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Q and A: About marking and grading
Q2. Do I have to 'pass' every exam paper to be awarded a grade in a GCSE exam?
Q3. I have a UMS mark on my results slip. What does this mean?
Q5. Am I able to see my marked papers?
Q1. How are GCSE grades set?
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. 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. This method called 'norm-referencing' provided 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 that may 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 the previous year, but the criteria to be met remains constant. Statistical information will also be used, 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, who is usually the chief executive of each board. The overall proceedings are overseen by the regulatory authorities and all boards are bound by a mandatory code of practice.
Q2. Do I have to 'pass' every exam paper to be awarded a grade in a GCSE exam?
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 your final grade will be. 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.
Q3. I have a UMS mark on my results slip. What does this mean?
It means that you have taken a modular examination where the course is broken into units and each unit is examined at different times throughout the course. Maths and science are two subjects in particular where this would apply at GCSE level. If you feel that you can better your result on any of the unit examinations taken, then you can resit these units and your best score will count towards your final grade.
UMS stands for 'uniform mark scale'. This is the system that the exam boards use to be able to combine all the marks from your different units or modules in order to get your final grade. Each exam paper is unique and so the difficulty of the exam may vary slightly from year to year.
Senior examiners in each subject judge the difficulty of each paper by looking at a sample of candidates' work and exam papers from the current year and from previous years, examiners' reports and statistical data.
They use their professional judgement to decide on the grade boundaries for each paper, using what are called 'raw marks'. For example, you might need 40 raw marks out of 50 for an A grade one year, but 42 out of 50 the next.
To make the unit results compatible and comparable (so that they can be added together to get the final grade, even if they were taken at different times), raw marks from the examiners are converted to points on the uniform mark scale (UMS).
Q4. What happens if I get a lower grade than that predicted? Will I be able to appeal if I think I should have got a higher grade?
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 you are 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.
Q5. Am I able to see my marked papers?
Yes you are, and arrangements can be made through your school.