LORETO COLLEGE (ST ALBANS) GCSE POST RESULT INFORMATION
Table of Contents Post Result Information 2 Re-marks 2 Enquiries must be realistic 2 Deadlines 3 Key Terms Explained 3 Grades 3 Raw Mark 3 Grade Boundaries 3 GCSE Grades 3 Grade Boundaries for Qualifications 4 Raw and Scaled Marks 4 Tiered Units 5 How is the overall subject grade determined? 5 Grades Required for Entry into Loreto College Sixth Form 6 Emailing Your Request 8 1
Post Result Information This booklet is designed to answer any queries that may arise from your statement of results. 1. Missing and Incomplete Results The most serious category is missing or incomplete results and you should complete the enclosed form and return it to the exams office ASAP. There is no fee for this service. 2. Enquires About Results (EARS) Whilst the School does check for anomalies that might need investigation, ultimately the onus is on the candidate to suggest that there might be reason for a re-mark. The regulations prohibit the School from submitting a re-mark request without first obtaining the permission of the candidate. One poor unit may well be counterbalanced by another excellent one, so the candidate needs to consider the overall aggregation or the grade as the sole criterion. Re-marks If you are very close to a grade boundary, it may be worth requesting a re-mark. For the individual candidate, there are two enquiry options: a clerical re-check [rarely requested], and a re-mark of the script [which is done by an experienced examiner]. If you request a re-mark, the new result will stand even if it is worse than the original result. You will be required to sign a form to say that you understand that your mark and possibly grade can go down as well as up. N.B. Requesting a re-mark does not mean that your examination script is returned (see below). Candidates should discuss concerns with the appropriate Head of Department. If an enquiry is to be made, then the School must handle all requests to the exam boards. Exam Boards will not deal directly with candidates or parents Having discussed your result with the Head of Department and your parents, should you decide to go ahead with a re-mark, please complete a Re-mark Request Form. These forms will also be available on results day, from the Exams Office or on the school website. The cost of the re-mark will vary depending on the subjects and type of paper. Enquiries must be realistic Look carefully at the total mark. If the total is 290, this is 30 marks away from either edge of the grade boundary, and the chances of a new grade being achieved by re-marking a single unit are slim; it may even be mathematically impossible. On the other hand, a mark of 318 is a much safer bet. Not only is there a reasonable chance of reaching 320, but also the re-mark would have to be bizarre for the total to fall out of the bottom of that grade. 2
It is perfectly possible for marks to go down as well as up, which may lower the grade. Every year, a couple of candidates typically go down by more than 10 marks. This is the main reason why the School is not allowed to submit a request with the candidate s permission. There can be no appeal against a remark decision. The paper will have been marked by a top examiner whose opinion is, by definition, final. Fees for remarks are expensive but are waived if a new mark for a particular unit causes the overall mark to cross a grade boundary. However, if two or more units are remarked for a particular subject, but only one of these caused the grade change, then the remark fee is still charged for the other units. Deadlines The remark deadline 20 th September 2015 no request will be accepted after this date. Deadline for the return of scripts is 4 th October 2015. There is no priority script return service available for GCSE. Result enquiries normally have to be agreed by the relevant Head of Department. Key Terms Explained Grades The overall awards for achievement are A, B, C, D, E, F and G Raw Mark This is the actual mark given to answers by the examiner. The total of number of raw marks available in each exam paper can vary from paper to paper. For example, a paper could be marked out of 50 or 120. Grade Boundaries The number of raw marks required to attained specific grade. These are set by senior examiners based on a sample review of candidates work, exam papers from the current year and from previous years, examiners report and statistical data. Each exam paper is unique so the difficulty of the exam can vary. This means that grade boundaries may vary from exam season to exam season. GCSE Grades By inter-awarding body agreement, the uniform mark grade boundaries in GCSEs are at the following percentages of the maximum uniform mark for the unit/module or qualification: A* 90%, A 80%, B 70%, C 60%, D 50%, E 40%, F 30%, G 20%. GCSEs are divided into different units, which may be assessed by exams or by controlled assessment with not all units having equal weighting. The unit will be marked out of a 3
maximum raw mark. For most subjects, the marks scored nationally are then analysed and the raw mark is converted statistically to a uniform mark scheme (UMS ) mark. This is not a linear conversion but takes into account the difficulty of the paper and the spread of marks obtained nationally to obtain the desired spread of marks. GCSE results are then issued in UMS marks. This allows all GCSEs in all exam seasons to have the same percentage grade boundaries. Each GCSE has a maximum total mark, normally 200, 300 or 400 UMS. This is purely for ease of assessment and a higher total mark does not mean that the GCSE is worth more; a GCSE is a GCSE. Each unit within the GCSE also has a total mark, e.g. a unit worth 25% of a 400 UMS GCSE would have a maximum mark of 100UMS. There are some subjects where a subset of the whole GCSE is also a half GCSE in its own right with its own grade. E.g. either RE unit is a half GCSE in its own right, half GCSEs can also be obtained in French and