Getting added percent on GCSE's for various reasons

Hey people, just wnated to know ur thought on something!
I should think most of you know that, certainly with AQA, you can get 2% added onto your grade for having a headache. You can have 5% added on if your pet dies on the day of an exam, or 10% if a member of your family dies.
So, it can happen - having marks added on I mean. I'm not sure if I think that's right or not, but even so...
My french teacher, who was lovely, died of cancer during this year. She was obivously off work six months previously, and my stupid school couldn't organise a different teacher. We had, for sixth months, a series of supply teachers (i.e. a different one each day), most of who, could not speak french. We eventually got a permenant supply for the 2 months before the exam - and she was shocked at how crap we were! I was predicted an A* in French - I'm good at French. But obivously not having a teahcer for so long hindered progress!
I know if I'm trlu good at french I should do well anyway, and adding percentage onto your exam prob won't put you up a grade, and even if it did, it's not because you're good at the subject.
But what are everyone's thoughts?
Interested to hear your responses!

xxxx :smile:

Reply 1

Juno

20

I think it's totally made up that you get a set percentage. Every time someone writes this they make up different percentages.

Reply 2

sherunsaway

2

You can get extra percentage, but the exam boards have to be informed at the time when you sit the exam, and the most you can get is 5% if a close relative dies during exam season, and it all has to be verified so it's basically a lot of effort. I understand it as you wouldn't be in the best of moods to do an exam if your grandma had just died, but what I think is unfair is pupils getting their mock grades because they missed the exams through illness. One of my friends was in hospital for about 5 weeks during exam week, and next thursday she's guaranteed straight A*s because that's what she got during the mocks.

Reply 3

7589200

18

Er, how does one diffrentiate between a lier and a migrane?

Reply 4

GlitterStorm

You'd need a doctors note to verify that you were ill on the day. I don't think that many people would go to great lengths to go to the doctor's and lie about a headache just for an extra 2%, but hey, I might be wrong :P

Reply 5

Wilko_777

10

My best friend has lost both of his parents in the last year, but i don't know whether he'll get extra marks for that.

Reply 6

sheepgirl

2

My grandma died in the second week of the GCSE exams. We sent a letter into the school but to be honest I really dont care if I get the extra marks or not. Its not nice knowing that you are almost rewarded with marks because someone dies. Its not a nice position to be in, where people think that you are lucky or you somehow have things easier when someone close to you dies.

I think adding points for a headache is ridiculous. And think that consideration shuold only be taken when a parent dies, possibly extending to grandparents/aunts/uncles/siblings

The best thing would ahve been if the press did not get hold of these facts. Then the exam boards could be compasionate towards students in diffiuclt positions without the backlash from poeple saying that it is wrong. I DO think that its a good idea. However I think that parts have been twisted here and there and that the system has not been fully exposed. I'm sure that if you just say you have a headache, you wont be given marks. However if a teacher can see that you are really in pain (and not jsut a good actor!) then I do think its fair that you should have something to make up the marks you've lost because you are in disscomfort.

Better not have the system atall, then no one will be particularly offended!

Reply 7

Matthew1989

5

I beleive it is very fair for someone who has a head ache to get additional marks- I mean have you ever tried giving your full concentration on an exam when you have one? The system may not be perfect but it is the only one we have. If people were more honest then we would not have a problem with awarding extra marks.

Do you think I would get extra marks for my tamagotchi or digimon dying? Lol!

Reply 8

want2know

I've just found an article from the bbc news website about this. Apparently the set percentages are:

Recent death of parent or close relative - 5%
Recent death of distant family member - 4%
Witness to distressing event on day of exam - 3%
Hay fever - 2%
Death of family pet on day of exam - 2%
Pet dies day before exam - 1%
Headache - 1%

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4527129.stm

For me the distressing event would be seeing the exam paper :biggrin:

Reply 9

packupthemoon

9

You also get a few extra % if you have been ill through coursework - I did for a few because I was out of school feb->may.

I'm glad I got the doctor to give me a note - all the subjects concerned were borderline ones anyway, and it was badly affected by my illness. (Actually, the illness was probably partly caused by the stress..)

I also know somebody who got some for her mother being diagnosed with ancer during exam period.

As far as I'm concerned, it's a good idea. The people were at a disadvantage in the exam, so why shouldn't they be compensated.

Reply 10

Meat Loaf Rocks

2

It's a great idea. The system manages to keep the integrity of your performance in exams whilst allowing for exceptional circumstances. Most exams are of a maximum marks of 100, then 5% only adds 5 marks (assuming you get 90 out of 100 marks after your parent has died). In most exams it will only add 2 or 3 marks which in reality is insignificant most of the time.

