A D in the coursework and an A in the exam - how!

I mentioned this in the uni results 2006 thread.

The situation is, I did a project which I was confident was worth at least a B, and which my lecturer liked, but I got a D. My exam (which was 4 short tests) netted me an A.

Furthermore, a lot of my peers have got similar grades to me and those students who did well in the project didn't have anything outstanding or standing out from what I did.

The question is, can I complain or take some sort of action? I only want to bother doing so, if it means I can get a more reflective mark because everyone (my other lecturers, friends, classmates, parents) know I'm not worth a D and I'm always better at coursework than exams.

Furthermore, who the hell gets a D in a coursework assessment but an A in the exam?!

Reply 1

shuvle

different weightings ie: cw = 10% exams = 90% ???????

Reply 2

-Blade-

shuvle

different weightings ie: cw = 10% exams = 90% ???????

Nope. Exam = 40% (4 multiple choice tests) and coursework = 60%. But still doesn't explain the grade.

Reply 3

nikk

At the end of the day, it all boils down to the opinion of the lecturer. Earlier in the year, I had a piece of coursework in which I had covered all the points achieved by those that got the top grades, but I had included some additional information that the lecturer deemed as 'irrelevant'. So even though I had also included the material to in theory give me an A, I got a C because of the other stuff I included. I challenged the result but the eventual reply I got was that in Dr **** view, it wasn't an A, regardless of the marking criteria. So it depends on how harsh your lecturer is I suppose. I have heard of people complaining and getting their mark raised, but it didn't happen in my case.

Reply 4

coolico

I have the same thing as you, i have taken all my Alevels in 1year, and am predicted an A in each. I got an A in alevel Chem coursewrk, (i didi my investigation in hydrogen peroxide reactions: which is also what i was made to do in as bio.) In the chem i dropped like 4 points, in the bio got about 14/60 despite being told it was very good. OFStED have slagged off my college for bio for ages, saying it was the worst thing in the college! anyone think i could get it revised before uni? Or even get the tutor sacked, After all, she has obviously failed me.

Reply 5

Saffie

maybe you need to try and get a copy of the mark scheme or specification and go through and make sure you included everything. Then make sure that everything was in loads of detail. It doesnt necessarily have to sound good (in sciences). It just needs to seem in depth. (from my A2 experience anyway...)

Reply 6

iolaus

All of our works gets double marked (of course there are only 8 of us - I think they have to do it to 10 people or 10%, whichever is highest)

I've only had one piece of work where the two markers have disagreed - on the one where they did (one said 50%, the other 65% - I was awarded 58%), I'm pretty sure you could ask for it to be assessed by someone else, but be prepared for the results to be the same, sometimes I can't understand why an essay I've written looks worse to me than another and yet I get better marks in that one

Reply 7

nikk

Saffie

It doesnt necessarily have to sound good (in sciences). It just needs to seem in depth. (from my A2 experience anyway...)

Completely untrue of anything above A-level standard (which to be honest is an incredibly low level). Try reading any scientific publication.

Reply 8

-Blade-

This is the problem with education - exams and coursework. Exams at least aren't opinion (well not in maths or technical computing where you are doing sums and writing facts, other subjects may have opinion fair enough). With coursework, because it is so open ended (at least this coursework I have a D for anyway), and there's a lot of subjective stuff, it is down to opinion. A difference of opinion should not result in a crap grade (that's what a D is).

What annoys me even more is that, in the communication between me and my lecturer (which, fair enough, was minimal because I knew what I was doing), my lecturer didn't have any concerns - the only concerns where with the initial idea but I ironed these out.

Those students who did get a decent grade had work which had no outstanding features to mine.

If logic prevails here, and it probably doesn't, I should have a very high grade because my work had a lot of advanced features. The project was to make a Director Shockwave movie. My work had a paint feature, quizzes, and loads more. All this is worth more than some zoom functionality and the like - which is what my mates did, but they didn't do anything as complex as a paint application.

I've emailed the lecturer and will email my tutor, and I will get the real mark scheme. For now I have the coursework briefing, and I've fulfilled everything on there.

I've heard of select students work being double marked/moderated, but that is hardly fair. If my work is worth an A, it should get an A, and not be brought down because of some procedure bs.

I got a C in another module but I cann accept that as I made elementary mistakes and parts of the work was rushed with poor presentation - all this was very bad for my case. But with this module, a C overall is unacceptable.

Even if my lecturer and some moderator disagreed, I find it shocking I have been marked so low - in a group of 5 other students who have similar marks.

I will definately follow this up!