AQA Drama GCSE results

Well, I'm completeley at a loss as to know what to do. Our performance marks got 92% A*-C but when the written marks were added it went down to 14%!! I had the papers re marked and although they changed some of the marks the grades stayed the same. I downloaded the example Grade A papers from the AQA website and compared them with my students returned papers and I', blessed if I can see why mine did so badly as their papers were not so different. I am dithering with changing boards as I am trying to convince myself that AQA cannot be so bad next year but I may be living in a fools paradise. I've done AQA GCSE for years and also A Level. I wonder if it's too late to change the year 10's. Any advice anyone?

 

I contemplated changing to WJEC but (a) I'm not keen on the set texts, and (b) I've got on really well with AQA up until this year. I've taken the decision to stay with AQA for one more year in the hope that they know (even if they're not admitting it publicly) that they've cocked up big time and that they won't want to risk a recurrence this year and so will address their shortcomings. I've also got myself booked on one of the feedback meetings (at £199!) and intend to do my best to ensure that I understand what they want with the written paper. If, after one more year and my efforts to improve my school's written paper marks, they still end up with grades that don't in my mind reflect their abilities and achievement, I'll then DEFINITELY move to WJEC for the following year.

 

kvl27 - they can answer on live theatre for section C of the exam I think, and there aren't any set texts anymore, you can choose the texts yourself. Not that I'm defending AQA - I'm having sleepless nights already about next year's written paper and how on earth to prepare students for an impossible exam!

 

jennilou, kvl27 was referring to the WJEC specification when talking about set texts and the live theatre question.

 

Anyone logged an appeal yet following enquiries about results?

 

I unfortunately couldn't afford to get a remark and from the looks of it it wouldn't have made my life any easier! I'm attending the AQA meeting next week and just can't wait to see how they explain how to get the marks and how past students got it soo wrong! Anyone else attending these - can't believe we have to pay nearly £200 for the chance to see what went wrong!

 

Yes me! and after the standardisation meeting yesterday where they refused to talk about it, however slipped in exemplar exam work into our packs it is going to be really interesting!

 

I've had no word on standardisation meetings yet? I better ring them - I thought I'd read that they were going to be on line and no more face to face meetings? I can't see how they can get out of talking about it next week!

 

You CAN still go on a standardisation course - they're bookable on the AQA website - but you don't HAVE to, and online standardisation is now available on the AQA website once you've logged on to e-AQA. For teachers new to the course, the face-to-face meetings are a good idea, but for more experienced drama teachers who THOUGHT they knew what they were doing with this course, there's a lovely reassuring message from our glorious leader Sue Elles on the 'welcome to online standardisation' page, together with a photo of her at the top. She's taken her glasses off, like she expects to be punched... (Actually, I feel quite sorry for her, tbh.)

 

Great tip, foxyloxy! We are not new to the course, but will try and get on a standardisation meeting this year regardless - some face to face time would be great with AQA! ;-)

 

Any updates from anyone attending an AQA 'feedback' meeting? I believe they started on 7 November.

 

Well according to the stats that were repeated we are clearly in the minority! It seems that (sorry left pack at school so only a guess) a large percentage managed to get an overall C grade, though how many of those Cs were meant to be As I have no idea. The performance grades were, as we know, high dramatically dipping after a C grade. I found when I spoke to a number of teachers there that they all had tales of woe based on the exam! We did get a booklet with exemplar material from the exam with the markers feedback - although I found it worrying that someone who had marked papers last year asked a question about the exam paper?!
I came away feeling pretty depressed and not much the wiser for what went wrong for our exam. Tips were to go through how to fill in an answer booklet, how to break down the compulsory question and then guidance on section B and C. I was also amused by the comparison of AQA to other boards just incase you were thinking the grass was greener! Also a plee for markers was repeated for next year. Unfortunately the very nature of the course was being talked at all day - I don't blame Sue at all for that as that was what had to be done but I'd say most were there about the exam. I need to go through everything from the day again to see how I can change my resources from last year. This is of course my personal view of the whole thing - be interesting to hear how anyone else thought it had gone.

 

<font face="Calibri" size="3"> I j</font>ust phoned AQA to find out the name of the person responsible for the car-crash that was this year's written exam marking. No one in the office could tell me the name of the chief examiner. I then enquired as to whether they were in hiding (understandable in the circumstances).


In my case I have had an unbelieveable raft appalling of grades which beggar belief.
M<font size="3">y cohort of students finishing in 2012 also took the exam
in 2011 to get some experience. The theory was that if any of them did well
enough to be able to drop the written aspect in year 11 they would do so. Four
or five students did just that and I was happy with the way the paper was
marked in that the results were predictable and consistent with my knowledge of
the academic abilities of the students. </font>
The rest of the cohort re-took the exam this year to improve
their grade. Twelve out of the sixteen
candidates in year 11 who re-took were awarded less UMS points than when they
took it the year before. And the majority of these weren&rsquo;t even close. One candidate who achieved 96 (B) marks in 2011 managed 53(E) in 2012. Another achieves 66 (D) in 2011 and 36 (F) in 2012. What these figures show to the
outside world is that my colleagues and I are effectively &lsquo;un-teaching&rsquo; our
students and that a year&rsquo;s more experience and hard-grind have enabled them to
fail more catastrophically. This year&rsquo;s Yr 10 cohort, have received a similar
kicking with the top mark of 75 (C) being achieved by a highly academic candidate
who was writing practice answers which were wouldn't have looked out of place in university.