Reply 11

Matthew1989

5

Meat Loaf Rocks

It's a great idea. The system manages to keep the integrity of your performance in exams whilst allowing for exceptional circumstances. Most exams are of a maximum marks of 100, then 5% only adds 5 marks (assuming you get 90 out of 100 marks after your parent has died). In most exams it will only add 2 or 3 marks which in reality is insignificant most of the time.

I think it is a good idea but I can see why it may be seen as unfair. I mean imagine a situation where you where 1 mark of a C grade you needed to get into college- your mate had done slightly worse than you in the exam but because his pet died (which he probabley has told you he didn't care about anyway) he got that C. Well it would piss me off anyway!

Reply 12

ali p

1

I think that in some circumstances its the only fair thing to do - for instance my friend had glandular fever for the majority of the exam period (which renders you pretty useless) but she was determined to take as many exams as possible and only missed 2! For the ones she did take she can hardly remember them and was in no fit state to do them or revise for them. She really deserves to have marks added on, or for them to look at her mock results because everyone deserves the grades that they would recieve when taking exams when you are feeling 100% well, not 5% well!

Reply 13

kellywood_5

17

I think it's a good idea apart from the extra marks for a headache. A headache is something that can't be proved, and in any case, you just get on with it. Awarding extra marks for serious illness or bereavement is more than fair, but I do think (if they don't already) that the grade a student ends up with should reflect their predicted grade. If someone was likely to get a D in their GCSE and actually got an G due to illness, they should get a D, not an A*. My best friend is a diabetic and went into hospital with keytone acidosis (that's probably spelt horribly wrong!) which can be fatal and only came out a few weeks before our AS exams. She couldn't finish her history coursework and missed lots of lessons. She also couldn't revise because she was tired all the time and it affected her memory. We got our AS results yesterday and she got AAB, which is what she deserved based on work during the year and predictions, but without special consideration I doubt she would have done as well.

Reply 14

sherunsaway

2

5% isn't going to take your from a G to an A*. No-one's been suggesting that.

Reply 15

ixnayonthehombre

1

Matthew1989

I beleive it is very fair for someone who has a head ache to get additional marks- I mean have you ever tried giving your full concentration on an exam when you have one? The system may not be perfect but it is the only one we have. If people were more honest then we would not have a problem with awarding extra marks.

Do you think I would get extra marks for my tamagotchi or digimon dying? Lol!

I have to admit, I agree with you Matthew. I took a Biology exam a few years ago and I had a cold, a headache and muscle cramps during the exam, and I ended up failing the paper when I knew I could have done so much better. Concentrating in that situation is very difficult especially when your taking an important GCSE exam.

Reply 16

cosmopolitan

i'm torn both ways with this one!

yes, i do believe that those who have had a hard time during exams (death of a loved one etc.) should be given special consideration but i think its ludricous to give extra marks (no matter how little) to someone who has a pet that just died (then again maybe i can't speak on this matter as the only pet i've ever had is a three legged dog whom i hated and who snapped at me incessantly!!!!)

I can't decide on sickness either as i know how difficult it is to do an exam while sick. i had an afternoon history exam and was puking my guts up all morning (due to a late night cramming session and too much coffee!) but still went through with it and never even thought about getting special consideration. You see thats the problem, its not only hard to distinguish between those who should get special consideration and those who shouldn't, its also difficult to give special consideration to some when others who are goin through similar grief, sickness etc. soldier on regardless, perphaps not aware of the special consideration they could recieve!

i think it would be better to set up an independent authority or use board of governors from the schools in question, to investigate each case in its entirity and to use guidelines in what special consideration to give, taking into account the amount of time a student had to prepare for an exam etc.

Reply 17

bad is good

i think it a good idea cos the stress and whatever has happened to u can affect the way u work and concentrate in the exam.
i was doing my maths 2nd paper and a girl had a fit in the middle of it, the school called the ambulance and everything. it was disturbing but she had to be helped, later on we found out we had an extra 20 mins and this was enough for me to finish off 5 questions thats a lot of marks. we also got an extra 3% added onto the paper. all the marks count, and it might make a slight diiference.

Reply 18

Matthew1989

5

bad is good

i think it a good idea cos the stress and whatever has happened to u can affect the way u work and concentrate in the exam.
i was doing my maths 2nd paper and a girl had a fit in the middle of it, the school called the ambulance and everything. it was disturbing but she had to be helped, later on we found out we had an extra 20 mins and this was enough for me to finish off 5 questions thats a lot of marks. we also got an extra 3% added onto the paper. all the marks count, and it might make a slight diiference.

Was the girl ok in the end?

Reply 19

bad is good

yes she was fne in the end it scared a lot of people. but she lost that paper and she had only got a d in her mock so they had to give her that

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