A level mark check shocker

[Cantthinkofadifferentname]

So DC was 1 mark off next grade for one A level. Taking a year out so not urgent remark.
Got the result back....gone up by 9 marks! Obviously happy for them, but shocked by difference.

GCSE English last year. My dc was 1 mark off a 9. Only one paper checked and 10 additional marks awarded. I don’t have much faith in the marking of GCSEs and a levels. A couple of years ago, my eldest had 4 subjects upgraded.

Yep, my daughter went up 10 marks too in her A level Eng lit last year. She had the paper remarked once with no change. It was only down to her English teacher’s insistence that the marking was way off that it was sent for a second check and went up ten marks!

Friend of DS’s had English Lang GCSE remark, and discovered that the examiner had missed a whole question!

It's awful and it makes you wonder about the overall quality of marking, and how many thought I'm 5 or 6 off next grade so won't get the marking checked.

All this is truly shocking... and to think they ruin years of work and plans just like this...

It is really poor when this sort of thing happens, and a concern bc you have to pay upfront as a rule – which may not be possible for many families. There are other threads with some shocking rises of marks and grades. It's a big worry that grades can be assessed as being so badly wrong.

It's worth noting that the majority of reviews (I think about three-quarters) result in no change of marks awarded or of final grade. But the fact that more than 20% do go up is a massive concern. Especially as there are probably others that were not reviewed that would have gone up.

The issue is around marking and markers IMHO – the exam boards are short of markers, they have a strict rule around who can mark in terms of recent teaching experience which I suspect means many who might be excellent markers cannot do it. There is not enough training and it is not detailed enough (I know markers who have expressed this view) and bc there are not enough markers, the pressure on those who mark is very high. Also it is very badly paid, which puts people off. I think the exam boards would do well to have a review of the whole issue tbh.

I know someone who was unexpectedly awarded 3 Bs and missed their uni offer. All papers were remarked and all were upgraded so they eventually got 3 As. One paper went up by about 17 marks. It completely undermined my faith in the system.

My DC got an A at A level instead of an A star but luckily was still accepted to their first choice uni. The teacher was so shocked that they ordered the script. They could literally see where there were marks that hadn't been awarded. I trust a top class teacher who had been teaching this subject for 20 years over someone employed to mark the paper. It was sent back for a remark but no change to the grade. The sixth form paid for the remark they were convinced it would be changed. To say it is disappointing is an understatement.

This will now be on their CV forever. They are attending a top 5 ranked uni for their subject but with employers now recruiting blind and potentially looking at their A levels DC is still very sore about it.

The quality of marking exams is shocking and has been for some time. Try getting overworked teachers to do marking for the peanuts that they are paid. Some are excellent and very committed to it, but many are not up to the job.

I am an experienced maths teacher of some 30 years. Have been HOD and Deputy head, however you would have to quadruple the pay to entice me to mark GCSE or A'level examinations.

AI marking will be even worse! OR they will change the style of exams so that AI marking can work well, which will be to everyone's detriment other than the shareholders of the exam boards.

Also in English Lit, one dc grade went up 3 marks from 8-9 and friend from 7 to a 9.

Ahhh that’s great news OP. I’m a bit gutted as DD was in same position after results - she is also taking year out and although dropped grades compared to predicted she still received her confirmed first choice offer which was a relief. We ummed and ahhd about getting sociology looked at as 1 mark off a B but she was put off by worry of dropping down below a C which could have lost her place. Also subject teacher wasn’t very encouraging it would change.

A bit of me is still haunted that it could have been a B ☺️

But when I hear stories like yours (I mean in some subjects 9 points is mid way through a boundary isn’t it? That’s huge!) I am a bit 😳 that it can be so far out to begin with.

Was this an arts subject or science? Just thinking essay-based subjects might be more likely to change as more subjective but not sure?

Accounting, so would expect to be clear cut