Worth re-marking an English Lang GSCE to try to go from Grade 4 to 5?

[HasThisSoddingNameGoneToo]

DS got a grade 4 in both his English GCSEs. His English teacher just rang me to say his total mark on English Language was 85. If he'd got 86, he'd have got a grade 5.

I think it's worth having it remarked - what do you think? Any other subject, probably not. But I think English Language - like Maths - is a subject that lots of places look at in the future.

It doesn't affect his immediate future as he did really well in his other subjects and is comfortably into Sixth form doing A Levels.

What do you think? His teacher pointed out that re-marked papers can go down as well as up, but she would be very surprised if his went down.

Who pays to get it re-marked? If it's the school then it sounds like you haven’t got anything to lose.

It was his teacher's suggestion that we think about a re-mark. She said a few other students have had theirs done, and all have gone up - one by 7 points.

I think I'd have to pay, but i don't mind if it's worth it.

DS isn't bothered, as a 4 is a pass. I just feel that English is an important subject, and the higher the score, the better. But I might be wrong? I don't know.

I would as being only 1 away from the next grade boundary up means it’s very unlikely he will go down.

I think also that although 4 is a pass it’s not considered a strong pass so a 5 would be better.

We are having DD's remarked, we have been told if the grade changes we will not have to pay, if it is remarked and it stays the same the cost is down to us. Certainly worth a remark for English.

Thanks! Can ŷou get both papers re-marked? There were 2 in the exam. I know you pay separately for each paper; are you allowed to get both re-done?

I would and did (successfully). The paper DD was more confident in had a much worse score and it turned out they’d omitted to mark a whole question or page or something.

A few questions you’ll need to think about though.
Is the school surprised by the grade 4 or is it as expected? What’s the position on costs? It’s free if you gain a grade, but who pays if you don’t - you or the school? If it’s you can you afford to take a punt? Is it one of the boards where you can look at the script online before deciding on a remark, or do you have to go straight for a remark?

It might be worth asking the teacher, if they have seen the marks on both papers, we were advised just to get 1 remarked.

X-post.
Normally better tactics to go for one paper at a time if deadlines allow.
But if school has had a lot of remarks go their way and you can afford the risk then I’d definitely go for it - you never know when he’ll be applying for a job (even a entry level holiday job) that does automated CV checks and scores on English GCSE.

His teacher says she honestly wouldn't know which paper to suggest for a re-mark, so I think I'd pay for both. Any other subject (other than his A level subjects), I wouldn't bother. But this mark might make a difference in the future.

Thanks for your help! I'm going to do it.

Is it always free if the grade goes up? Who swallows that first, the exam board?

Swallows that cost, not first

I would ask if the school are paying for it, DD was one mark off in one of her A levels and the school paid for the re-mark.

The teacher didn’t suggest they’d pay for it. His expected grade was only a 4. And of course, technically he did pass. But I think the teacher thought that - as he’s only 1 mark away - it might be worth a shot.

DS was a bit off about the idea and it turns out he feels bad that I might pay £76 only for them to say “No, this boy is definitely only a Grade 4...” But I said it’s just a gamble, like in poker (he’s very good at poker) and it might pay off and make a difference later.

That was how we viewed it, DD was 1 mark off the next grade, we know she can't go down a grade, but if she goes up, it may pay dividends for her in the future.

We had 2 remarked last year one of which was 1 mark off next grade. No luck - apparently (apart from big errors listed above) it's quite hard to get a remark rather than a mathematical error correction.
Apparently all marks are put into bands and if the remark is in the same band (even if numerically higher) they don't change the original mark.
I guess I'm saying don't get your hopes up but if you can afford it go for it. I would if in the same position again. Then you can get rid of any doubts..... Good luck

I also agree 4 to 5 is a big psychological jump....

Hi.

It’s an essential subject so definitely worth it. It’s only one mark so quite likely to be upgraded.

You only pay if the grade stays the same but you pay per paper and if only one paper goes up and you go from 4 to 5 you’ll still have to pay for the other paper.

I suggest you try one one paper at a time but keep an eye on the calendar as there are deadlines.

Thanks, everyone. I’d be prepared to lose the £76. We’re not rich! But I think it’s worth it.

I like the thrifty idea of doing one paper at a time, but DS and his teacher both have no idea which one to start with. And isn’t the deadline something scarily close, like 20th September? I’d be scared we’d miss it.

Statistically try the one with a lower mark and see.

Tell the teacher that if they haven’t heard back by the day before the deadline they should automatically submit the second paper.

Good luck.

Yes, completely. It's in the school's best interest too. They will have analysed the papers.

With the old system, it was definitely better to get one paper marked first, then another - otherwise you could find one paper went up and one went down, cancelling each other out.

If the first remark goes down, you can then decide whether it is worth the risk of having the second paper remarked in case it goes down as well to the extent that they go down a grade. If it goes up, then you've avoided the risk of it being cancelled out by losing marks on the other paper.

We tried unsuccessfully to get DS's mark up by 1 to achieve a grade 5 in English language last year. Both papers remarked. I noticed that Awarding bodies including AQA OCR EDEXCEL gave grade 5 or above to 69%. Of candidates. For WJEC only 62% got grade 5 or above. Why a school in central England (ours) would choose a Welsh board for English is beyond me. DS got grade 6 for English lit and good grades (5+) for all other subjects.
I would look at your possible progression routes. Uni's will accept the 4 for courses such as Engineering as long as Maths is a 5 or 6, but if you are looking at arts type subjects he might need a 5+ in English. Check now and go for a resit in Jan if you need to. The longer he waits the more inconvenient it all gets. If he needs the 5 and you don't get it at remark just go in again at the next opportunity. Uni's actually value the grade more than the 'all at one sitting ' thing.

Similar position here, except a point away from a 6. DS was expected level 6. Only found out mark last week after pestering for results and no mention of encouraging to go for it, let alone that they'd pay. Didn't share individual test grades.

DS got level 7 and 8 in all other subjects. He is doing what he wants to do and he's moved on. Cost is not an issue but I'm struggling to get a clear idea of the chance of an increase. Are we talking 5%, 10%, 20%, 50%, le latter which I doubt but just to indicate the confusion!