Does every school in the country get the same paper when doing the same exam?

aadil10

13

E.g. If I was doing a GCSE English Language exam, would it be the same paper as someone doing the same exam in London?

Reply 1

saibhandari

11

Original post by aadil10

E.g. If I was doing a GCSE English Language exam, would it be the same paper as someone doing the same exam in London?

Yes, as long as you were both on the same exam board.

Reply 2

aadil10

OP

13

Original post by saibhandari

Yes, as long as you were both on the same exam board.

right thanks, I was going to say, it would be a bit unfair if it wasn't because some exams could be easier than others :P

although, is it fair that schools do different exam boards? some could be harder, some could be easier. Shouldn't we all have to do the same papers to make our results fair?

Reply 3

saibhandari

11

Original post by aadil10

right thanks, I was going to say, it would be a bit unfair if it wasn't because some exams could be easier than others :P

although, is it fair that schools do different exam boards? some could be harder, some could be easier. Shouldn't we all have to do the same papers to make our results fair?

Of course :P

Personally I'd say that it is fair. Each school should have the opportunity to pick out the best board for their pupils and the ones that teachers will feel most comfortable teaching from. Besides, whichever paper you take, there will have been many others taking the same one.

On a side note, to make it fairer, when you apply to university you are asked to enter the exam board you used, subject and year taken, so it's not as though it can be hidden if you did a harder/easier paper.
Also, raw marks are converted into UMS so... :P

Reply 4

Juno

20

Original post by aadil10

right thanks, I was going to say, it would be a bit unfair if it wasn't because some exams could be easier than others :P

although, is it fair that schools do different exam boards? some could be harder, some could be easier. Shouldn't we all have to do the same papers to make our results fair?

Results are standardised, so if the paper is easier you need more marks to get a high grade. This is also how marks are equivalent through the years - I did my GCSEs in 2002, but my results are of the same standard as people doing GCSEs now. It's not possible to make everything exactly the same, so they manipulate results rather than trying to adjust the questions too much.