Edexcel A2 Biology Unit 4 (6BI04) - 15 June 2012 - Official Exam Discussion Thread!!!

Did somebody mention they had created a facebook page like the AQA students had done?

I Learnt the book inside out, thinking i'de be able to get a decent grade..
Knowing my luck, The paper turned out to be full of rubbish.

I was running out of time and missed a few questions out. I wrote on the paper saying, ''THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO COMPLETE THE PAPER FULLY. I REVISED HARD FOR THIS, AND THIS IS NOT FAIR.''

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1042

SimpleGirl

3

Original post by jv.lalloo

I Learnt the book inside out, thinking i'de be able to get a decent grade..
Knowing my luck, The paper turned out to be full of rubbish.

I was running out of time and missed a few questions out. I wrote on the paper saying, ''THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO COMPLETE THE PAPER FULLY. I REVISED HARD FOR THIS, AND THIS IS NOT FAIR.''

Did you really?!

Reply 1043

neom

10

Judging by these replies, I'm so glad I did the paper in Jan.. o_o

Reply 1044

ghogho

Original post by neom

Judging by these replies, I'm so glad I did the paper in Jan.. o_o

& wat grade did u get??

Reply 1045

ghogho

Original post by jv.lalloo

I Learnt the book inside out, thinking i'de be able to get a decent grade..
Knowing my luck, The paper turned out to be full of rubbish.

I was running out of time and missed a few questions out. I wrote on the paper saying, ''THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO COMPLETE THE PAPER FULLY. I REVISED HARD FOR THIS, AND THIS IS NOT FAIR.''

Reply 1046

tinzoo

guys this is the reply of the board to one of my friends who complained yesterday he received it today:

Thank you for your recent email regarding your Biology paper.

I have assigned this to a member of the Learners team, and we will be in touch shortly.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Sheila Bugembe
Complaints Coordinator
Edexcel
Pearson UK

One90 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7BH

D: +44 (0)20 7190 4096
E: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Please note my new e-mail address from January 2012
Tell us how we're doing! Take our 30 second survey. <http://1919544.polldaddy.com/s/online-quick-survey>

Pearson
Always Learning

Reply 1047

jv.lalloo

8

Original post by SimpleGirl

Did you really?!

i really did :frown:

Reply 1048

jv.lalloo

8

Original post by ghogho

i had no other choice. this is the last ever shot!! they cant destroy our higher education by giving a stupid paper with stupid qs with not ennough time!!

Reply 1049

M Kh

OP

Original post by jv.lalloo

I Learnt the book inside out, thinking i'de be able to get a decent grade..
Knowing my luck, The paper turned out to be full of rubbish.

I was running out of time and missed a few questions out. I wrote on the paper saying, ''THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO COMPLETE THE PAPER FULLY. I REVISED HARD FOR THIS, AND THIS IS NOT FAIR.''

Well Done.

Reply 1050

M Kh

OP

Original post by tinzoo

guys this is the reply of the board to one of my friends who complained yesterday he received it today:

Thank you for your recent email regarding your Biology paper.

I have assigned this to a member of the Learners team, and we will be in touch shortly.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Sheila Bugembe
Complaints Coordinator
Edexcel
Pearson UK

One90 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7BH

D: +44 (0)20 7190 4096
E: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Please note my new e-mail address from January 2012
Tell us how we're doing! Take our 30 second survey. <http://1919544.polldaddy.com/s/online-quick-survey>

Pearson
Always Learning

Thanks for keeping us updated. Let's see how the examiner responds to this. We shall all contact the complaints coordinator soon as well so that they do not ignore us.

Reply 1051

tinzoo

Original post by M Kh

Thanks for keeping us updated. Let's see how the examiner responds to this. We shall all contact the complaints coordinator soon as well so that they do not ignore us.

youre welcome, yes i think the best thing is just to continue with writing complaints :smile:

might get us somewhere...

Reply 1052

sceptic_medic

9

My Biology teacher is contacting Edexcel about this. He really wasn't happy either with the standard of the questions.

Reply 1053

d_94

7

Original post by jv.lalloo

I Learnt the book inside out, thinking i'de be able to get a decent grade..
Knowing my luck, The paper turned out to be full of rubbish.

I was running out of time and missed a few questions out. I wrote on the paper saying, ''THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO COMPLETE THE PAPER FULLY. I REVISED HARD FOR THIS, AND THIS IS NOT FAIR.''

