Petition to aqa to lower the grade boundaries.

I'm sure this happens year on year where there's a hard exam paper and there's an outcry of people who feel they've been hard done by the exam boards.

Unfortunately, exams are getting harder and require much more than just regurgitating knowledge and learning answers from previous questions. This is something you're going to have to live with and just keep continuing to work hard.

A petition will not lower the grade boundaries. However if nationally the cohort have done poorly then the grade boundaries will reflect this. Stop complaining and work hard for the rest of your exams instead of dwelling on something you can now not change.

i dont think people are ONLY complaining about the fact that they didnt know what the independent company was (even though it was common sense) but also the fact that it had nothing to do with science like alot of the questions in that paper. Where were questions on things we have been learning about in biology for the past 5 years?

Reply 41

Want_To_Achieve

14

Signed with dignity. AQA is going downhill on their exams.

Reply 42

smozsolution

9

Original post by s.mo

i dont think people are ONLY complaining about the fact that they didnt know what the independent company was (even though it was common sense) but also the fact that it had nothing to do with science like alot of the questions in that paper. Where were questions on things we have been learning about in biology for the past 5 years?

I didn't mention anything about only complaining about an independent company in my post. My post is aimed at the whole demanding lower grade boundaries via a petition and acting like the world has ended because of a bad exam.

Often, biology papers are quite obscure as they expect you to make links between what you know and what you can apply to a given scenario. Yeah sometimes they are random (I had a question on fruit and veg in relation to respiration in an A2 biology paper or another paper where they made a question about what is only a paragraph in the textbook) so I completely understand that it can throw you. They also draw on your ability to use your common sense and skills you may pick up elsewhere (data interpretation and maths). Plus, they can't include everything you've learn as you'd be doing an exam much, much longer than what you've sat. That's why you're expected to learn everything and be prepared for any question.

Anyway, the difficulty will be reflected in the grade boundaries and there is nothing more you can do so focus on your next exams.

Reply 43

AGBF

OP

13

Original post by ivybridge

*Says he isn't my mate... proceeds to say mate.* - I can see why you are asking for lower boundaries.

Oh, grow up. I had a good enough profile to apply to Harvard. You know nothing about difficulty - wait until A-Levels.

It was a joke to be frank.Science isn't my best subject,i excel in other areas you snob.Are you them people who think non oxbridge people are failures?

And i asked for proof in regards to the exam board

Lol, A levels may be harder but AT LEAST they ask you whats on the spec,not whats off it.You fool,stop showing off because you did the easy as **** GCSES before 2014 haha.

Reply 44

TARDIS1963

Do you realise that the grade boundaries are made each year based on the proportion who scored highly and so on. They convert the marks to UMS and a score of 360/400, for example, is needed for an A*. As this was a hard paper (but it really wasn't THAT bad...) then the grade boundaries will be really low, so this petition is irrelevant!
The grade boundaries are formed simply that the top x% get A* and so on...

And the questions in the paper, even the "independent company", were still relevant to the syllabus - just requiring us to apply knowledge rather than regurgitate memorised textbook pages!

Reply 45

s.mo

14

Original post by smozsolution

I didn't mention anything about only complaining about an independent company in my post. My post is aimed at the whole demanding lower grade boundaries via a petition and acting like the world has ended because of a bad exam.

Often, biology papers are quite obscure as they expect you to make links between what you know and what you can apply to a given scenario. Yeah sometimes they are random (I had a question on fruit and veg in relation to respiration in an A2 biology paper or another paper where they made a question about what is only a paragraph in the textbook) so I completely understand that it can throw you. They also draw on your ability to use your common sense and skills you may pick up elsewhere (data interpretation and maths). Plus, they can't include everything you've learn as you'd be doing an exam much, much longer than what you've sat. That's why you're expected to learn everything and be prepared for any question.

Anyway, the difficulty will be reflected in the grade boundaries and there is nothing more you can do so focus on your next exams.

none of the past papers have EVER been like this one, so it was random and didnt go off of the spec. People should be complaining

Reply 46

username1969391

14

If the paper really was that difficult, the grade boundaries will be adjusted accordingly.

A petition really won't do anything. Stuff like this happens every year.

Reply 47

AGBF

OP

13

Original post by TARDIS1963

Do you realise that the grade boundaries are made each year based on the proportion who scored highly and so on. They convert the marks to UMS and a score of 360/400, for example, is needed for an A*. As this was a hard paper (but it really wasn't THAT bad...) then the grade boundaries will be really low, so this petition is irrelevant!
The grade boundaries are formed simply that the top x% get A* and so on...

And the questions in the paper, even the "independent company", were still relevant to the syllabus - just requiring us to apply knowledge rather than regurgitate memorised textbook pages!

Lol you chill just cuz your cohort had the easy gcses.

There is NO mention of independent company in the spec or textbook.Finished.Go check mate :smile:

.

Reply 48

AGBF

OP

13

Original post by NickLCFC

If the paper really was that difficult, the grade boundaries will be adjusted accordingly.

A petition really won't do anything. Stuff like this happens every year.

Says the guy who did the easy papers from 2014/13....

Reply 49

username1969391

14

Original post by AGBF

Says the guy who did the easy papers from 2014/13....