German in Reading & Writing and Speaking & Listening. However, universities do not count both the full GCSE and a half GCSE contained within it. N.B. The UMS mark is the formally issued result mark. It is derived from the mark scored on the paper (the raw mark ), but the number of marks available on the paper is unlikely to be the same as the maximum UMS mark. The conversion from the raw mark scored on the unit to the UMS mark is determined statistically after the unit has been completed and varies slightly with every subject and exam season to take into account the difficulty of the paper. This means that there are no set raw mark grade boundaries. Grade Boundaries for Qualifications Grade boundaries for units with different max marks Max 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 120 140 150 160 240 Mark A* 36 45 54 63 72 81 90 108 126 135 144 216 A 32 40 48 56 64 72 80 96 112 120 128 192 B 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 84 98 105 112 168 C 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 72 84 90 96 144 D 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 60 70 75 80 120 E 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 48 56 60 64 96 Raw and Scaled Marks In the Awarding Bodies results documentation, candidates scaled marks (sometimes abbreviated to sca ) are listed for each unit or component. For most specifications, scaled marks are the same as raw marks. They may be different in the small number of specifications where a unit is divided into two (or more) components. For example, if Component 1 is marked out of 30, Component 2 is marked out of 60 and each is intended to account for 50% of the assessment of a unit, candidates marks for Component 1 must be multiplied by two before being added to the marks for Component 2. Therefore, a Component 1 raw mark of 24 out of 30 becomes a scaled mark of 48 out of 60. For Component 4
2, no scaling is needed, so scaled marks are the same as raw marks. Candidates total marks for the unit are subsequently converted to uniform marks. Tiered Units Tiered units place some restrictions upon the number of uniform marks that a candidate may obtain. Candidates on the Foundation Tier may not be allocated a uniform mark above the range allocated to grade C, whatever their raw mark. Candidates on the Higher Tier who fail to reach the standard required for grade D are given a proportion of the uniform marks allocated with grade D. How is the overall subject grade determined? The uniform marks obtained for each unit are added up and the subject grade is based on this total. The table below shows the percentage of the total uniform mark required for each grade. Percentage of total uniform mark Grade 90 to 100 80 to 89 70 to 79 60 to 69 50 to 59 40 to 49 30 to 39 A* A B C D E F G 20 to 29 awarded As an example, if the total uniform mark allocated to a subject is 200, a candidate with a total of 180 to 200 uniform marks would be awarded grade A* and a candidate with 80 to 99 uniform marks would be awarded a grade E. GCSE Point Scores For Achievement and Attainment Tables Qualification GCSE (Short Course) Points GCSE (Full Course) Points Point Score for achievement and attainment tables. A* A B C D E F G 29 26 23 20 17 14 11 8 A* A B C D E F G 58 52 46 40 34 28 22 16 5
Grades Required for Entry into Loreto College Sixth Form GRADES EXPECTED AT THE END OF YEAR 11 5 A* - C grades including Maths and English with an Average Point Score of 44.00 5 A* - C grades including English with an Average Point Score of 40. To be accepted on the Level 3 course students will need four GCSE passes at C grade or above. (The Level 3 Diploma is equal to two B grade A-Levels and is an accepted university entrance qualification). OPPORTUNITIES AFTER Year 11 Four AS courses in Year 12 Three AS courses in Year 12 BTEC Level 3 Business PROGRESSION Degree course at University Employment with training Degree course at University Employment with training Degree course at University Employment with training To study 4 AS Levels at Loreto College students need 5 A* - C including English and Maths with an Average Point Score of 44. To study 3 AS Levels at Loreto College students need 5 A*-C grades including English and Maths with an Average Point Score of 40. Average Point Score = average point score from highest 8 GCSE grades where A* = 58; A = 52; B = 46; C = 40; D = 34; E = 28; F = 22; G 16. Most students who study four AS levels in Year 12 go on to study three A2 subjects at A2 in Year 13. Additional A Level provision is available within the Alban Consortium. 6
All post result service (EAR) must be requested through the Exams Department. Failure to submit your request through the correct route may result in your remark not being processed. No EAR can be processed without a signature. Contact Information For all result and post result information including remark requests please, contact the Examinations Department via exams@loreto.herts.sch.uk alternatively further information is available on the school website at http://www.loreto.herts.sch.uk/exams/results-day-information/ 7
Emailing Your Request To apply for an EAR you can email your request to exams@loreto.herts.sch.uk with the following information in the subject line: Exam Candidate Number Full Name Module Code(s) of the unit(s) you wish Post Services for Code(s) of the Post Service you require Board Name of service Example Tracy Gibson (Exam candidate number 8796) wishes to have her Physics GCSE Unit 3 A183H (J245) remarked, with a copy of the script. For GCSE remarks you must include the tier. You must give the school permission to go ahead with any remark and you must include the following in your email: To the Examinations Officer: Please submit my request for a re-mark to the appropriate exam board. I understand that my mark and/or grade may go down as well as up. I agree to pay any fees incurred when requested. Please ensure that any email request includes all the above information 8