Did you know GCSE A* grades are being slashed this year?

Thanks roisin; I meant that it would be unfair if they were sitting exams to the same spec with similar types of question but the grades were awarded differently. DD1 is sitting all hers this year in year 11, so it won't affect her.

DD2 is doing two GCSEs as one year courses in year 9, so the changes will affect her and I imagine exams will have changed yet again, to linear by the time she is in year 11.

I have a son in Y9 and I have no objections to them getting tougher but they do need need to name them in such a way that they can be distinguished by employers. I know they are only returning to how they were but because the inflation has been slow over 20+ year then the impact has been smoothed out, this return is like falling over a cliff edge from one year group to the next.

I shall be encouraging my son to refer to them as 'GCSE (post-2012 style)' where possible if there is no re-naming.

Well not too sure but my DC is doing IGCSE sciences and there are no modules involved as far as I know, DC has not had multiple attempts at improving scores throughout the year, you just sit your exams and get what you get. I dont think its as easy to get A* at IGCSE but people do say IGCSE students are better off when it comes to A level sciences as there is a good grade boundary between IGCSE and GCSE ie an A in GCSE would be a B in IGCSE. This is what I hear anyway.

My understanding from Gelatinous's link was that it applied to current year 10 who are taking modules over 2 years and will therefore complete the GCSE in 2013. My DD sat one paper in each science in January and many students got 100 UMS which must be an A*. In fact I went to a meeting at the school on the day the results came out and the deputy head mentioned how pleased they were with the results, so I don't think it applies to the current year 11's sitting the other two papers now.

Re Roisin's link about the year 10 students who have not done as well as expected, perhaps the teacher means that they will do another exam this summer and the final one next year - he doesn't seem to be talking about the year 11s. I assume that the GCSE science courses are different from the ones the current year 11 are doing - if not that would be really unfair.

I've read the link but am still not clear.
Science exams - this summer, final modules will be downgraded? Or is it those pupils taking modules in Yr 10 at start of Science GCSE will be downgraded?

Final wards 2012 downgrade? or is it final awards in 2013 downgraded? Sorry - but I couldn't quite work it out.

Does that mean it will be harder for my DD to get a 'C'? If so, that's not fair! She will work her socks off, would have just scraped a 'C' in certain subjects, yet she will now probably miss out, and be 'rewarded' for all her striving and effort with a 'D'.

She has Learning Difficulties, and she has worked bloody hard to scrape a 'C', and now she might miss out because they are changing the goal posts?

Not all schools do modular though Haggis. DS has 25 exams this year as all of his courses were linear rather than modular. Undoubtedly this means the pupils at his school and others who don't do modular/early entry are disadvantaged but there's nothing we can do about it. The same applies for the change in the grade boundaries, our DC will just have to deal with it.

It's also worth remembering that these changes will affect the whole cohort so will make no difference to applying to college as everyone could potentially have lower grades.

but Haggis, exactly the same is true the year A levels went modular for example or the year before the latest science syllabus started and science results were inflated. Those who sat the year before were disadvantaged. And what about bright children who sat exams the year before A*s were introduced? Having year groups disadvantaged for one reason or another is nothing new. I think people just have to get on with it, and if it really bothers them work a bit harder and up their grades that way instead. It doesn't sound as though it will be a massive change in any case - restoring grades to 2009 levels. Just view it as a few years that got slightly lucky - it won't be everyone that got higher science grades in those years in any case, only those near the grade boundaries.

Trouble is, this will affect the current Year 10s for the rest of their lives. They will undoubtedly achieve lower grades than this year's year 11, and haven't got 6 chances to resit either, unlike the year 11s. I agree that grade inflation needs to be addressed, but it seems unfair to inflict it quite so rapidly.

Are there any employers on the thread - are you aware of the changes? Would you take them into account when looking at people's grades in a few year's time - probably not.

Yes, cross-posted
Looks like younger DD currently year 8, will be the main casualty. She is sitting GCSEs over year 9, 10, and 11 so will no doubt experience the full impact of the "improvements" for GCSE and later for A' level.

Did you read my link BeingFluffy? it's the official policy from ofqual...

It's no more unfair than the years in the past when the grades have slipped massively the other way and of course nobody complained then, but the children taking exams just before the grade inflation had the same disadvantage as the children who will take theirs just after the correction.

I think an official policy from Ofqual is information that should be in the public domain if it is true; it is completely different from the speculation beforehand.

I absolutely agree that there should be a sensible range for getting a pass, and then for getting an A or and A , not the ridiculous situation that has become of GCSEs, but* it should be across the board, all subjects, all exams, and be made clear to eveyone (ie for admissions, but also widely publicised in the press etc.,) so all the Grandparents aren't going 'Oh, he didn't do as well as his sister, did he?'
One exam doing it, and doing it quietly like this, isn't the way forwards.

Fair enough, perhaps Exact percentage breakdown is new info to MN. Seems like micro detail to me, though maybe I think that way because I don't have a current borderline teen taking the exams.

AdventuresWithVoles - I have seen threads discussing grade inflation etc but I don't think I have seen any with the information OP gave that Ofqual have decreed that only X% can be awarded A. I would like to know where this information originates from, I cannot see anything about it on the Ofqual website. Most girls at DD's school have been predicted a good haul of As and there will be some pretty disappointed girls (and parents) on results day if the grades are a lot worse than predicted. The teachers also gave no warning of it.

It's the science grades that will be affected. Not those finishing this year, but the year 10s doing the first round of modules.

Info here

The general breakdown used to be 60% for a C, 70 for a B, 80 for an A and 90 for an A*.

It is fairly widely thought in the teaching profession that the boundaries will be altered this year - so, for example, where 31 out of 50 used to be a C, this year it will be 35.

Then in a couple of years it will all change again and that wanker Gove will claim all the credit.

Yes I knew, at least 2 previous long threads about it on MN in last.... 3 months?

notnowImreading - thanks that makes a lot more sense. DD is doing the 3 sciences as are all her classmates as she is at a grammar, but in younger DD's Comp at least half the kids do BTEC and a lot do the double award rather than triple.

Its 25% of the entries though so if only the top 10-15% take the exam then its actually the top 2.5%- 3.75% overall who get an A*.