GCSE Support - the results are in

[SheilaFentiman]

Continuing the threads we had going during revision and waiting for results day!

@HoppyHop

Links from AQA but other boards will be similar.

https://www.aqa.org.uk/exams-administration/after-results/post-results/review-of-moderation

https://www.aqa.org.uk/exams-administration/after-results/post-results/appeals

My daughter did really well with the exception of English language.

Predicted an 8 but got a 5. Edexcel. Its put the cat amongst the pigeons as its one of her A-level choices.

Head of English said they were hearing reports nationally of English having gone very badly. Lots of unexpected fails and much lower than predicted grades. She looked exasperated and there was a queue down the corridor to request remarks.

Yes our Head of English had a massive queue, other subjects didn’t.

Strangely my son did better than expected in English language and literature. Its odd to hear all these stories of people dropping several grades from predicted when he gained several grades from expected.

I honestly think teachers always predict higher unconsciously Particularly in a subject like English.

They have got used to the grades through covid and over egged it.

It's clear just from these threads that English Lit/Lang has been unusual this year. Not all bad, seems there's been good and bad surprises but it seems inconsistent at best.

I am curious as to why.

My son got his highest grade in English language, after the exam he said i5 was about. trains which suits his autistic thinking. He was borderline pass in his mocks so it was a surprise. OTOH he was 3 marks off a pass in maths which he was expected to pass, his teacher has suggested reviewing his scripts.

Ds only did one GCSE - autism amongst other additional needs. He got grade 3 - 67/160 so four marks off! I’m heart broken for him tbh. He put his heart and soul into it. Worth requesting a remark?

It's interesting about English Lit.
The opposite happened to DS.
Predicted a 7, got a 9 with a really high score, 10 marks over the boundary for a 9.
He's not huge reader of fiction. I'm surprised and delighted.

This was English btw.

Well done to everyone by the way

It's clear just from these threads that English Lit/Lang has been unusual this year. Not all bad, seems there's been good and bad surprises but it seems inconsistent at best.

I think if you look back, this has been the case each year they've done the exams since the spec change. Dd1 was the first year where it changed and there were very similar comments, and I think I've seen similar each year, where some have gone massively down, and some up.

Dd1 got a 6 when she was expecting a 7/8 (but ironically got an 8 in lit when she was expecting a 5/6); this year ds got a 6, when he wasn't totally confident of getting a 4.

Seeing as it seems to be a frequent thing, I'd wonder if it's that English teachers are less good at predicting-and it must be harder than for something like maths.

I'd also be interested to see if the ones who have gone down are more frequently girls, and those who have gone up are boys.

It’s interesting to see that English literature seems to be out of line with predicted for so many. I think it’s unlikely that all over the country English teachers have become worse at predicting grades or marking mock. my guess would be that there has been a bit of a shift in the way the standard was set for these exams that made previous years exams and students a less good indicator of how students would do.

I’ve marked for an exam board in a similar subject before and those instructions from the senior examiners about what bits of the mark scheme to prioritise and what to accept or not accept are really important and can make a big difference to the mark some candidates get. When they set the standard this year it could be that they prioritised slightly different aspects of the level descriptors.

I'd also be interested to see if the ones who have gone down are more frequently girls, and those who have gone up are boys.

Mine is a boy but I would say his top set English had more girls in it than boys and many of them have also dropped grades in English so it may well look that way if we had the figures.

I’ve marked for an exam board in a similar subject before and those instructions from the senior examiners about what bits of the mark scheme to prioritise and what to accept or not accept are really important and can make a big difference to the mark some candidates get. When they set the standard this year it could be that they prioritised slightly different aspects of the level descriptors.

DD got a 9 in Lang and an 8 (2 marks short of a 9) in lit and I do wonder whether the fact that her teacher also marks GCSE papers made him really on the ball when it comes to knowing exactly what is required to get the top grades.

If there was a shift in the way they standardised then that would have made no difference, as he would not have found out about the change in how they were setting the standard until after the exams were sat.

English was definitely odd for us too. 6 in Lit (she hasn't had a 6 since start of year 9). Definitely stronger at Lit than Lang. Yet got 9 in Lang (very high 9 at that). Both grades are baffling tbh. She thought both subjects had gone pretty well and was expecting her usual solid 8s 🤷‍♀️

Checking in to read the thread now. So pleased we are at the end of this stage. I hope everyone sleeps better tonight.

Thank you for your help earlier, sorry I have more questions.

One result was predicted 9 and just scraped a 5, has never scored below an 8 in all past papers
One predicted 7 and got 5 , four away from 6
One is one mark off an 8

The rest happy with, would you ask to see the papers? Do I email the school and ask for remark/check/what? Thanks for any help all new to me .

DS did very well but was 2 marks short of a 6 for Physics. Worth asking for a remark? A 6 is the requirement for A Level so wondering if we should request one.

I woudnt if they have what they need for A levels. How about if it comes down. There's no point.

So sorry. Just re read that. So she's 2 marks off a 6 and wants to do physics?

Yes...would like to do Physics if possible but I'm just unsure if there is realistically any chance of achieving this.

Can you access the scripts even if you don't want a remark?

@OnthePisteAgain v similar results to my hard working DD, English AQA took the shine off and was a genuine bad surprise but rest of GCSEs were more or less as predicted.