As a Head of Department I have spent many hours in the last couple of days answering questions from bemused students and parents.
Here are just a few common questions
1. What does this number mean? What is it out of?
2. It says a B grade but how close is it to an A grade?
3. Is it worth remark?
4. I thought I was entered for an A for my controlled assessment why have I only got a C grade for it.
5. How do I get my paper back?
6. Sandra (name made up) was ill for this exam. That is why it is a low mark. Can we tell the exam board and get the mark changed?
My god it is all very confusing!
Here are just a few observations and facts that might be helpful.
1. The mark printed on the results sheet is what is know as a UMS mark. This stands for uniform mark scale.
2. This is not the raw score achieved i.e not what was actually achieved. It’s a bit like getting 7 out of 10 in a spelling test and getting a result back that is completely different.
3. Generally a high raw score will equate to a high grade but this changes a little bit year on year. One year 7 out of 10 might be a A grade, the next year it might be a B grade. The exam boards look to see how everyone had done and then scale appropriately.
4. No one ever gets to find out exactly how the scaling is done – it’s a mystery and their little secret along with probably government advisors.
5. You can find out how close you were to the grade boundary up or the next grade boundary down. The boundaries are published for both raw and UMS on a document to be found on the exam boards website.
6. You have to be careful with the truth as a student that is jumping for joy that they have full marks UMS may be not jumping as high when they realise they only achieved 80 percent.
7. Think carefully before any remarks. You can go down as well as up. It is sometimes worth having several papers remarked to increase your chances of more marks. You have more chance of going up over several papers.
8. Controlled assessments always cause a problem when it comes to results. Teachers never know what grade they are when they are submitted. Unfortunately teachers will sometimes ‘guess’ and use the previous years grade boundaries. This is dangerous and gives false hope to students. It is difficult as students and parents are persistent in wanting to know a grade. Controlled assessments can also be marked up and down from the marks the teacher submits. If anything they will be marked down as a lot of schools cheat with controls and give too much help even in the high control parts. Naughty but who’s watching. It must be like when people used to record other peoples records. Wrong but what are the chances of being caught?
9. You can get your paper back but it will cost you. Remarks are also expensive. Examination boards must be rubbing their hands together around this time. It’s all business to them!
10. If you were unwell during the exam then you must have taken action then by informing the exam board through your school.
Hope these points have given you a bit more information.
To be honest in my experience most students for the most part roughly get what they deserve and sometimes it’s best to hold your hands up and say ‘move on’ I just didn’t work hard enough.
Lastly. Please feel a little sorry for the teachers at this time as it is not easy and sometimes the answers to some questions are not easy and may need a little research.
I would love you to comment on this post to have your opinion.
Great Grades in Physics 