IGCSE edexcel History misread yesterday - is it zero marks?

[NotDonna]

Don’t suppose anyone’s DC sat History igcse edexcel (uk) yesterday and recalls the 16 marker question about civil rights and women? DD now thinks she’s misunderstood it. The question was ‘why do you agree with’… she didn’t agree so wrote why she didn’t. But now thinks she’s screwed up. The other choice was McCarthy, which all her classmates did. If she’s misread the question it’ll be zero marks won’t it? 😭

It would be a poor history exam if it penalised students for not agreeing with something.

I expect that if she’s used good evidence for her opinion she’ll get credit. Is she sure the question wasn’t to what extent do you agree with? But I am an English teacher, not history.

Surely she's answered the Q by explaining how she doesn't agree?? As long as she has backed up her argument then I should think it is fine

History teacher here - I don't teach iGCSE but that question doesn't sound right. Is she sure it was 'why do you agree'? Usually it's 'how far do you agree' on other exam boards for 16 marks, they want you to consider a range of arguments.

Just had a quick Google- past papers for this board seem to suggest 'how far' so she ought to have considered different sides.

Sadly she can’t quite recall the question but it was indeed ‘how much do you agree’ then something about opposition being the ‘main outcome’. It’s 1950/60 USA. So not suffragette stuff as I’d assumed. She said that all civil rights movements face opposition - it’s a guaranteed response but wasn’t the ‘main outcome’- went on to discuss abortion, contraception etc with dates & key people. 🤞🏼 she’s done ok.

The part c 16 mark questions for Edexcel iGCSE History are usually, ‘How far do you agree?’ They require students to talk about the point mentioned in the question and also 2 other points. Students have to explain and evaluate each one, giving a 2 sided answer, before reaching a conclusion to either agree/disagree with the question.

Sound fine to me - tell her not to stress and just focus on the next one now.

Luckily she’s not stressing. When she told me I just said not to worry about it as it’s done now and to make sure she reads the questions properly and highlights key words in future exams. Added that hopefully it’s near enough to the question to garner some marks and that she felt she answered the other questions well. Plus there’s paper 2. It’s just me worrying that if she’s not answered the question it’ll be zero - I’ve not mentioned this concern to her. Thank you everyone.

Ahhh she thinks she’s misread the question bc two school mates did agree. She was ‘how could anyone ever agree with that?’ So bc she has a very different view believes she must have missed the point of the question. So it’s less about agreeing or disagreeing but the question itself. Not sure I’m making sense. She was hoping for a 7 but thinks that’s now scuppered.

History is not my subject but I agree with others – if it was "how far do you agree with" then she will have been expected to present arguments on both sides and come to a conclusion. The examiner doesn't really care how much she agrees (!) – just as I, as an MFL examiner, don’t actually mind how well you get on with your family or where you went on holiday last year – or even whether you agree with Marine LePen or think the fall of the Berlin wall was a disaster – as long as you say what you need to say (GCSE) or make your points coherently (A level).

It sounds as tho she presented the arguments and necessary facts; possibly her essay was a bit one-sided, so she needs to remember to present the opposing PoV even if she then disagrees with it. But if she is a 7 candidate there is no way her essay will achieve zero marks. Agree next time make sure she gives a fully rounded answer if that's what's needed.

I think that so long as she backed up whatever she wrote with evidence, it matters a bit less what she argued and it’s more about how she argued it.

Meant to add, the mark schemes for English and for MFL A-level essays (on film and book, so like English GCSE) pretty much say “any of these points and anything else that is reasonable”.

Can I just say here what I told DS when he came home worrying about his Biology GCSE? I asked him ‘can you go back and change what you have written?’ He looked at me as if I was mad. Then I said ‘ if you can’t, forget about it, and concentrate on the next exam’.

Her teacher will be able to see the paper after 24 hours . I don’t normally recommend looking back at a paper so soon , but it might put her mind at ease .

Sorry - I mean can see th original question paper .

I haven’t seen the paper yet, but feedback from a student said that it was about the Women’s Movement creating more opposition than success (I don’t have the actual question) I can assume it would have been how far do you agree with this statement, you may use the following in your answer, with 2 stimulus points and she will have needed to include a 3rd of her own. So if she discussed opposition and negative publicity, but weighed this up against work towards abortion rights, contraception (as you said in pp) she will be fine. It’s 16 marks out of a total of 120 over 2 papers, so the Grade 7 is still achievable, onwards and upwards for Paper 2!

Excellent! That’s what she’s done but said that the movement was a positive outcome re women’s rights. She put the title resource last, her own first and the one given second I believe. She’s pretty good usually at the structure of these 16 markers but she was worried this morning that she’d misunderstood the opposition meaning. It seems she hasn’t. Thank you so much!