GCSE Remarks?

peachyprice

We had modules mostly, but also a couple of full GCSE's. Perhaps they only offer remarks to yr 11 at my school.

BexInLondon

One of mine was re-marked from a B to an A*, so mistakes do happen! My school paid for the re-mark though as they were convinced it was wrong. It turned out that a computer error had meant that my coursework mark was put at 15 instead of 115. If I had gone to a less driven school, or if the disparity between the predicted grade and the grade given had been smaller, I might not have had my re-mark. It mattered enormously as I wouldn't have got into the Uni I went to with the B.

silvercar

I think this is a money spinning business.

They set the pay level/ time allowance for markers at such a level that a certain percentage are marked wrongly. That percentage has to be high enough that people feel it worth pursuing a remark for an unexpectedly low grade, but low enough that the complaint level doesn't get too high. Provided the likelihood of a grade increase is sufficient to warrant people paying out to see if a paper is wrongly marked, enough people feeling their mark is too low will pay out for a remark. Now, of those remarked only a certain percent (I've seen 20% quoted) are regraded and the fee refunded, so 80% of the fees are kept by the exam board. Provided that 80% of fees is high enough to pay for all the remarks, the boards are in profit.

The downside is that some people won't pay for a remark and will lose out; something that wouldn't happen with more accurate marking.

CupOfChai

gratefulforhelp wrote: »

I'm only one person with one person's experience (as you are) but I think you will find markers do have to be qualified teachers. There are components of some papers that can be marked by non-teachers, but not whole exam papers. The checks in place on those people are as rigorous.

As am I, but not all exam markers for all exam boards have to be qualified teachers or have a postgraduate qualification. And they also can mark whole or at least very large proportions of papers. But it is correct that no matter a marker's prior qualifications, the checks and tests that must be passed to qualify and be permitted to mark are just as rigorous for everyone and even then the marking is still also checked by supervisors.

pollypenny

The WJEC board examiners look at any borderline marks in a specific meeting.

When results come out schools are sent a break down of marks in each component. I used to go through them with a tooth-comb to check for anomalies, such as a mis-typed coursework mark.

Most schools will pay for an appeal if the grade is way lower than expected.

Gingham_Ribbon

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I used to be a college lecturer so certainly not a teacher basher but you're overstating the case. There are exam boards that don't require markers to be qualified teachers and many markers get through papers very rapidly indeed.

I had no idea. I looked into doing this a couple of years ago but I needed recent teaching experience in that subject so couldn't apply.

If I'd known some of the exam boards were more flexible, I'd have found one and worked for them!

gratefulforhelp_2

GR my Dad applied recently with a degree in a "shortage subject" and was turned down due to lack of teaching experience.

gratefulforhelp_2

silvercar wrote: »

So me paying for my son's grade to be remarked and its movement from an A to A* increases his predicted degree result. :T

If he's going to do a science degree, statistically that's right!

pigpen wrote: »

The OCR exam board are being dropped by loads of the schools here because of shoddy marking resulting in lower grades than other exam boards.

Oi piggers, I work for them!

CupOfChai wrote: »

As am I, but not all exam markers for all exam boards have to be qualified teachers or have a postgraduate qualification. And they also can mark whole or at least very large proportions of papers.

Please will you let me know which ones, my Dad would like to mark for them. He has applied the three main boards and been turned down for lack of teaching experience.

For the person who had a computer error of 15 instead of 115 - WOW! That's a major error.

I'm not saying mistakes are never made, just that the process is pretty rigorous. You could make it more rigorous, but then the entry fee for each exam would go up.

Oldernotwiser

gratefulforhelp wrote: »

Oi piggers, I work for them!

OCR is one of the boards where teaching experience isn't required. From the FAQs on their website,


"A teaching and/or training qualification or equivalent is desirable but not essential to become an Examiner or Moderator."

mandragora_2

The deadline for putting papers back in for remarks is tomorrow (Friday), end of play will be whenever your centre's exam officer goes home. Some schools do this as standard, and put in every student who got a D hoping to convert one or two to a C (well-off schools, private schools and larger schools with bigger budgets, on the whole) ; some boards/subjects are extremely rigorous, with any candidate within three marks being remarked already by 'grade boundaries checking processes' several times before releasing the marks in the first place, and so basically, it's probably wasting your time and money getting a remark with them. Some schools ask for parents to pay for the remark, and then reimburse if a higher grade is actually awarded, which can dissuade families from less well-off backgrounds and militate in favour of those from better-off families. Finally, don't forget that grades, like shares, can go down as well as up, so always find out how close you were to the grade boundary before shelling out good money only to find your marks go down a grade.

I think that all exam boards nowadays have really good results data online which teachers can access; they will show you exactly what marks you got, how close to the boundary you were and which questions, if any, might have let you down.