Can GCSE examiners make mistakes

Polmop

Not sure if this is the correct forum.

My daughter got a grade B in her drama GCSE, which is a good result but shewas a bit down because she thought she would get an A.

All her controlled assesments came back as an A*, the examiner in schoolmarked her as an A*, when all the results came back she had an A or A* ineverything except on section for written she got a D in.

All the forecasts for this was for an A, she also got an A in her englishGCSE so she seems to be fine at written work.

Her teacher has called me today and also said this looks strange andhopefully is a rogue mark.

Is this possible

pinkteapot

GCSE results can certainly be appealed and looked at again. The fact the school has contacted you about the possibility is a good sign (they get lots of "Little Jonny surely did better than that" parents).

Have a read of the government's information about it:
https://www.gov.uk/appeal-exam-result/overview

Appeals are made by the school, not the student/parent themselves.

So, in short, it's certainly possible.

It mentions on the site above that if a result is appealed and the mark doesn't get changed, there may be a fee to pay (to encourage people to only appeal if they're pretty sure a mark is wrong).

I'd have more of a chat with the teacher about what they think. The school should be able to advise on whether they think a result is worth having re-checked or not.

Polmop

pinkteapot wrote: »

GCSE results can certainly be appealed and looked at again. The fact the school has contacted you about the possibility is a good sign (they get lots of "Little Jonny surely did better than that" parents).

Have a read of the government's information about it:
https://www.gov.uk/appeal-exam-result/overview

Appeals are made by the school, not the student/parent themselves.

So, in short, it's certainly possible.

It mentions on the site above that if a result is appealed and the mark doesn't get changed, there may be a fee to pay (to encourage people to only appeal if they're pretty sure a mark is wrong).

I'd have more of a chat with the teacher about what they think. The school should be able to advise on whether they think a result is worth having re-checked or not.

Thanks, the school have mentioned that they would pay for the remark.
My daughter did state when she came out of the exam that it went really well.
Its all a bit strange

pinkteapot

Sounds like you've got nothing to lose! I'd be honest with your daughter - explain the remarking process and that there's no guarantee of anything so she shouldn't get her hopes up, but something may come of it. Marks can actually end up being revised down, though it sounds unlikely in her case. She can talk to the school if she's got any concerns about going ahead.

One GCSE grade won't make a massive difference in later life. University entry usually asks for specific grades at A-level and just X number of GCSEs at grades A-C. If she wants to study drama at higher level, getting the grade up would help though.

LandyAndy

Polmop wrote: »

Thanks, the school have mentioned that they would pay for the remark.
My daughter did state when she came out of the exam that it went really well.
Its all a bit strange

Then I would take them up on that offer.

Potternerd

'Absolutely they can make mistakes, they are only human. It can be as simple as a clerical error or it can just have been marked too harshly. My son's school asked to have anything just off the next grade up to be re- marked last year and nearly a third were moved up. The most likely outcome is that the mark won't move but definitely worth a punt, especially if school is going to pay!

pollypenny

As above. Any examiner can make a mistake and, as your daughter has an A in English, she's not likely to have written badly.

The only possibility is that she has made a rubric error, misread the question or similar.

As the school are wanting a remark, just go along with it. However, it's no big deal if not changed.

Kynthia

My English GCSE grades were added up wrong. When I paid for a remark I was moved up a grade.

Person_one

Definitely get the remark.

B is fine and won't make any difference in the grand scheme of things, but the same thing happened to me at A level and I still slightly wish I'd done something about it well over a decade later! So pursue it now then it won't irritate her every time she puts her grades on a job application in her twenties!

System

One of my ex students had a remark - it turned out two of the pages of the answer booklet had stuck together. When marking at speed it's possible for the marker to miss simple errors like this, or indeed it just might be incorrect adding up of marks. Yes, a B is fine, but talented students would be disappointed if A or * had been predicted. Definitely take up the school's offer for a re-mark - and if it was a D in the written paper, at least errors can be highlighted for future guidance.
Actually, I've just remembered one of my A level students was just 1 of the total 600 marks awarded at A level off a B grade - he really was a borderline B/C. I advised him to get a remark on the written paper; after all, his grade was B in all the other papers, so that grade C, which he had accepted as being all he needed for college, was not going to slide - but he didn't go ahead. I was the disappointed one - he deserved that B!

Nick_C

If your daughter really has the talent to be an actress, I don't think getting a B instead of an A will make any difference to her future career. How she progresses at Drama School will be far more important.