[EatRainbows]

(Original post by chaosdestro0)
The problem is that with the January Core 3 exam is that it was so easy you couldn't distinguish between the students.
Thing is there is a difference between not understanding something and making a mistake, when the grade boundaries were that high there were A grade students who should have been B grade students and vice versa.

I agree that it's bad that making a silly mistake can bring you down a whole grade or worse. Edexcel are too focused on accuracy, I think if you are showing that you understand what it going on and are using the right method you shouldn't be marked down for writing something down wrong. For example yesterday in C3 I forgot to write down a +2 from the question and will now lose 4 marks =_= but apart from that my workings were fine. But then I suppose it applies to everyone so is still fair in a way. I'm still annoyed though.

[Jackfinance17]

It's the education system that is not fair, but again, it depends on the individual's motivation, at least it is the case in the UK.

[chaosdestro0]

(Original post by EatRainbows)
I agree that it's bad that making a silly mistake can bring you down a whole grade or worse. Edexcel are too focused on accuracy, I think if you are showing that you understand what it going on and are using the right method you shouldn't be marked down for writing something down wrong. For example yesterday in C4 I forgot to write down a +2 from the question and will now lose 4 marks =_= but apart from that my workings were fine. But then I suppose it applies to everyone so is still fair in a way. I'm still annoyed though.

How am I supposed to feel knowing that I lost at least 9 marks ? :/
Though I only need 68% average to get an A, I am really worried that I haven't even got an A.
I couldn't do the question 5 cosec proof and I lost another 3 marks somewhere else.

[dean01234]

(Original post by EatRainbows)
They change the grade boundaries to reflect how hard the paper was which is the right thing to do.

I got my results plus sheet printed out by my college, and like many other people at my college the marks out of 75 (that they tell you) do not work out to be the number of UMS that you are awarded...

Its not just that you need a higher number of UMS to get certain grades, but (according to my teachers theory) that some questions are worth less UMS than others because of how well they were answered.

I don't know if his theory is correct but I lost out marks, and someone else was very annoyed because she lost 5 marks brining her out of the A* boundary (unless c4 goes very well because of the 90% average thing)

[A.J10]

(Original post by EatRainbows)
I agree that it's bad that making a silly mistake can bring you down a whole grade or worse. Edexcel are too focused on accuracy, I think if you are showing that you understand what it going on and are using the right method you shouldn't be marked down for writing something down wrong. For example yesterday in C4 I forgot to write down a +2 from the question and will now lose 4 marks =_= but apart from that my workings were fine. But then I suppose it applies to everyone so is still fair in a way. I'm still annoyed though.

Mostly speculation, but here's why:
The reason they put A1 instead of A1ft is that a follow through mark requires the examiner to figure out what you've done and apply the calculations themselves. It slows them down and means that they need to hire more people to mark. Especially in those big multi-part questions where you're doomed all the way from part ai) to part kxix) if you've made a simple arithmatic error.

(Original post by dean01234)
I got my results plus sheet printed out by my college, and like many other people at my college the marks out of 75 (that they tell you) do not work out to be the number of UMS that you are awarded...

Its not just that you need a higher number of UMS to get certain grades, but (according to my teachers theory) that some questions are worth less UMS than others because of how well they were answered.

I don't know if his theory is correct but I lost out marks, and someone else was very annoyed because she lost 5 marks brining her out of the A* boundary (unless c4 goes very well because of the 90% average thing)

This works both ways. I got full UMS on a physics paper I took in january, despite having definitely missed out on at least 1 mark that I know of, and a lot more I don't (physics is a harder one to compare answers for, they're never nice simple numbers that are easy to remember).

[EatRainbows]

(Original post by chaosdestro0)
How am I supposed to feel knowing that I lost at least 9 marks ? :/
Though I only need 68% average to get an A, I am really worried that I haven't even got an A.
I couldn't do the question 5 cosec proof and I lost another 3 marks somewhere else.

The grade boundaries shouldn't be too high so you probably will get an A. On the tan2y question I didn't read 'in terms of x' =_=

[EatRainbows]

A simple statement about my love of maths has turned into a big 'edexcel sucks' rant ^_^ Most exam boards suck >: Maths is still the best subject

[chaosdestro0]

WJEC is by far the worst, I couldn't mark a specimen paper once for one of my subjects as nearly all the answers they gave were wrong! And yes my teacher said they were wrong too.

