Marking and submitting controlled assessment | Pearson qualifications

Marking and submitting controlled assessment

Thu Mar 27 15:29:00 UTC 2014

The final date for submitting your marks and samples of work is 15 May. By this date you must have submitted your controlled assessment marks to Edexcel, and have sent your sample to the moderator.

Read more
Photos depicting four fieldwork themes

{{ gatDoctitle }}

{{invalidUserName}}
{{invalidUserMail}}
{{errorMessage}}

How do I submit the marks?

Your marks can be submitted on an OPTEMS form, or online via Edexcel Online/EDI.
OPTEMS mark sheets arrive in schools and colleges mid to late April 2014 for the 2014 submission. They contain the names of all the students you entered for Unit 4 in that series. If you haven't received your OPTEMS and the mark submission deadline is fast approaching, ask your examinations officer for an update.

You can fill in your students' total raw marks on the OPTEMS form.

You need to send the top copy of the form to us. The address should be printed on the OPTEMS form and an envelope should have been provided for this purpose.

You keep a copy of the form for your own records, and send a copy of the form to the moderator with the sample of work (the form is printed in triplicate). 

Marks can also be submitted online. If you are submitting marks online, you must print out a copy of the marks for the moderator and for your own records.

If you have already submitted a mark but it needs to be amended (for example, because of an administrative error), please email EMgeography@pearson.com with details of the amended point score.

How do I identify the sample of work that needs to be sent to the moderator?

On the OPTEMS mark sheet there will be an asterisk (*) next to the name of each student whose work we want to see for moderation. You also need to send the work of the highest- and lowest-scoring candidates if they are not part of the requested sample.

You can also check Edexcel Online to identify which work needs to be sent for moderation - there will be a tick next to the candidates' names. Here's how:

  1. Go to Edexcel Online and enter your centre number.
  2. Choose GCSE in the drop-down menu on the left.
  3. Choose 'Candidates' - 'Search by course'.
  4. Select the session from the central drop down menu 'June 2014'.
  5. You should see a box pop up with all the units entered with Edxecel for entire school.
  6. Click on the link 'Papers' for the unit you are interested in (for example, 5GA04 or 5GB04).
  7. Click on the link that says 'Coursework Marks' (there is also a link that says 'Moderator details' - this is where you find out who to send the sample of candidates work to).
  8. You will see a list of your candidates and should enter their marks here.
  9. You will also see a column entitled 'Included in Sample'. If there is a tick in this column then you will need to send us this candidate's work.

Who is my moderator?

As well as an OPTEMS form, you should also receive, via your examinations officer, a moderator address label and envelope with which to send the coursework sample. You can also check your moderator's name and address on Edexcel Online following the steps above.

Why do I have to submit estimated grades for controlled assessment?

Estimated grades are used as part of the awarding process to help recommend grade boundaries and may also be used if students miss examinations for medical reasons to calculate an overall grade. These estimated grades should be based on your professional judgement and not on a notion of where raw grade boundaries might be set in June 2013.

Where are the Candidate Record Sheets for 2014 submission?

These are different from those that you've been using because the assessment criteria have changed for first assessment in summer 2014.

{{ gatDoctitle }}

{{invalidUserName}}
{{invalidUserMail}}
{{errorMessage}}

Do we have to annotate the controlled assessment during marking?

No, but it would be beneficial to justify decisions on the mark scheme (which can be found on the controlled assessment candidate record sheet) - for example, the use of underlining and adding comments on this mark sheet. This will help with both internal cross-moderation and external moderation.

How flexible is the word limit?

For 2014 submissions of GCSE Geography Unit 4 controlled assessment every word counts (including tables, graphs, annotations and references, etc.) towards the 2,000 word total. The entire piece of GCSE geography controlled assessment should be marked against all of the assessment criteria. Writing within the word limit is just one part of the assessment criterion (planning and organisation). Teachers should not award students a mark in the top band of the mark scheme for criterion 'planning and organisation' if they exceed the word limit by 10 per cent.

For submission from 2015, the guidance in the specification for Unit 4 has been amended to read: "Students are required to produce around 2000 words. A student’s word total may be 10 per cent either side of the 2000-word limit. Words included in tables, graphs, quotations and references do not need to be included in the word total. Tables must not be used for extended writing as a method of exceeding the word limit."

What support is there for the 2015 tasks?

As usual, we've put together some suggested possible fieldwork contexts for you to tailor to your location if you so wish.

{{ gatDoctitle }}

{{invalidUserName}}
{{invalidUserMail}}
{{errorMessage}}

When are the 2016 tasks coming out?

These are scheduled are schedualed for release on 5 June 2014 and you'll find them under Documents > Controlled Assessment > Tasks > June 2016.

Good luck - and if you have any questions, please just drop us an email.

Jon
Jon Wolton, Geography subject advisor
Jon WoltonGeography
+44 (0) 344 463 2535 (Teaching Services team | Mon - Fri, 8am - 5pm GMT)
TeachingGeography@pearson.com
Sign up for subject advisor updates Visit the customer support portal Visit your geography community page Book an appointment with your subject advisor
× ⧉ −

Are you sure you want to exit this session?