No exams again in 2021?

[Cafeconleche]

The front page of today’s Sunday Times ...

[LaLaFlottes]

I really hope this isn’t the case - so much disruption.
I don’t quite understand the process for the A level grades this year - they get a predicted grade from their school or college, and they are ranked within that grade to show who was most likely to achieve it down to who was least likely to achieve it.

Then there’s a model that looks at how a school or college is likely to perform?

So if the school predict an A for example but that student it seen as least likely to get an A, how does that work? What are they going to get in the end? How is it decided whether they get the A that school thought they should get or a B?

[WindFlower92]

In our school @LaLaFlottes we were told that as only 56% had achieved a pass grade last year, we could only have similar to that this year. We predicted higher, so were told to drop some pupils down to achieve a similar percentage so it didn't look like we were cheating (we weren't!). This is for GCSE.

[LaLaFlottes]

That doesn’t seem right does it - as this year is a different group of students and maybe more would have passed - it seems a shame to do this to them. That must have been hard for you.

[Michaelahpurple]

But what else are the exam boards to do when every school says their A grade level should jump twofold? To some extent this happens nationally anyway as the grade boy fires are tweaked to reflect historic performance and SATS

For big schools it just knit could work pretty well but it could be har don smaller ones with more variable lumpy performance.

[Michaelahpurple]

I think hardest thing for teAchers must be the low end. Forecasting a pupil a 3 or 4 must feel much more personal than serif. Them go into the exam and getting that as expected. And leave the teacher much more exposed to pupil/parent anger

[SeasonFinale]

Please read the guidance.

It is not as simplistic as you are saying. The cohorts prior attainment is also being factored in too so if they are a cleverer cohort they can still achieve better grades.

[LaLaFlottes]

@SeasonFinale do you mean their GCSE scores would be taken into account?

Sorry if I’m not fully up to speed with the process - our DD would be sitting A levels next year and I’m now starting to think her grades may be decided on in the same way as this year, if they can’t get back to normal in September. So I’m just really looking at it now.

[Unformidable]

Gavin Williamson has today confirmed there will be exams for 2021 GCSEs and A levels. I guess further details will emerge later.