Goood for you!! Wish I had wrote that :biggrin:

Reply 1054

arnab

11

Original post by marc_h94

My Biology teacher is contacting Edexcel about this. He really wasn't happy either with the standard of the questions.

did you manage to finish the paper mate?

Also guys what do you think the grade boundary will be like for an A.

Original post by M Kh

x

OP : can you please make a poll of what the grade boundary will be like for an A

start with something like this ?

45 - 50 - A
51-55 - A
56-60 - A
60-65 - A

I personally don't think it will be higher then 65max. probz around 50-55 for an A lol

Reply 1055

vampirerahim

Guys you should all mail them and compain
i got a reply back and it looks promising

Reply 1056

abbas1994

1

I got a reply:

Thank you for your email regarding the Biology Unit 4 (6BI04) exam you sat on Friday 15 June. I understand that you are concerned about the content of this paper and the length of time you were given to complete the exam.

We read all feedback from students and your specific comments have been passed to our assessment team. From time to time, we do get comments from some students that they were unable to complete an exam. The reasons for this can be varied and range from the amount of reading, the difficulty of the exam, or the level that the student is able to work at.

Our examiners will monitor all students’ actual responses carefully and take any action that is necessary to ensure that you are fairly rewarded for your performance. This may include adjusting the mark scheme or the grade boundaries for the paper depending on what we find once we have marked responses.

Unfortunately we cannot provide individual responses to students about the outcomes of an investigation or on our grading decisions.

If you haven’t already, we advise that you raise the issues you have mentioned directly to your school or college. Your teacher is in the best position to guide you and if they feel they need to formally raise your concerns with us, they can do so on behalf of all students at your centre.

We will issue a formal reply to any centres who contact us with concerns once the grade boundaries have been awarded.

Yours sincerely

Sheila Bugembe
Complaints Coordinator
Edexcel
Pearson UK

One90 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7BH

D: +44 (0)20 7190 4096
E: [email protected]
Please note my new e-mail address from January 2012
Tell us how we're doing! Take our 30 second survey.

Pearson
Always Learning
Learn more at www.edexcel.com and www.pearson.com/uk

Reply 1057

ghogho

Original post by vampirerahim

Guys you should all mail them and compain
i got a reply back and it looks promising

so can u post for us a copy of the email u sent them

Reply 1058

vampirerahim

Original post by ghogho

so can u post for us a copy of the email u sent them

Sure

To whom it may concern,

I sat the unit 4 Edexcel Biology exam yesterday and felt that the questions were very unfair.
This was a retake, so the second time round I ensured that I memorised all of the processes and information necessary for the exam. I completed all past papers on the Edexcel website and timed myself. Not once did I require extra time, however in this exam I found myself struggling for time due to the lengthy questions.
I felt prepared for the exam and positive that I would do well, however the paper was filled with questions that required discussion and explanation of graphs or tables. I am aware that these questions are appropriate, but this paper definitely had an excess amount of those types of questions. I felt that I did not have nearly enough time to complete all answers to the best of my ability, as the questions on graphs required extra time to read and understand the information given. I found myself rushing towards the end as I inevitably spent so much time on these questions.
I felt that the information I learnt was not necessary as a lot of what I studied did not come up at all. The wording of the questions were confusing and not like any past papers I had practised. Therefore it required extra time trying to figure out what the questions were asking. There were excess amount of marks rewarded for questions that only required a few points, and in some cases only a few marks for answers that required a lot of information.
Many students have been discussing this on the Student Room website, claiming that the exam was unreasonable and had barely any application of 'biology' in it. The questions were largely based on logic, and had I have known this I would not have spent weeks memorising processes that did not even come up! Students that I know are very intelligent and were well prepared left the exam hall in tears, and everybody I have spoken to has agreed with me.
Surely an exam this difficult and unreasonable should have lower grade boundaries? Or perhaps should be reviewed as it seems so unfair! Many students, including myself, required As or A*s in biology in order to get into university, and now may not achieve those grades due to this exam.

I think it would only be fair that the grade boundaries are lowered for this exam or the paper should be reviewed once again.

Reply 1059

vampirerahim

Guys we can take a stand
some dude tweeted edexcel they were the teacher can file an official complaint on behalf of the student

Lets do this guys
for all of us who need As to get into universities...
lets take a stand.....

Edexcel A2 Biology Unit 4 (6BI04) - 15 June 2012 - Official Exam Discussion Thread!!!

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