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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

Advice on grade appeal - A level history

16 replies

bloodyunicorns · 07/09/2022 16:02

Can any teachers help, please?

DD sat A level history this year. In the US paper you have to tick boxes saying which two questions you have answered out of 3. She ticked the wrong box for one, meaning she didn't get any marks for that question (25 mark question).

We have sent the paper back to be reviewed, but I was wondering, does AQA have a policy for this? If a student has answered a question but ticked the wrong box, is there any leeway to give them marks for their answer?

Thank you.

OP posts:

DinkyDaisy · 07/09/2022 19:10

Oh God. How awful! No help from me at all but I do hope there can be some sensible response here from the exam board...she deserves her marks. Simple mistake...

DinkyDaisy · 07/09/2022 19:11

Had it impacted on her future choices at all?

MrsHamlet · 07/09/2022 19:12

Everything on the paper should have been marked, regardless. A review should pick this up. It's a clerical error.

Original poster

bloodyunicorns · 07/09/2022 19:55

Luckily she got into her first choice uni, but she is so upset with her mark as she's been getting As and A stars for the whole two years. She put in a lot of hard work and deserves that to be rewarded.

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Original poster

bloodyunicorns · 08/09/2022 07:36

Anyone else? Hopeful bump...

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MadameMinimes · 08/09/2022 08:24

That should be rectified on review. Are you sure it is AQA history though? The box ticking thing sounds like Edexcel rather than AQA. I’m pretty confident that AQA just use standard answer booklets for A Level history.

If it definitely is AQA, then there have been issues with marking of A Level history papers this year. We have several appeals pending and other schools are reporting very large changes in marks from the papers they have had back following review.

tryingmybest13 · 08/09/2022 10:24

Hi - My son's A level Politics AQA was one mark off an A. At first, it was like oh well that is how it works, though he had been spot on with his evaluations of all his other papers for other subjects, and had though politics had gone well across all three papers. Still, we were going to leave it as it did not affect his uni place. But the school did a check, then the teacher, and sent two papers for review. We thought perhaps an outside chance of a clerical error as we know there are no remarks and there is a biggish tolerance level within the bands (and thus those marks can't be changed)

The day before yesterday, school rang to say the grade had gone up and the marks were a lot. DS got his letter yesterday. Paper 1 went up 8 marks and paper 3 12 marks. This is quite a big error! AQA letter apologised for the wrong result and the 'disappointment this had caused' but we are no wiser as to what happened, though he could ask his ex-teacher. At the same time, he just wants to get on with going to uni.

I work in HE (eng lit) and do some outreach work with schools and colleges. One of my contacts has had 7 English papers come back with changed grades: he has never seen this before.

Glad we trust DS's instincts and so glad the teacher was on it!

Original poster

bloodyunicorns · 08/09/2022 10:32

MadameMinimes · 08/09/2022 08:24

It's definitely AQA. She's just checked her A level certificate.

This all sounds promising...

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Original poster

bloodyunicorns · 08/09/2022 10:45

Bloody hell, @tryingmybest13, they are massive differences in marks!!

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Original poster

bloodyunicorns · 08/09/2022 10:46

Dd got 40% in the US paper and an A star in the other. She's never had a mark as low as that, so her teacher suggested a review.

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tryingmybest13 · 08/09/2022 10:51

@bloodyunicorns Yep we were shocked! Sounds like your DD's mark might well change! That sounds well fishy!

Original poster

bloodyunicorns · 08/09/2022 10:55

I bloody hope it does. She plans to resit next summer if it doesn't, she's so upset about it.

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tryingmybest13 · 08/09/2022 11:03

It is awful for them. I am sorry she is so upset.! Someone has to be on the border of any grade - but when papers show a large disparity it does seem worth a review. My friend's DD got a B in AQA history after Astar coursework and feeling ok about the exams. She needed AAA for PPE at Oxford - luckily, they still accepted her - but she also one paper much lower..hmmmn

The mealy mouthed apology from AQA annoyed me so much. If DS had needed that grade for uni, the stress!

tryingmybest13 · 08/09/2022 11:06

PS ours was a non-priority in theory, but the school sent it off as a priority with the others they were sending. It was sent on the 23rd and came back on 6th - 13 days so very good turn around

Original poster

bloodyunicorns · 08/09/2022 11:06

I know, @tryingmybest13. I've just checked AQA's Twitter and it's full of angry messages from people saying that they have lost out on Uni places because of inaccurate AQA marking and reviewed papers not being returned in time, so that even if they grades have improved, the course they had applied for is full. I feel terrible for any students who have been affected.

Dd did coursework for two of her A levels and both of these were given lower marks by the external markers than they had by her school markers. Her teacher says that's never happened before.

Unfair for this years cohort.

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tryingmybest13 · 08/09/2022 11:23

@bloodyunicorns what on earth has been going on? I know AQA did not pay markers on time and there was bad Press about that. I know they were scrambling around for markers, too. Sounds like they are in chaos

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