Internal Assessments for external qualifications

This policy relates to a usual exam year where Internal Assessments are marked and then moderated by the Awarding Body.  Where the awarding Body or National Education Regulatory Bodies make amendments to the Awarding of Qualifications, LPTC may withhold assessment mark information pending further guidance.

In accordance with the Code of Practice for the conduct of external qualifications produced by QCA, LPTC is committed to ensuring that:

• internal assessments are conducted by fully qualified staff/tutors who have the appropriate knowledge, understanding and skills;
• assessment evidence provided by candidates has been produced and authenticated according to the requirements of the specification;
• the consistency of the internal assessment is secured through internal standardisation where necessary;
• staff/tutors responsible for internal standardisation attend any compulsory training sessions;
• For those taking exams with JCQ Awarding Bodies, candidates will have access to the mark awarded by LPTC staff, prior to submission to the awarding Body for moderation and grading in line with the timescales in this policy;
• provide candidates with an opportunity to request copies of materials to inform their decision on whether to request a review of the Centre mark (Internal Appeal).

If a candidate is unhappy with the mark received, they should, in the first instance, contact the member of staff/tutor responsible for the department marking. If, following this discussion, the candidate feels that the correct process has not happened in relation to their work, or that the marking has not been applied fairly and in accordance with the Awarding Body’s specification and subject-specific materials, they may make use of this appeals procedure.

Candidates must take note that the mark awarded does not relate to a grade, and must not be compared to any existing grade boundaries for previous exam seasons. Grade boundaries for components are only made available at the point of the published results release.

The Appeals Process (JCQ Awarding Bodies only)

Each awarding body publishes its own arrangements for appeals against its decisions.

In addition an appeal may be made to the Centre concerning internal assessment decisions, by formal written submission no later than 7 calendar days after receiving formal notification of the mark (therefore if marks are received on a Monday, the first calendar day for the purposes of an appeal will be the following day on the Tuesday with the seventh and final day to submit an appeal being the following Monday). This submission must by via email to appeal@londonptcollege.ac.uk, subject header ‘Appeal against Internally Marked Assessment – JCQ Awarding Body’.

This deadline may be extended in very rare and exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Head of Centre, and with provision of acceptable evidence to explain why the appeal was not able to be made within the specified time.

Candidates may request further material (such as copies of the marking guidance or subject specific information) to assist with their decision. This request must be made via email to appeal@londonptcollege.ac.uk, subject header ‘URGENT – Request for further Material’ with sufficient time to meet the 7 day deadline for formal submission to the NEA ADMINISTRATOR. Any such request for additional material will be responded to within 1 working day.  Applications which do not clearly state the grounds for appeal and the sections that the appeal is related to will not be accepted;

The enquiry into the internal procedure will normally be led by Exam officer with responsibility for examinations, provided that they have played no part in the original internal assessment process. An Assessor, who will be a subject expert not previously involved with the marking or moderation process of the candidate’s work, with the appropriate competence and knowledge of the specification, and with no personal interest in the outcome of the review will be assigned to carry out the review, and will respond to the appeal in writing. A subject expert with the appropriate competence and knowledge may be sourced externally.

The reviewer will be instructed to ensure that the marking is consistent with the standard set by the Centre in line with the marking guidance from the Awarding Body.

The appellant and Head of Centre will be informed in writing of the outcome of the appeal 7 calendar days after the date of the appellant’s formal written submission (therefore if an appeal is received on a Monday, the first calendar day for the purposes of an appeal will be the following day on the Tuesday with the seventh and final day to provide an outcome to the appeal being the following Monday).

The NEA ADMINISTRATOR will keep a record of all requests for information / formal appeals and their outcomes, and make them available for the Awarding Body if requested.

Each awarding body specifies detailed criteria for the internal assessment of work. In addition, the awarding body must moderate the assessment and the final judgement on marks awarded is that of the awarding body. Appeals against matters outside the Centre’s control will not be considered in the School’s appeals procedure.

The Appeals Process (CAiE only)

Candidates will not be informed of their marks to be submitted to CAiE. 

If a candidate believes that they have not been treated fairly or been provided with the correct information or any required pre-release material where applicable during the NEA preparation or marking process, they may submit an appeal to the Head of Centre no later than 7 working days after submission of their work for marking detailing their concern with the process. This submission must by via email to appeal@londonptcollege.ac.uk, subject header ‘Appeal against Internally Marked Assessment process – CAiE.

