little per paper, and sometimes they just can't be bothered to try to decipher an answer that the student couldn't be bothered to write legibly. So, they assume the worst and award 0 marks.
DS has dysgraphia so these comments made me cringe.

THats the problem teen, the laptop never seems to be available.

Alexander sorry to hear of your struggles. It is frustrating that you have to keep pushing to the point of being "that annoying parent" to get support for our DC.

mmzz On the advice of MN on a handwriting thread I have bought DT a Bic 4 in one pen, seen some improvement. I know you can get pens for DC with dysgraphia but not sure how I would get DT who are now 14 to use them as they aren't "cool"!!

Alexander - Is it worth you buying a laptop for DS to use given he's in Yr9 and would therefore get allot of use out of it going forward.

It wasn't worth us going down that route given that DD uses an Ipad in school for most lessons so this helps a little (we picked up the Hyper mobility too late for typing to make a real difference). However, I know we will have to invest in a new laptop when she goes into Sixth form she uses a laptop for her job on Saturday's but its a slow netbook.

Hopefully I can clarify a couple of things - examiners are paid per script, not by the hour (if only!) but they can’t just give up on a script due to poor writing and they are allowed to refer them so that someone can mark from the paper copy - the majority of scripts are scanned and marked online. I think Mr Salles is trying to nudge students to maximise their chances at the top end of the mark scheme for English language, but examiners really do understand that scripts are written under exam pressure and make allowances for handwriting.
Similarly, on spelling - yes, it will make a better impression if the spelling is accurate but in section A of both papers it isn’t part of the marking scheme. If an examiner is faced with a perceptive answer and spelling is poor, it will get the mark at the top end of the band because the spelling just isn’t relevant. In section B (writing) the spelling is relevant, though, so it is worth trying to be consistently accurate. Many exam markers are teachers and they know how important these exams are to the students. The marking is meant to be positive and the marking advice emphasises this. The biggest problems I saw last summer were from students not answering the question, not writing anything at all, or writing about the wrong extract etc.

I’m not sure if that will be allowed but it’s a question I’m going to ask.

Thanks for the explanation, @Looseattheseams
Mr Salles's argument was that even on the non-SPAG point questions that typically come first on the papers, examiners are building up an opinion about what sort of student this person is. He says that even though they officially don't, the reality is that the later higher point questions have a subjective element to the marking (is that true?) and that non-neat, non-cursive handwriting and bad spelling in the earlier questions build a prejudice in the examiners mind against the student causing them to mark less generously.

DS types in most exams. French and maths are the only two with no typing at all. The sciences and geography tend to be mixed depending on the need to write formulae, perform calculations and draw or annotate graphs. Thinking about it, I guess it will be easy for an examiner to miss an answer as DS jumps back and forth between writing on the exam paper and typing on a laptop. Is there anything DS can do to mitigate this? Eg writing on the exam paper "see typed answer"

I thought that examiners didn't mark whole scripts but certain questions only?

Thanks loose I’ll still try and talk to the SENCo anyway

DS2 has hypermobility in his hands and wrists (as well as ASD & dyspraxia). He grips the pen so hard that if he writes with a biro, it goes through the paper. His writing doesn't stay on the line but travels above and below it. His letters are regular but quite squashed-looking.

He had many years of handwriting intervention - eventually his primary school just taught him to touch type. In Y9 the teachers started complaining about not being able to mark his work; we got a full OT report which suggested rest breaks, sloping writing surface, laptop use.

He started using a laptop at the end of Y9 but it was too heavy for him to carry around between lessons (hypermobility) so he carried on writing in school and typed homework.

A new English teacher at the beginning of Y11 asked for a laptop to be delivered to DS2's English lessons. DS2 started using a laptop in English lessons as his 'normal way of working' in December and did most of his mocks on a laptop in January. If the exam boards accept this, he will type most of his GCSE papers.

So even the middle of Y11 might not be too late.

Examiners like me who mark online are never sent whole scripts. We mark individual questions so we can’t build up any impression of the candidate. there is an initial marking process of some scripts where senior examiners may well mark the whole paper, I don’t know.
English language marking is subjective to a point but the marking schemes are very detailed and it’s generally quite easy to work out which marking band the answer belongs to - the tricky bit is where in the band and for the higher mark questions the bands are wider. I suspect that’s where Mr Salles feels spelling and writing can make a difference. There’s no penalty for using a laptop and if that’s the student’s normal way of working they should be using one. I suspect a lot of examiners would prefer it if everyone typed!
Although his advice is geared to getting 100%, he makes a very good point early on that you don’t necessarily need to be marked in the highest band to get top grades as it’s all comparative.

