Two exam boards have defended their moderation processes after a slew of teachers claimed their students’ A-level history coursework grades were inexplicably “annihilated”.
History teachers have complained to Schools Week that coursework moderation by OCR and AQA this year was the harshest they’ve ever seen.
They claim a number of students missed out on first-place university picks as a result, with multiple claiming some pupils were docked 10 marks or more out of a possible 40.
But OCR said it has not “detected anything unusual” about the level of moderation this year. AQA insisted its moderation for A-level history “found almost three-quarters of centres did not require any alteration to their marking, broadly in line with previous years”.
For non-exam assessment (NEA), schools mark the coursework and exam boards moderate it. But some students have been docked more than a quarter of the available marks this year, teachers claimed.
‘Harsh’ marks reduced students to tears
Samuel, a head of history at a London secondary school who did not want his full name published, said that in his 16-year teaching career, his non-exam assessment grades for history have never been marked down before.
But this year all 10 of his students were marked down by around 12 to 15 marks by AQA for the history coursework component, he claimed.
“I literally can’t believe it, I’m shocked, I got a 70 per cent pass rate but the highest grade was a C (overall for history due to the lower NEA scores),” added the teacher.
“If you think a grade boundary is like one mark, that’s a lot of students that have been essentially cheated out of a B,” he said.
“So all of my students who have passed haven’t got the UCAS points to go on to the universities they wanted… it’s made a big impact on their lives.”
Adam, head of history at an outer London secondary school, has also “never seen so many student marks reduced” through the AQA moderation process.
“I have had years of unchanged scores and so have always used the same practices each year to ensure consistent outcomes for my students,” he said.
But he said about 15 of his 19-strong history cohort this year got unexpectedly low coursework marks; including a “star student” who had five marks docked from one of the “strongest” bits of history coursework the school had ever sent off.
“Some students have lost seven marks, some are saying, this has been the difference between getting their offer place or not,” he added.
While the unexpectedly harsh results were “heart-breaking for kids and humiliating for (his) department”, Adam said he had not yet received the moderator’s report, leaving him unable to explain the discrepancies to “distraught” students and their “angry” parents.
He said teachers’ last memory of some of these students will be “them going home in tears”.
‘Absurd and gut-wrenching’ moderation changes
Rosie Hainsworth, a history teacher at a school in the East Midlands, has only ever seen tweaks to NEA marking once or twice previously.
But she was “appalled” to find scores were widely “pulled down” after moderation, with some reduced by up to 12 marks out of 40.
She said almost all of their 25 students were downgraded but “on a sliding scale” with those with the highest initial marks the worst hit.
“All students who had received 17 out of 40 or more were downgraded significantly,” she added.
As a result, she claimed that none of the school’s A-level students got above a low B in their coursework, “despite sizeable percentages achieving A/A* in each of the examined units”.
Several students missed out on their overall grade due to the “extreme decrease” in coursework grades. “Many were understandably devastated upon receiving their results,” she added, saying the outcomes were “simultaneously absurd and gut-wrenching”,
“Having overseen this unit for eight years, I can say with all confidence that our internal processes have only improved since its inception, as well as our experience in delivering the skills required,” she added.
“We hope OCR realises the urgent need to review their own processes, in particular the consistency of moderation, and indeed of guidance provided, so that no more hardworking students are further disadvantaged in future.”
Elsewhere, Tom, a history teacher at a secondary school in Hertfordshire said “some of the changes at my school were quite incredible”.
Half of the school’s A-level history appear to have been had “drastic reductions to coursework marks during moderation by OCR,” he claimed.
Students getting A*s and As on exams got Cs and Ds in their coursework. In total, Schools Week is aware of at least six schools that have been severely impacted.
An AQA spokesperson said its moderation of centre assessment for the subject found “almost three-quarters of centres did not require any alteration to their marking, which is broadly in line with previous years”.
But they invited feedback from teachers, adding schools can also apply for a review of moderation.
An OCR spokesperson added: “We haven’t detected anything unusual about the level of moderation in this year’s coursework, which remains at a similar level to the previous year.
“Students and teachers have again performed really well at A Level History this year and produced some excellent results.
“The variety and volume of history coursework means there will always be some moderating of marks to ensure grading is consistent nationally and across years. The vast majority of mark changes are minor.”
