What to do in this situation?

[Scattery]

Please be a little gentle. I'm not a natural complainer but I don't know what to do in this situation, so I'd welcome comments.

My Y11 DS takes DT. The teacher quit in Y10 so DS was taught by supply teachers and the whole class got pretty behind. In Y11 they got another teacher and started working on their NEA (50% of the grade). DS stayed after school putting in time on his project. Lots from his class were told they needed to do more work on the NEA presentation, and DS complied. He put in a good amount of time and effort, hopped on a few calls with friends, at one point turned down £50 to do another classmate's NEA, and then turned his project in. I took a look beforehand - it was about 18 pages, seemed like good quality, lots of photos and explanation.

The teacher who graded his NEA gave him a 4. This was the second lowest in the class. Even lower than one of the boys who broke his project.

DS was pretty shook up. He was predicted a 7 in DT in mocks and now thinks (because they were behind and only recently caught up) he won't be able to get a decent grade with his NEA only being a 4. This is an issue because he's applying to several colleges that require a high average across GCSEs. He can drop one, but he was planning to drop FM if necessary.

Reluctantly, I wrote an email to the teacher who graded the NEA. Obviously very polite, just asking what went on, given predicted grades and the effort he put into the NEA. Reply back was that grading was done, he got 57/100, and it was too late to complain. Worst thing about the email was the teacher admitted they gave a score that meant DS was only 1 mark off a Grade 5, which I and he would have been okay with.

What would my next steps be (if any)? Approach the exam board itself? I am not a helicopter parent, just heart-sorry for my DS who put a lot of effort in and feels really discouraged about the whole process. He is autistic so maybe it's hitting him extra hard. Thanks if you read this far.

Firstly, I was under the impression that the grade boundaries haven't been decided yet, so the teacher saying that your son is 1 mark off a 5 isn't helpful at this stage. The teacher might be looking at last years grade boundaries and making prediction, but it isn't set in stone.

Unfortunately - the fact that he's put a lot of effort in doesn't automatically equate to a high score. The actual 'build' part of the project is only a small part of the overall project score - they majority of the score is made up of written work (so another pupils project breaking isn't really relevant especially if that pupil has scored very highly on the written work). Equally, another pupil offering him £50 to do his coursework isn't an indicator that your son's work is exceptional (which seems to be how you're reading that situation), just that the other kid is a chancer!

It does sounds as the your son hasn't received adequate feedback as he's been going through the project either to tell him how to improve his work and add value, or to adjust his expecations as to what mark he can realistically achieve. In your shoes I would put this to one side for now and focus on the upcoming exams (particularly if he's missed some content due to a missing teacher - focus on that). It's a possibility to ask for a remark once you have his final grade but you might find that's not neccesary once you get all his marks.

Hey @Scattery I don’t know loads about the DT NEA but I know this – unfortunately effort put in does not always equate to marks received. Students in my tutor group used to moan that they had written loads in their English mock so why had they got such a low mark? Usually bc the work did not hit the AOs and was not answering the mark scheme. I am not saying this is your DS – but it might be. He put a lot of effort in – but was it correctly targeted? You looked through it – but did you cross ref with the AOs in the online spec? Just bc it is 18 pages doesn’t mean it is worth a high mark.

I agree with a PP – the other student’s broken piece is a red herring, it is the assessment by the student that scores most of the marks.

I am sorry your DS feels discouraged. I would also encourage him to focus on the upcoming exam which carries 50% of the marks and can pull his grade up. Get hm to look at the mark schemes and what kind of answers are required.

I agree btw that the teacher cannot know the grade boundaries yet obvs. Actually last year a 5 was 112/200 = 56 for each element. A 6 was 129, so if he can score 72 in the written exam then that would have scored a 6 last year.

In 2019 (the last year worth looking at apart from 2023 bc of Covid) 106/200 was a 5 and 122/200 a 6 so even lower. All is not lost.

Thank you both very much for your explanations.

Mainly, I wanted to make sure that the grading was a fair process and it sounds like the teacher is not in the wrong here. Which is a relief.

I think my other issue is that, despite all the work he's put in, DT seems to be DS's weakest subject. He's spent more time on DT than revising English and he's predicted 9s in English.

But, so things go, and that in itself is a life lesson.

Thank you @clary for looking up those numbers and for the reassurance. Feel like we have hit peak stress season and we're only a few GCSEs in!