It’s almost exclusively teachers of the subject that mark the papers. And as professionals they will hold their own views on how marks should be awarded for particular answers to questions. To allow them to use that professional judgement freely at this stage would be counterproductive though, as clearly all students need to get exactly the same mark for their work, regardless of which examiner marks it.

So all those marking a particular paper need to meet as a group with the senior examiners to ensure that they understand exactly how the marks are awarded, using the detailed marking scheme which is prepared at the same time as the exam paper is prepared and approved, some 12 months before the exam is taken.

At this meeting, which is called a Standardisation Meeting, some account will be taken as to how the questions have been answered and some adjustments may be made to the original marking scheme or clarification given on unexpected answers to questions, as to whether or not these answers are acceptable and how they should be marked. At the conclusion of this meeting all examiners will have the definitive version of the marking scheme and need to apply that rigorously regardless of what their own personal views might be on particular issues.

And to ensure that they do, there will be several samples of their marking passed back and forward to senior examiners to ensure that not only are they marking consistently and to the marking scheme, but that all other examiners are doing exactly the same. Anyone not meeting these exacting standards will lose their allocation and the scripts will be re-marked by a senior examiner. No stone is left unturned to ensure that the marking is consistent at all times and across all examiners on a particular paper, and other checks are carried out at various stages to ensure that the marking is sound.

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With great care. Criteria are set across particular grade boundaries and it is important that these criteria are met each year. So that if more students meet the criteria then more will be awarded the grades. And if fewer do, then the opposite will be the case. Up until the mid-80s there were fixed percentages of students awarded grades with little variation from year to year. That method, called ‘norm-referencing’ gave no indication as to whether standards were falling or rising in schools. Whereas the system used since that time, called ‘criteria referencing’ does. It is a much fairer system and it measures standards of achievement rather than fixed percentages. That is why improvements in school performance can be seen in the greater number of students receiving higher grades, due to hard work and dedication of both teachers and students. There are many international and national studies undertaken on a regular basis by the regulatory authorities and others, which measure standards now and over time.

A committee of senior examiners and others involved with the marking of the exam papers in question will meet at the examining board to look at the work of this year’s candidates at an Awarding Meeting – which may last several days. They will only do that when they have studied work from a previous year’s examination, along with the marking schemes and the question papers from that year, to remind themselves of the standards required then to achieve a particular grade. That is the standard that has to be maintained.

When the paper is set, of course, it is with that standard in mind. But as each paper is unique there may be slight variations from year to year. The paper might be slightly easier or harder than before. That, and all other factors which might be appropriate to the awarding meeting are brought before the committee and the examining board. Senior examiners and exam board officials will give reports on the exam so that the committee has all of the information that it requires.

The grade boundaries are then determined on that basis and against the criteria set in previous years. The actual number of marks required to gain a grade may differ, depending on whether the paper was harder or easier than previous years, but the criteria to be met remains constant. Statistical information will be used too, as there shouldn’t be a variation in the grades awarded of more than plus or minus two per cent, unless there is a very good reason for such movement. All decisions have to be justified and the final decision is confirmed by the Accountable Officer, usually the chief executive, of each board. The proceedings overall are overseen by the regulatory authorities and all boards are bound by a mandatory code of practice.

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You need to discuss it with your teacher. It is the school that needs to contact the exam board and raise an enquiry about your result, if it is felt that it is wrong. There are various checks that are available: from clerical, where the board will see that all the paperwork is correct and that your marks have been recorded and added up correctly, through to a complete re-mark of your scripts. You can even have a photocopy of your scripts sent to the school so that they may check what the examiner has done. There are fees for these services, but if the exam board has made a mistake then these fees will be returned. But if it is discovered that your grade should be even lower than the one awarded, then your result will be downgraded accordingly. One mark could make the difference between going up or down a grade, so that if your marks are on or near a boundary you are more likely to have a grade change on a re-mark.

If still unhappy then your case can be taken to various stages of appeal within the exam board involved. Thereafter, if still unhappy, your case can be taken to the independent Examinations Appeals Board. But you can be assured that if ever any of the boards have evidence to confirm that your grade should be higher than first awarded, then that new grade will be issued. This comment is not made lightly, but from 26 years of working in an exam board and seeing results being upgraded on the basis of new evidence being presented at a later stage.

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Yes you are, and arrangements can be made through your school.

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My son has a grade E in AS level in Business Studies. Does this equate to a GCSE Grade C? SD, 12 May

There is no official link between these two quite different levels of qualification. The GCSE is set for 16-year-olds at the end of compulsory schooling and the AS examination is for more mature students following a more advanced and quite different course of study. It may be that employers or other users of these qualifications might consider a Grade E in one to be equivalent to a Grade C in another, for their own purposes only, but it will be entirely at their discretion. You need to establish with the university/college/employer that your son might approach, that his qualifications are acceptable for their purposes.

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No you don't, as a rule, but you should always check the specification to ensure that there aren't any particular exceptions to that rule. All marks are added from all papers and it is the total mark that determines what the final grade will be. So that if you feel that you haven't done as well as you had hoped in some papers, the marks from the other papers yet to be taken can only add to your marks, and the possibility of improving your final grade, assuming you score higher than zero on these papers.

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The AS grade is only an indication of his performance overall in that exam, although it is a qualifiction in its own right. The total number of marks he has gained in each AS subject will simply be added to the total number of marks for the A2 component in each subject, regardless of earlier grades awarded. Obviously if he has a high AS grade, he will have a lot of marks to carry forward. If your son does not perform as well as he hoped in any one of the modules taken at AS or A2, they can be re-taken.

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No, it is not always the case that the Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) mark is out of 100. It depends on the weighting of each component of the examination, of which there are six in the A level and three in the AS level exam. But what does not vary is the total number of UMS marks for AS and A level, which are 300 and 600 respectively. So, for example, AS component marks could be: 120; 90 and 90, giving a UMS total of 300.

The reason for the UMS is because the whole examination, AS or A level, is no longer necessarily taken at the same sitting in any one year. And as each examination paper is unqiue, there can be slight variations of difficulty from year to year - which means that students will be required to gain either more or fewer raw marks to compensate and to gain a particular grade. Consequently, the examining boards need to equate the initial or raw marks to a standard scale of measurement, so that regardless of when the component is taken, its standard will equate to the standard applied at any other time. Further details are given in the '2005/06 A level guide' which can be viewed and/or downloaded from this site.

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The A level is made up of two equally weighted parts: the AS and A2. So, the second year exams to which you refer - the A2 part - is worth 50% of the marks of the A level, and not 25% as you suggest. There is more information about grading and the structure of an A level on this site, in our 2005/06 guide to A levels.

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The first thing to do is stop worrying about it. You are probably in the worst position to make judgements on your performance. Leave that to the examiners. You may well have done better than you suspect.

The A level is made up of six units and you can retake any one of these units again. You do not have to do them all again to improve your grade. But if your overall grade is lower than required, you will need to reject the grade awarded this year. You will have time to do that once your results are known.

Your final grade depends on the total marks you get for all of your units and it's normal for some units to be worth less than others, so that even though you feel you may have done badly on that paper, it may have less influence on your overall grade than you think.

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