Late applications will not be considered except in very rare and exceptional circumstances, and will suitable evidence as to the cause of the delay.

Post-Results Review of Marking(ROMs)

Where a candidate is unhappy with the mark awarded for a public written exam component, access to their script(s) and/or a Review of marking may be requested.

The candidate will be required to confirm that they accept that the marks may remain unchanged, may go up, or down – and that any change may impact the overall grade either negatively or positively.

Fees for this service are payable by the candidate at the time of the request. Applications will be accepted electronically.

Full details of this procedure – including application process, fees, and deadlines – are available with the Statements of Results issued to the candidates in August, and available on the centre’s website by the end of the public examination series .

The candidate may choose to make a direct application to the Awarding Body for access to their script(s) and/or Review of Marking by contacting the applicable Awarding Body if they prefer to do so, although it is recommended that applications are made through LPTC where possible.

Appeal against a Post-Results Review of Marking outcome

Where a candidate is unhappy with the outcome of  Review of Marking (ROM), they may follow the Appeals guidance from the Awarding Body in the outcome letter if they made their application directly to the Awarding Body.  Candidates should note that an appeal must make specific reference to the errors in marking in line with Awarding Body marking guidance for the reviewed paper being appealed.

If the candidate made their original post results review through LPTC, they should consider making any request for an appeal through LPTC.  The following should be noted for appeals requested through LPTC

– in rare and exceptional circumstances – ask LPTC o consider making an appeal against the decision.  The final authorisation for any appeal lies with the Head of Centre – Feras K Abed.  The cost of any authorised appeal must be paid by the candidate in advance of the application being submitted by LPTC.  The deadline for an appeal to be requested via LPTC is 20 days from the date of the outcome decision letter.

LPTC will only consider making an appeal if the BOTH of the following criteria are met:

• In the opinion of the subject expert the review of marking has not corrected specific errors in the original marking (based on the Awarding Body markscheme for the paper); AND
• In the opinion of the subject expert the correction of these specific errors would gain sufficient marks to improve the overall grade for the qualification.

Appeal against a centre decision not to support an appeal against a Review of Marking outcome(ROM)  / Review of Moderation (ROMM Service 3) 

Where a candidate disagrees with a centre decision not to support an appeal against a review of marking or a review of moderation, the centre will:

• Consider whether the grounds given for appeal meet the acceptable reasons for appeal as stated by the Awarding Body and JCQ Appeals booklet;
• Consider whether the review of marking outcome has failed to rectify any errors in marking with specific reference to the published mark scheme, and whether such an appeal – if successful – would have a reasonable chance of improving the overall grade;
• Consider whether the appeal has been made with sufficient time to meet the appropriate deadline;
• Inform the candidate that a review of moderation cannot be requested for the work of an individual candidate or the work of a candidate not in the original sample;
• Consult the moderator’s report/feedback to identify any issues raised;
• Determine if the centre’s internally assessed marks have been accepted without change by the awarding body – if this is the case, a RoMM service 3 (Review of moderation) will not be available;
• Determine if there are any grounds to submit a request for a review of moderation for the work of candidates in the original sample.

If a Candidate believes there are grounds to appeal against the centre’s decision not to support an appeal against a review of results outcome or review of moderation request, they may make a formal appeal via email to appeal@londonptcollege.ac.uk, subject header ‘URGENT – Appeal against ROM outcome or ROMM Service 3’ within 20 days of the date stated on the ROM outcome letter (candidates have the right of appeal directly to the Awarding Body if the centre will not accept their appeal against a review of marking outcome) or no later than 10 days prior to the Post results deadline for ROMM Service 3 requests.

Appeal against a centre decision not to support an application for Special Consideration

Where a candidate disagrees with a centre decision not to support a request for Special Consideration, the centre will:

• Consider whether the grounds given for appeal meet the acceptable reasons for Special Consideration as stated by the Awarding Body and JCQ regulations;
• Consider whether the evidence provided in support of the special consideration request meets the published requirements;
• Consider whether the request has been made with sufficient time to meet the appropriate deadline;
• Inform the candidate where an application cannot be requested for the specified reason in line with the published regulations and requirements;
• Inform the candidate where an application cannot be requested for the specified reason due to lack of evidence.

The Head of Centre will consider the application, and with reference to the acceptable reasons for appeal as given by the Awarding Body and JCQ Appeals booklet, will make a final decision.   The candidate will be informed of that decision within 7 calendar days.