[clad in armour]

(Original post by dean01234)
maths... where edexcel effectively change peoples overall marks to limit the number of people on certain grades...

Lost 8 marks and a whole grade on my c3 paper this year...

tbh isn't that what grade boundaries do or am I just being an idiot
I'm not being insensitive to what you've said though

[TheKieranC]

I dont think so. The examiners are pretty unreliable too. Almost every year we see they've messed up a question or something

[natninja]

They aren't completely fair but there's nothing more that can really be done effectively to make them any fairer...

[Waqar.]

Maybe we could have access to our papers online and then mark it ourselves as well as the examiners. That way we can check whether we got the right grades. I know we can get our papers back but that takes time and this way we can simply check online.

[Gawjuz.x]

I think exams are more-so a game of 'impress-the-examiner-and-write-like-the-mark-scheme' regardless of whether or not you actually understand the concept. In ICT for example (I sat it with the Cambridge International Examinations - CIE - Board), the only way to get a good A is to literally MEMORISE everything regardless of if you actually understand it. :/. Exams shouldn't be a memory test, it should be a way of applying your knowledge. I think maths is the only subject where you actually apply the methods in various mathematical questions.
Sometimes I think that the only reason we study in college is to impress the examiner at the end of the day - it shouldn't be like that.

[Smeemi]

(Original post by Waqar.)
Maybe we could have access to our papers online and then mark it ourselves as well as the examiners. That way we can check whether we got the right grades. I know we can get our papers back but that takes time and this way we can simply check online.

This would be a good idea. I think we should be able to see where we got the marks in the answers and then show it to the teachers without paying £12 for a print copy.

[Validate]

I think they are unfair for many reasons. My main reason is that one single piece of paper cannot determine whether or not you are good at that whole subject. The particular questions on that day may all be ones you're bad at. Plus, I am now studying a degree level chemistry module in order to get me into university. One uni wanted to hold me to my science DD GCSE that I sat six years ago. The admissions woman said a degree level science module does not overule my DD in GCSE. Needless to say, they are my last choice.

I JUST scraped a C in GCSE maths and three years later I got 98% on my level 2 (GCSE equivalent) motor vehicle maths exam. I had a bad GCSE teacher and I aced it three years later with a few lessons of extra help with an amazing physicist. One or two exams under pressure does not prove how good a person is at a subject.

[thetobbit]

(Original post by Trailblazer)
No, because people who are good at exams are not necessarily smart, intellectual or worthy of credit. They are just good at giving examiners what they want.

I don't know why he's been negged twice, his point is true.

Most of my A-Level involved learning off a bulk of information and then spewing it out in whatever way the examiner likes.

eg. A2 History essays this year were basically a narrative with many, obvious intepretations used.

At A-Level, forget about giving your own personal opinion on a subject lol, I'm hoping there's a bit more of that in october when I head to uni :P

[iamkeeley]

(Original post by chaosdestro0)
WJEC is by far the worst, I couldn't mark a specimen paper once for one of my subjects as nearly all the answers they gave were wrong! And yes my teacher said they were wrong too.

Agreed. My A-Level ICT class had several papers marked incorrectly and they're quite frankly just too picky!


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[Waqar.]

Unfortunately, exam technique is a main factor in getting a good grade in most subjects. But, everyone knows that so technically, they're still fair. They're just not the best indication of whether is a student is a naturally bright chemist or biologist

The marking is an issue but until someone comes up with a better alternative, we're stuck with examiners and their mistakes.

[iamkeeley]

The sad thing is these days education is all about passing exams and not learning, at least until you get to university.

A-levels are the worst. My tutors are constantly saying 'write this for a grade A' one even told a girl in my class, who didn't understand, that she didn't need to understand it she just needed to write it down :/


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[rmpr97]

The fact that you have to pay for a remark (when the examiner has made a mistake) dumbfounds me.
Why should you have to fork out for someone else's incompetency and if you don't it affects your whole life.

Examiners should be penalised for any mistakes they make (i.e not paying them for that exam) otherwise reckless marking without regard for the students future is encouraged. At least this way examiners will check twice before they send off the paper and damn well won't have the odd glass of wine with it!

We should have access to our papers online or whatnot so we can compare our marks with the examiners and tell them whether we need a remark or not instead of forking out a lot of money on pot luck.

This current system hurts students form state schools who can't afford to have remarks. I came a mark from an A in my physics modular, but my school wouldn't send it of because a) it would be pot luck b) I was deemed to have a 'good enough grade.'