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The staffroom

Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

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Original poster

AQA exploiting teachers

57 replies

Mrskeats · 15/09/2017 16:23

I marked for AQA this summer; the English Language GCSE paper 2.
I have now found out that not only do they not pay for standardising as they used to but they also don't pay when you mark a 'seeded' question.
This means that I have marked hundreds pf questions without pay.
This is compounded by the fact that their pay is shocking anyway; I have worked out that I have been earning less than minimum wage.
I have written to the chief exec to complain. Anyone else shocked by how little they value people who are carrying out this important and stressful task?

OP posts:

alletik · 15/09/2017 16:35

I've marked for all four boards. Found AQA to be the worst payers of all.

Original poster

Mrskeats · 15/09/2017 16:38

Thanks alletik I suspected as much. Certainly won't be working for AQA again. Do you have to teach the board you work for in the case of the other boards?

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Rosieposy4 · 15/09/2017 20:25

It is made quite clear in the contracts they send you though, you don't have to sign it and mark for thme if you don't like it.

woman11017 · 15/09/2017 20:27

30 years ago I wrote an article for TES about crap pay of exam markers, got paid more for that than for hours of exam marking I'd done.

The exam boards are scoundrels.

CaptainBrickbeard · 15/09/2017 20:29

I withdrew when I found out I wouldn't get paid for standardising and seeded scripts - it simply wasn't worth the money.

covgal1983 · 15/09/2017 20:36

I did the same. I was aware of the fact that we didn't get paid for standardisation, but was really annoyed about the whole seeds thing. On reflection, both matters are appalling. It's hours of unpaid work. I also only marked 70%. I slogged my guts out to get to the magic 70% mark in order to trigger payment but, when I found out others had been paid and I hadn't, I emailed AQA to find out why: apparently I they round up the figure on the screen so I'd only actually done 69% and this wasn't paid until the end of August. Thanks AQA.

On another note, does anyone know when we find out our 'grade' as an examiner?

Rosieposy4 · 15/09/2017 22:22

Usually around october time, though if you only did 70% i would be expecting a D.

Rosieposy4 · 15/09/2017 22:24

And it is a bit harsh to go thanks AQA in a sarcastic manner when you were the one that broke your contract with them by not completing your allocation.

woman11017 · 15/09/2017 22:29

No contract, comrade rosie.

Original poster

Mrskeats · 15/09/2017 23:02

I have now found out that aqa pay seeded questions on some papers and that actually some markers were that they would be paid (on my paper) too.
That's interesting woman nothing has changed then.
I did above my allocation and the money was still rubbish.
covgal gradings are mid October

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IHeartKingThistle · 15/09/2017 23:06

That's appalling. I marked for WJEC a few times and they paid for all that stuff. And pens! Still not great pay but AQA need to be named and shamed for that.

alletik · 16/09/2017 09:26

"I have worked out that I have been earning less than minimum wage. I have written to the chief exec to complain."

They made some small changes to my paper this year, which meant that marking it went below minimum working wage for me this year. When we were sent that email address to give feedback, I did this too and said this was the reason I wouldn't be marking for them again... shame as I've done that paper for the last few years, but it's not worth it any more.

noblegiraffe · 16/09/2017 09:31

They probably needed to save money to pay for all the remarks with changed grades that are now going on.

You pay peanuts, you get ... a shortage of qualified people willing to do the job, have to put out desperate last minute adverts for PGCE students and post-grads to do it, and may be left with thousands of unmarked papers close to the marking deadline.

I wonder if AQA will learn from this.

CauliflowerSqueeze · 16/09/2017 09:54

We had 3 students who had remarks go up 30 marks in English a level.

Original poster

Mrskeats · 16/09/2017 10:59

I am not surprised they are using people who aren't teachers; teachers are fed up with this treatment
How a mark can go up so much is beyond me cauliflower

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Rosieposy4 · 16/09/2017 13:51

You do get a contract woman, they were late coming out this year as they moved to electronic, but there most definitely is a contract, in which you agree to mark xx allocation, and they will pay you £yy.
If examiners do not fufill their contract, then the excess falls on the other markers, especially the team leaders. That can be particularly irritating if the first marker has cherry picked off all the easy questions to mark, then just not bothered to mark the ones that take a bit longer as they have passed the magic 70% trigger.
One of the few things i wish AQA would do is split the payments so that you get proportionally less unless you complete ie a completion bonus.

NoBetterName · 16/09/2017 14:00

I mark for Cambridge assessment (which include CIE and OCR). We get paid for standardisation and seeded scripts. I finished my allocation 24 hours before the deadline this year and was therefore offered extra

Examseason · 16/09/2017 14:11

I mark for Edexcel and Cambridge.

Both pay me for stanardisation and seeds, I find that Cambridge pay more promptly and nearly always ask me to do more than my original allocation. Edexcel seem to be better at getting the allocations right as the only time I've been offered extra is when another examiner has failed standardisation.

In my subject I find that the hourly rate is fine but I don't mark long essays.

I mark whole papers so not by question, how do AQA pay if you can cherry pick which questions you mark?

Original poster

Mrskeats · 16/09/2017 17:16

Aqa pay for each question which is allocated then after the deadline it was just a free for all so you could pick what you wanted to mark.
It sounds like they are the worst board to work for.

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crazymissdaisy · 16/09/2017 17:25

Also why should you get paid for seeds? Someone else has already marked them!

NoBetterName · 16/09/2017 17:28

Sounds like mayhem!

At Cambridge (at least in my subject) you are allocated a number of whole scripts and even if you set up the software to mark by question, you can only submit entire scripts which means there's no avoiding the awkward questions.

If you think you're going to finish early you can ask to have more allocated or they might offer, if there are likely to be surplus.

You get paid per script plus an amount for preparation and admin.

Original poster

Mrskeats · 16/09/2017 17:52

Because it takes hours to do them that's why. It's a check for them to make sure the standards are kept high.
Standardisation took me half a day and they aren't paying for that or all the online training and reading I did.
Never again.

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LonginesPrime · 16/09/2017 18:02

Also why should you get paid for seeds?

Because otherwise, the markers, by spending their time on the seeded papers for free, are paying for AQA's quality control processes.

If you worked in a shop and head office sent a mystery shopper to test out customer service in your branch, would you expect your hourly pay to be docked for the time you spent serving the mystery shopper?

Original poster

Mrskeats · 16/09/2017 18:10

If anyone has worked for aqa or know someone that does pls complain

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Original poster

Mrskeats · 16/09/2017 18:11

Great analogy thanks longines

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