GCSE English Lit and Language review of marking

[SomersetBrie]

There is lots of chat about review of marking on the GCSEs threads but I am interested specifically in anyone who is reviewing English (Lang or Lit) and whether the review provides an increase in grade.
DS, predicted a 7, got a 6 in both. He is not very close to the grade boundary (4 marks away) but the difference in marks between Paper 1 and Paper 2 have encouraged me to request access to the papers and see if it's worth a review.

Is anyone else asking for a review? I am curious to know how many marks people go up/down and if it results in a change of grade for many people.
(DS does not need a 7 but he was expecting a 7 out of 1 or other at least.)
This is AQA.

You and me both...

Not heard a thing, but others at school filled in the forms, didn't hear anything and have now been sent results - mix of upgrade and staying the same.

So wondering if I will get an email out of the blue or the invoice to get things moving.

Not English but our school sent off for a Maths review on Friday and we got the result this morning - 1 extra mark which changes her to the grade above 🙌 Still waiting for her German and geography papers to be checked by her teachers though but presumably because that’s a lot more work.

Update:

DC’s English Lit went up by 8, which means a firm 6, and re-admittance to their previous school. 4 days of missed lessons to catch up on, but really pleased to be joining friends soon! 🎉🥳🙌

AMAZING. What a relief. But so sad that you and your DC have had to go through this! Celebrations are needed! 😁

I know this thread is about English and I posted upthread about DS going up 8 marks while only needing 1in English with AQA BUT he has also gone up 5 marks in RS. We only did that one at the suggestion of his teacher who was surprised he got a 6 as he was predicted 8/9

Congratulations to @Hoppinggreen and amazing news and big congrats to @ThatsCute

Shocking how much distress these incorrect marks can cause at an individual level.

I have caved today and emailed the EO to see where we are in the process.

Thanks goodness! Congratulations

Brilliant result @ThatsCute but also sorry that you and your DC have had to go on the results rollercoaster to get there!

@OhCrumbsWhereNow I emailed our exams office on Thursday to ask again what DCs actual score in Language was and when we might receive the papers….more tumbleweed from school..

Brilliant news @ThatsCute, but such a shame it has caused them so much stress

That’s fantastic! How stressful for you all but a great ending 😊

@ThatsCute - great news but sorry it’s caused such upset. Good that you’ve got the right result in the end

Eng lit - AQA up 12 marks and now a grade 8 instead of a grade 7. I can't believe 12 whole marks were missed - one page looked like it had not been marked mind you. I can afford to pay for these remarks. So unfair for those that can't. Also waiting for eng language AQA.

DS teacher spoke to him today and suggested they look into it.

it’s WJEC so not sure how that works, whether they can requests scripts etc.

i’d decided not to pursue it but now DS wants to.

Can I ask for advice, please? DS predicted 8s since forever in English, got 2 7s. Hardly a disaster, but he was extremely disappointed as he thought it was "his" subject and something he might want to do at university. He is admittedly a long way off an 8 in lit - 8 marks across 2 papers - so is it worth getting it reviewed for a sense of peace and closure? This is not an entitled or non-resillient kid, but I can see school are spinning it that way if we ask for a review - which they have said we are within rights to request even though they say only 1 or 2 marks is a realistic mark for an upgrade. I don't expect anything, but willing to persist/pay - is that stupid, or sensible given things clearly can shift a lot? This is AQA. Thanks.

I am not suggesting anyone's kids are entitled or lacking resilience, by the way! Just that I can sense that's how school are making it feel...

Are you going to regret not asking in 10 years time? Will you always wonder?

If so, then why not. If you are willing to pay then I can't see why school should stop you.

I’m assuming he got 114, if he’s 8 points from the AQA 122? The cutoff for a 6 is 107–how will he react if he drops 7 points and drops to a 6? He is 7 points from a 6 and 8 points from an 8. It’s a gamble.

Thatscute, that is my other worry, yes. I don't want to be stupid about this. Which is why I would like an English teacher at the school to actually look at the paper first - is that reasonable? From what I can tell it's just been people looking at the marks and saying no.

@matchingmoll if you go ahead do one paper at a time. Less risk if the first review goes in the wrong direction. If it doesn't move up then save your money and don't do the second one.

@ConBatulations that seems sensible, yes. Thanks.
Part of me thinks we should just move on, it's obviously fine.

Yes, that seems the safest option—one paper at a time. However, my DC did have 8 points of movement on Paper 1. Though you may not get results back from one before the cutoff for sending the other paper in—is it 24 September? I can’t recall.

I’d definitely have an experienced marker/teacher look at it, since you’re not under pressure of having admittance to a course hinging on the outcome. Your only time crunch is the end date for requests.

@ThatsCute and others who are in the thick of this,

Could I ask, have you heard of any marks going down further than the odd mark or two?

Congratulations to all the parents and children whose marks are finally being corrected. So upsetting how much distress they have caused

I’ve only been on this thread, so I believe the sample size of AQA Lit is 7: 2 unchanged and 5 increased. Hardly enough data to draw any reliable conclusions. We thought something was awry because DC outperformed their GCSE final result when they sat the 2023 and 2024 exams as mocks, and came out of the exam saying that they had done well.

Yes, I did the details about the reviews of marking from the last couple of years on the government website and it said 0.1% of grades go down. Vast majority state the same and some do increase.

Link below. Makes fascinating reading. Especially Tables 17 and 19

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reviews-of-marking-and-moderation-for-gcse-as-and-a-level-summer-2024-exam-series