<font face="Times New Roman" size="3"></font>

 

I Have just sent this to Sue Lewis. I suggest we keep the pressure up by bombarding them.
slewis@aqa.org.uk
Sue
Lewis <font face="Calibri" size="3">GCSE
DRAMA, </font>AQA, <font face="Calibri" size="3">GUILDFORD</font>

24.09.12

<font face="Calibri">Centre No:
*****</font>
Dear
Ms Lewis,

Having
received a number of unchanged 're-marks' and a staggeringly cursory, generic,
emailed response to my very specific requests for clarification from the Chief
Examiner, I am writing again to ask for some help with the AQA written paper.


Please
peruse the excel sheet attached. This gives details of my Yr 11 students written
exam results for 2011 and 2012. The other sheet is an analysis of my Yr 10
cohort who took the exam early.

<font face="Calibri">You will notice that my cohort of students finishing in 2012 also
took the exam in 2011 to get some experience. The theory was that if any of them
did well enough to be able to drop the written aspect in year 11 they would do
so. Four or five students did just that and I was happy with the way the paper
was marked in that the results were predictable and consistent with my knowledge
of the academic abilities of the students.
</font>

The
rest of the cohort re-took the exam this year to improve their grade. Twelve out of the sixteen candidates in year
11 who re-took were awarded less UMS points than when they took it the year
before. And the majority of these weren&rsquo;t even close. I draw your attention to
candidate no: **** who achieved 96 (B) marks in 2011 and 53(E) in 2012.
Candidate no: **** achieves 66 (D) in 2011 and 36 (F) in 2012. What these
figures show to the outside world is that my colleagues and I are effectively
&lsquo;un-teaching&rsquo; our students and that a year&rsquo;s more experience and hard-grind have
enabled them to fail more catastrophically. This year&rsquo;s Yr 10 cohort, have
received a similar kicking with the top mark of 75 being achieved by a highly
academic candidate (****) who was writing practice answers which were faultless.


Amongst those students in Yr 10 (see attached analysis) and Yr 11
there are some extremely academic, industrious and able children whose results
in other subjects are all A&rsquo;s and A*&rsquo;s. They have been awarded E&rsquo;s and F&rsquo;s by
the AQA Drama examiner. We have had no previous experience of grades like
this.

I&rsquo;m
sure you will understand that this turn of events has given the students and
their parents every right to doubt the abilities and professionalism of me and
my colleagues, (all of whom are highly experienced with exceptional
track-records).

I have
written to the parents, many of whom have contacted me to come up with some form
of justification for the raft of appalling grades which beggar belief. Apart
from admitting that my department is incompetent, I am at a loss for what to
say. However I have given them a link to the lively 26 page discussion which is
taking place on TES website https://community.tes.co.uk/forums/t/513910.aspx which
overwhelmingly suggests that AQA has acted in an unbelievably cavalier and
arbitrary way by jettisoning its established mark schemes and grade boundaries,
instituting much harsher ones and omitting to tell the poor customers (teachers
and pupils) who are paying AQA staff wages.

Trying
to pass the AQA Unit 1 is like playing a game against another team where only
the opposition know the rules.
<font size="3">
</font>I am
co-ordinating a group action from NISDA (National Independent School's Drama
Association) regarding this matter and I will be publishing your detailed
response on ours and the TES website.
I
would like:

1. a
detailed explanation of how AQA justifies the fact that it has changed the grade
boundaries/mark schemes without informing anyone

2. an
explanation as to how my Yr 11 cohort have got so much worse after a year's more
experience

3. an
apology from AQA for the countless hours of work I and other colleagues have put
in to limit the damage

4. an
assurance from AQA that this will never happen again

5. a
review of my cohort using fair mark schemes

I look
forward to hearing from you.

Yours
Sincerely

Steve Eaton Evans

Head
of Performing Arts

 

I am shocked by my written results they are appalling low. One A when the majority are A* practical pupils and A* English pupils so they are not struggling with written work. I spent an exceptional amount of time studying for this written paper and dissecting online resources etc to make sure I didn't let pupils down by not thoroughly preparing them for this written section so I am devastated. Have contacted the board what a let down.

 

Me too, shocking reading. Examiner's report is all about students not reading the questions properly - well make the question's more straight forward so they don't mis-read!! According the e-AQA the results were fairly low across all centres - the exam board is going to be fending off thousands of complaints methinks. For god's sake, I've gone from 68% A*-A to 33% this year!

 

this seems to be an old thread that has popped up again.

our 2013 results in the written paper are mystifying. lots of the same experiences i have read from others on here in previous years. we have students with A* practical understanding, and A grades in English, getting pitiful marks on their written paper. my HoD is distraught and of course, blaming herself.

we're now identifying the 10% we will send off for a re-mark

 

And the outcome was..... ?

 

We are the same. Reasonable results overall but some very strange things going on with the written marks. One boy got A* for English but D for the Drama written exam. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. We have already lodged a formal complaint regarding the requirement to refer to the script in section C. My students were in tears because this freaked them out so much.

 

I've posted separately outlining the grade boundary shift that has taken place, essentially in 2010 171/200 was an A*, this year it's a B. For the written paper alone, 63/80 was an A* in 2010, this year it's a B. This is similar throughout the range of grades.

Their papers are being marked at the same standard as students who gained higher grades previously, the marking is consistent over the years, the grade bouindaries are not.