Getting Ready for summer 2017 Music exam series
This update contains a reminder of the processes for preparing your students' work, key deadlines and the materials you need to send to the examiner/moderator for Edexcel AS and A level in Music, Edexcel AS and A level Music Technology and Edexcel GCSE Music.
An important change
This year we will no longer be sending out hard copy OPTEMS forms (optically scanned mark sheets) for you to submit controlled assessment marks. This means that all marks will need to be submitted online via Edexcel Online.
So no more waiting for OPTEMS to arrive in the post and instead you will need to familiarise yourself with the process of submitting marks online. This is a straightforward process which is covered below.
Final dates for submission of coursework and controlled assessment
For the following qualifications, the final date for submitting your marks and samples of work for the summer 2017 series is 15 May 2017:
- GCSE Music
- A level (2008) Music
- AS Level (2016) Music
- AS and A level Music Technology.
By 15 May 2017, 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 guides for each subject gives details of how to present the work for the examiner/moderator.
Administrative Support Guides
Where can I find the coursework or controlled assessment forms?
You can find the forms on the relevant qualification page under ‘forms and administration’:
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 2017, they'll be available to download from results day: 17 August 2017 for AS and A level and 24 August 2017 for GCSE.
Please also remember that the mark you submit to us should be the total raw mark, not the UMS mark. The UMS marks are allocated by us as a result of the awarding process.
AS level (2016) Music is a linear qualification. To receive a result for a linear qualification, all of the marks achieved on different question papers 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
You can no longer submit marks on an OPTEMS form (optically scanned mark sheets) so all marks must be submitted online via Edexcel Online.
For each student you should submit the raw mark out of 50. Please do not try to double the mark or convert it into a percentage, grade or UMS mark. Please also remember that there are no separate additional marks for SPaG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) in controlled assessment.
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 2017.
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.
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.
| Unit/component code | Unit/component name | Exam length | Exam date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8MU0/03 | AS level (2016) Music Component 3: Appraising | 1h 30m | 22 May 2017 |
| 6MU03 | AS level (2008) Music Unit 3: Developing Musical Understanding | 2h 00m | 22 May 2017 |
| 6MT02 | AS level Music Technology Unit 2: Listening And Analysing | 1h 45m | 25 May 2017 |
| 6MT04 | A level Music Technology Unit 4: Analysing And Producing | 2h 00m | 7 June 2017 |
| 5MU03 | GCSE Music Unit 3: Listening And Appraising | 1h 30m | 9 June 2017 |
| 6MU06 | GCSE Music Unit 6: Further Musical Understanding | 2h 00m | 19 June 2017 |
