Edexcel GCSE Music: April 2019 update

Under length performance penalty and submitting scores for summer 2019 assessments

Ofqual has announced that candidates should no longer be awarded a 0-mark penalty for performances that are under the 4 minute time requirement. Instead, we will be applying a proportionate penalty to performances that do not meet the minimum time requirement marks after the moderation process.

Component 2 - Composing also had a 0-mark penalty for submissions that did not meet the minimum time requirement. We have taken the opportunity to revisit this rule and will apply the same approach. Therefore, if a Composition submission is under 3 minutes a proportional penalty will be applied after moderation.

Ofqual also included in the consultation the requirement to include a written/notated score for performances, if one exists. Where a written score or lead sheet exists then this must be submitted with the recording of the performance. If a piece has been learnt aurally then a professional reference recording may be submitted in addition.

If a written score or lead sheet does not exist then a professional reference recording, written commentary, stimulus for improvised performances, track sheets, tables or diagrams must be submitted.

What does this mean for you?

1. You should mark all performances and compositions using the marking grids in the specification and complete the Performance authentication sheet (PAS) and the Composition authentication sheet (CAS) forms with accurate timings. The current  PAS and CAS forms instruct you to award 0 marks if under the time requirements - please ignore this statement and apply the marking grids as you would for all candidates.

2. You must ensure that a notated score is submitted with all performances, if it exists. If a notated score doesn't exist then alternative forms as detailed in the specification can be submitted.

We will be sending further clarification on what all this means to centres that have made entries for this summer by the end of April 2019.

Please do not send your sample to your moderator until you have received this. As a reminder, the deadline to send your sample to the moderator is 15th May 2019.

Final dates for submission of coursework and controlled assessment

The final date for submitting your marks and samples of work for the summer 2019 series is 15 May 2019.

By 15 May 2019, you must have submitted your coursework/controlled assessment marks to Edexcel via Edexcel online, and have sent your sample (visible on Edexcel online from mid-April) to the moderator. Your moderator’s name and address will be available on Edexcel online from mid-April.

The administrative support guide gives details of how to present the work for the moderator.

For each candidate you will need to complete a Performing Authentication Sheet (PAS) and a Composing Authentication Sheet (CAS).

Do I need to carry out internal standardisation?

In large centres with multiple teachers, it's essential that you carry out internal moderation before you finalise the coursework or controlled assessment marks. You should sample double-mark, selecting mark points within the same band from different teaching sets. The double marking should continue until you are satisfied that you have achieved comparability.

Small schools with only one teacher need not carry out internal standardisation. It is helpful to include a covering note with your sample explaining that you are in this situation.

What are the grade boundaries?

You should not attempt to grade the work; you should be marking the work by applying the marking criteria in a consistent manner.

The controlled assessment and coursework grades will be awarded at the end of each examination series using the standard code of practice awarding process.

Grade boundaries, which are subject to change each exam series, are published on the website on the grade boundaries page. For summer 2019, they'll be available to download from results day: 22 August 2019 for GCSE.

To receive a result for a linear qualification, all of the marks achieved from different components are added together and the candidate receives a grade for the qualification. There is no need for a uniform mark scale - a single grade is issued to each candidate.

A score of zero should only be used if a candidate has submitted work that is found to meet none of the assessment criteria. An X should be used for any candidate who is absent.

Submitting marks to Edexcel

All marks must be submitted online via Edexcel Online.

For performing you should submit the scaled mark out of 60 and for composing you should submit the raw mark out of 60. Please do not try to double the mark or convert it into a percentage, grade or UMS mark.

Important: You may need to amend your Edexcel Online access to allow you to submit controlled assessment marks online. To do this your exams officer will need to go into your Edexcel Online account and under ‘profiles’ tick the box next to ‘Coursework and Portfolio’. If they also tick the ‘Results’ box you will be able to view your E9 moderator report on results day.

After submitting marks online you should print out a copy of the marks for the moderator and a copy for your own records.

What happens if I make an error when submitting controlled assessment marks?

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

When will I be able to access Edexcel Online to submit marks and see the requested sample?

You should be able to start submitting marks now but you won’t be able to view the requested sample until the beginning of April 2018.

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

When you log in to Edexcel Online and go to the controlled assessment mark submission screen there will be a tick next to the candidates' names that need to be sent 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.

If, for some reason, you're unable to send the work for a particular student, you should send the work of an equivalent student with a similar mark. You should also write a note to the moderator explaining the reason for the change.

Who is my moderator and what is their address?

Moderators are randomly allocated to centres. You will be able to find out your moderator’s name and address from early April via Edexcel Online.

Your centre will receive a stationery send which will contain envelopes suitable for sending controlled assessment to the moderator.

Order more stationery online

E9 Moderator Report

While moderating your centre's controlled assessment, the moderator will write an E9 report which will give you detailed feedback on your marking and administration. You will be able to download this report on results day.

I will provide further guidance on how to access your centre's E9 Moderator Report in my results day update.

When are the summer exams (UK centres)?

This information is also available on our exam timetables page. International centres should consult the international exam timetables which are available on the international exam timetables page.

Key dates