mark80 Posted September 23, 2014 Posted September 23, 2014 I know a few of you are exam managers as well as data managers so i thought i would just put my findings here and see if there has been similar. The GCSE English results this have dropped nationally but every year we put in EAR2 (review of marking) for those on the edge of the next grade up, with the hope they find an extra few UMS to push them over the next grade boundary. We requested 51 scripts be remarked from across the spectrum of grades and have had all of the back with no difference in marking (positive or negative). We have also submitted EAR2 for Maths and some of these have increased grades, or altered in the raw mark by 1 or 2 points. I know this sounds like i am a conspiracy theorist but how would it be that a subject as subjective as English in its interpretation of marking be so uniform when marked by a different examiner? I know the exam board would say its because of their consistency in marking, but i just find it all a bid odd.
WayTooTricky Posted September 24, 2014 Posted September 24, 2014 Been an exams office a couple of years. Rarely do English Marks move. I think that I've had maybe 2 go up a mark, more go down a mark and once a script was increased by 20. I think that those pupils who a just a couple of marks of a grade boundary and mote closely scrutinised than those a bit further away but I'm pretty sure that it's more down to the fact that they have to give us our money back if the grades are changed but they can keep it if they don't!
Blackcatowner Posted September 24, 2014 Posted September 24, 2014 I'm not the exams officer but we do sit in the same room. We've sent a large amount back for EAR2 this time and the vast majority have gone up with a couple of them tipping into the next grade boundary.
CAM Posted September 24, 2014 Posted September 24, 2014 We've had loads go back for remarking but only a few have come back with an amended grade.
DataMan Posted September 25, 2014 Author Posted September 25, 2014 We sent back 25 English papers on the C/D borderline with some staying the same and some moving an odd mark up or down but with no grade changes. We sent back 2 English papers on the A/B borderline. Both went up to A's. The first went up 22 UMS points from a 239 (1 off an A) to 261 (9 off an A*). A cynical individual may suggest that no C/D borderline scripts will change grades, under instruction, as the national average has already been set and any additional C's will move the pass rate past what has been decided. Our Controlled Assessment also got marked down for being outside of the tolerance which was halved by the exam board after submission. This is currently being re-moderated as two years ago we were too harsh, last year in line and this year we were allegedly "too generous". The downgrade moved 20 of students from a C overall to a D, but within 10 marks of a C. It's not a good time to have a cohort with the majority of the ability range sitting around the C/D borderline.
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