My dgd told me that her English teacher told the whole class that there is a pacific way the questions are answered that the examiners are looking for the trouble is the teachers don't know which way as there are a few. So. They teach one way and hope its the right way as the new exam is ambiguous. Even though the answers may be right, it may not be the right answer the examiners are looking for. I know I haven't explained well but I think you will all get the gist.

This is the sort of thing that throws dgd. She said that she can interpret several meanings when trying to read between the lines but she is never sure which is the right one. She pointed out to me that everyone reading the same passage out of a book or a poem will come up with different interpretations I.e the bible for instance. And she finds herself spending too much time deciding which way. She says her ideas are so different sometimes that she doubts her judgement.
I said whatever your ideas if you can find sufficient evidence to support your interpretation you should be fine. She says teacher says not enough

TheSecondOfHerName glad that your DS managed to sort out using laptop.
Dd wasn't over keen on using one (probably because she didnt really get the opportunity to try an exam using a laptop - I requested this in May last year) but it just did not happen. She does have rest breaks and her writing is actually reasonably good - she just gets tired and hands/wrists ache if she writes for long periods- I suppose she has learnt to cope well given that my poor parenting skills (obvious she had pencil grip issues from when she was 5!)meant that the Hypermobiltiy was not picked up until Yr10.

Interestingly I have just looked through Dd's History exam paper and its annoying that Dd seems to have ignored the advice given in allot of her History clinics she hasn't answered the question asked and just didn't include factual evidence to support her answers to get higher marks. I do keep on saying that she should ask herself WHY all the time and support that reason. I dont normally assist DD with homework/revision but I think having looked at this paper she probably needs allot of prompting to get into the habit of supporting her answers with facts.

Teenmum you are right about supporting answers with facts. And that's great for subjects other than English IMO. My DVD no problem in geography, history, r.e with writing damn good essays cos she's dealing with facts. What she can't handle is reading between the lines especially when there can be several meanings. That's why English such a struggle for her.

At the end of the day they can only do their best!

Totally agree they can only do there best ....I just wish my DD would listen sometimes to advice she is being given- although in fairness I did ask her to bring History papers home so we could go through them (so she did tick that box). I think we will have a few sessions where I just ask her for facts about events she has studied in History.

Have problem with dgd too about listening to advice. They are do stubborn at that age!

@Sostenueto No wonder your DGD lacks confidence in her English work if that's the advice she's been getting. I'd be looking to add that to your list of things that need resolved at that upcoming meeting.

Yes exactly mmzz! Meeting tomorrow can't wait!

The teacher sounds like she’s confusing them a bit - but it may be dgd slightly misunderstood.
In both English language papers, the texts are unseen and students are asked about how writers use language and structure to get their point across. The problem is that to get the best marks you need to be able to say why they used those techniques not just what they used and a quotation. In my view there is far too much emphasis on inference in an exam for 15 year-olds but we’re stuck with it. The good news is no one’s seen the texts before so as long as you sound plausible and can back up what you say, the examiner will be fine with it. If it doesn’t make sense or isn’t substantiated they can’t. The same goes for 5e unseen poetry question in literature - a reasonable interpretation based on the text is fine.
For ‘seen’ literature, know the themes, context and how the characters develop through the whole work e.g. Lady Macbeth and how they relate to the themes - this isn’t really that subjective, it just seems like it, but it can be learned in much the same way that you interpret different sources in history. Your quotations from the text are the facts/evidence needed to back up the answers.
The tricky bit again is that examiners are really keen to see candidates comment on the impact on the reader but this should all be discussed in class anyway.
Hope that helps! I’m worried I am making it more confusing!

Roll on 19th June when all exams are finished for my DD....

Have the joys of trying to sort out some form of 16th Birthday party and purchase a Prom dress within next few weeks !

No looseattheseams its exactly what I thought! Well meeting tomorrow where we can all get to grips with this. There is too much emphasis on inference but like you said the poor DC are stuck with it. Its got to the stage where we try and help but also we got to stay cool about English as she has such a block about it. Everything hinges on this one exam as to what 6 th form she wants to go to and I'm saddened that it has to be this way when she is so good at everything else and easily capable of A levels and degree.