You're obviously missing the point.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 50

smozsolution

9

Original post by s.mo

none of the past papers have EVER been like this one, so it was random and didnt go off of the spec. People should be complaining

Yep, this has all been said before. It's nothing new. Every year people say that it's nothing like the past papers and that everyone should complain.

People shouldn't be dwelling over something that is now in the past and cannot be changed. Yes, it sucks when an exam isn't what you expect but there's little you can do. For instance, I came out of my AQA GCSE B3 exam in 2013 in tears because it "wasn't like the past papers" and most other people agreed it was hard. No one then was starting petitions demanding lower grade boundaries. The grade boundaries reflected the difficulty of the paper and I still got my A overall.

I've also found through experience that if there's one or two difficult questions on a paper, people immediately discount the questions they did with no difficulty and write it off as a hard paper.
You easily could have smashed the rest of the paper and only struggled with part of the paper so your grade won't be dramatically impacted. Unless you left it all blank and gave it a good shot, you may well surprise yourself. Of course this is purely anecdotal but it's some food for thought.

Instead of wasting energy complaining, put that energy into smashing out some serious revision over the next few weeks so you can enjoy your summer without having to worry about your exams.

Reply 51

PTS_99

10

Now I've been dealing with this on the Scottish qualifications section of the forum, where these petitions are for some reason becoming commonplace, and I'm going to tell you what I told all of them (or tried to).
Petitions do not change grade boundaries. Exam grade boundaries are rarely ever the same year on year, and are almost never at the "standard" marks (50% pass/C, 60-70% B, 70+% A). Grade boundaries are decided after the exams are marked, and combined with coursework if applicable, and feedback is gained from markers.
People seemed to noticed the petition about the CfE Higher Maths exam last year, and then noticed the pass mark of 35% that was eventually decided for it (it was quite a high profile thing, in Scotland anyway). They think that it was the petition that forced the SQA to lower the pass mark, rather than the reality that the examining body (AQA in this case I believe) does it of its own accord every year.

Reply 52

Alexion

17

They won't do anything different whether you get 10 signatures or 10000.

If it was really that bad - such that there was a general trend of lower scores compared to previous papers - they will adjust the grade boundaries accordingly. There's a reason why the UMS scale exists.

Reply 53

ivybridge

6

Original post by AGBF

It was a joke to be frank.Science isn't my best subject,i excel in other areas you snob.Are you them people who think non oxbridge people are failures?

And i asked for proof in regards to the exam board

Lol, A levels may be harder but AT LEAST they ask you whats on the spec,not whats off it.You fool,stop showing off because you did the easy as **** GCSES before 2014 haha.

With all due respect, you are calling me a snob, which I am not, whilst then telling me I did easy GCSEs just to make yourself feel better. It is in fact you and you alone that appears arrogant. I do not believe non-Ivy and non-Oxbridge students are failures, in fact quite the opposite. I myself never bothered applying for Oxbridge because I didn't like either of them.

The proof is in the pudding. This link: http://www.aqa.org.uk/exams-administration/about-results/uniform-mark-scale should demonstrate how UMS is calculated and thus, how boundaries are adjusted.

No. Things like this happen every year, across boards, across papers, across subjects. It happens, just as @NickLCFC stated. If there are students out there who found it easy, as someone previously mentioned they had, then it is more likely that you misread or misinterpreted a very difficult question. Biology asks you to apply theory to examples. People get stuck. Furthermore, even if this is the case, it will make no difference. The boundaries are likely to have been lowered because if the paper was hard for you and many others, it means the proportion of each grade will be unusual in comparison to what was expected and what happened in previous years. This will be considered closely as alarm bells will ring across the board.

You are honestly getting in a tizz about nothing. The exam board will act according to JCQ regulations and their own rules; if the paper was not fair, it will be exposed as such by examiners and the board themselves. They are not there to **** you around. I think you just need to act more grown up about this, and get on with revising for other important exams and do your best. A silly petition will not change the minds of AQA. You are likely to see the difficulty reflected in the boundaries when they are released the day before.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 54

zixd

10

Original post by AGBF

https://www.change.org/p/aqa-lower-the-grade-boundaries-for-aqa-biology-2016-examination?recruiter=543162137&utm_source=share_for_starters&utm_medium=copyLink

Sign if you wish to combat the unfairness of AQA!

was there a petition is 2012 or something? why does it reference 2012

Reply 55

ivybridge

6

Original post by Alexion

They won't do anything different whether you get 10 signatures or 10000.

If it was really that bad - such that there was a general trend of lower scores compared to previous papers - they will adjust the grade boundaries accordingly. There's a reason why the UMS scale exists.

Exactly, right.

Reply 56

Ladymusiclover

20

Wait what's AQA done now?? There's always a petition against them.

Reply 57

Rhythmical

21

I find AQA better than OCR.

Reply 58

Alexion

17

Original post by ivybridge

...I do not believe non-Ivy and non-Oxbridge students are failures...

I've just realised, is this where your username comes from? Ivy-league Oxbridge?

Reply 59

thefatone

6

Original post by AGBF

https://www.change.org/p/aqa-lower-the-grade-boundaries-for-aqa-biology-2016-examination?recruiter=543162137&utm_source=share_for_starters&utm_medium=copyLink

Sign if you wish to combat the unfairness of AQA!

Isn't going to be lower anyway if more students did badly?
Isn't there a set percentage in which x amount of students receive A*s and A's and B's??? etc

Petition to aqa to lower the grade boundaries.

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