Edexel

I got my maths coursework marks back from Edexel yesterday, and my tutor was shocked as he leafed through the classes scores, they'd been marked EXTREMELY low compared to what our lecturers had originally marked them.

Anyone else had any problems such as this?

I know they were in the media alot the other year for mixing exam papers up, and generally making big cock ups.

hmmm, I've never had any problems like that with regard to subjects such as maths, where it's basically right or wrong, no matter who's marking it.

I havent heard about my coursework - i'll let you know when I do though.

I had really bad results from OCR in January. They were really easy papers and everyone in my class did really badly - the system really needs sorting out.

What is Edexel, and OCR?
Mandatory testing?

Edexel are the demons, i remembered when i done my GCSE's two years ago. All i can say..those barstards very tight when it comes to marks.

In England, maths is not a question of getting the answers right or wrong. In fact the answers dont' get you many points. Its how you reach the answer that is important.

What is Edexel, and OCR?

They are companies that set test papers for different age groups. For example, I am about to sit A-Levels which are the final qualifications of high school/secondary school.

I got a U in my P3 3 tries running - I swear EdExcel must have it in for me!

Originally posted by parrhesia
What is Edexel, and OCR?
Mandatory testing?

UK Exam board, evil people...very evil lol Edexel are the people incharge of my BTEC diploma in IT

Originally posted by Humpy
In England, maths is not a question of getting the answers right or wrong. In fact the answers dont' get you many points. Its how you reach the answer that is important.

What is Edexel, and OCR?

Makes sense. The process is important, especially when you can use a calculator.


They are companies that set test papers for different age groups. For example, I am about to sit A-Levels which are the final qualifications of high school/secondary school.

Do you have to take these tests? Or is it optional, depending on what you want to pursue after highschool?

Well, I got in early and found my results, so not many people have got there's back yet, and my oh my there are going to be some seriously annoyed people.
They wanted to put me in for Foundation GCSE maths . I planned on taking Intermediate, and that was a safe bet! I got told by numerous people I could do higher if I wanted. I'm certainly going to be having words with the Head of maths at college. Nooo way am I going to be made out to be dumb.
Evil evil evil god damn edexel.
(I have edexel written on my punch bag written in board marker currently, I had to fix it last night though, I got carried away at the thought of being a dumb-sh*t)

Well...I'm not UK kid so I can't eally cant say anything, except that iw ill say that the testing here (cough cough TEXAS AHHHH!!!!) is probably on par with suckiness.

We've got TAKS now, I'm taking it next week. Let's just say its little thing I like to call retardation. We also have these "Benchmarks," which we have to take every 9 weeks. They are the worst compiled test I've ever taken. Te questions are completely ff, wrong subect, wrong grade level, in osme cases...there is no right answer so whatever you put, you'll get it wrong!!!!

Yay for school board testing! Hooray!

GCSE's years are the most stressful period for UK students. The UK exam board are the spawn of Satan

Yep. I can't wait for my Alevels, well, I say this now...

I'm glad Edexel are only marking my maths; saying this, maths is one of my worst subjects (not so bad that I do foundation god dammit!) so I hope they aren't as bad with marking papers.

When I was in school we didn't have any mandatory testing throughout school, not even to enter University in Canada.
Now they have mandatory testing in grades 3, 6 (I think) and 9 for maths, and a grade 10 english test, that must be passed in order to graduate.
Personally, I don't see the point.

Originally posted by infinite
GCSE's years are the most stressful period for UK students. The UK exam board are the spawn of Satan

Thats probably more the fault of the schools, teachers and system in general. They try to stress you out, when if you're clever, you're just bored, not stressed. My GCSE geography class yesterday was doing colouring in, and i'm supposedly gifted and talented. Since year 8 I'm convinced I've been getting stupider.

A point to remember with coursework: A) teachers always mark it generousy so their results look better.

In England, maths is not a question of getting the answers right or wrong. In fact the answers dont' get you many points. Its how you reach the answer that is important.

True. Those exam boards are some dickheads with that. I've always been and 'as long as its right, it doesn't matter how you get the answer' type of guy, but edexcel gives you marks for logical train of thought and writinga report of your analysis and # like that on their coursework investigations.

Ladycool, was it the cars and depreciation one or the opposite corners of a number grid one?

As someone who work in the area of work based learning (I am a retention officer - a post created to keep people on vocational courses), I have direct experience of dealing with Edexcel, OCR and the QCA.

I can tell you that the problems with Edexcel are long running and very serious. They are a private company employed by the government who seem to have no regard to the lives they are affecting.

Among the top issues in this case are the socio-political issues of marking structures and grades:

"At one time, exams worked on the basis of objectively judging what standard the examinee was working to, by means of written exam papers, coursework or whatever, and assigning a grade based on the objective level reached. Not any more. What happens now is that boards are told what percentage of students must get an A, what percentage a B, and so on, and the board adjusts their grade boundaries to reflect this. This means that your grade is determined not purely on your own performance, but on your performance as ranked against others in your year-group." Full Story

Add to this the problems with their own examination paper where, on one maths paper, one of the questions they actually set was deemed impossible to complete. It had a diagram with two different numbers on it making the actual calculations impossible as the numbers given were illogical

"Two sixth formers who were affected say the disruption to their exam could cost them a university place.

At Allerton High School in Leeds, students Amit Bharath and Adam Sissman raised their concerns about the maths paper with their teachers, who contacted Edexcel.

Amit said the mistake had affected his concentration and he might miss the grades he needed to study medicine at university.

"The calculations I was doing I kept getting wrong and I did not know why," he said.

"First I thought that it was just basic arithmetic - but then, when I looked at it, the numbers had been written wrongly." Full Story

And then there was the incident about the board repeating questions in an exam which were identical to some of those used in the mock exams:

"One of the main examination boards repeated questions from its practice AS-level papers in the real exams students sat this summer.

Edexcel's AS-level in Religious Studies included questions students might already have tackled on the specimen papers.

Edexcel told BBC News Online there were only so many ways to ask questions in an exam." Full Story

And they can't even get grading right:

"More than 10,000 sixth-formers have been given the wrong results for an information technology examination - and some will have to resit the tests.

In total, 3,705 information technology students, who were celebrating a pass on Monday, have now been told they failed and will have to re-sit key skills tests.

The error, by the applied qualifications provider, Edexcel, was caused by a single pass mark being put into computers instead of different pass marks for each of the six tests." Full Story

These errors go on and on and on and on and......etc

And it seems that every time they make a mistake, the government simplys slaps their wrist and tells them to do better next time. In my opinion, the whole system is unworkable - 'they' state that it is a free market and that anyone can apply to become an examinations board but, when you look at the barriers to entry, it would be almost iimpossible to gain entry into this market, thus the system is an oligopoly in which the government needs to maintain the status quo to give the impression of a system that works.

*Soapbox away - back to work*

Originally posted by LadyCool21
Yep. I can't wait for my Alevels, well, I say this now...

I'm glad Edexel are only marking my maths; saying this, maths is one of my worst subjects (not so bad that I do foundation god dammit!) so I hope they aren't as bad with marking papers.

I was lucky. The Oxford & Cambridge board marked mine (elite school of course ). I still screwed up Maths though