League tables- bullshit?

3amEternal

I don't know about the others but I can tell you that food tech and P.E are serious GCSEs, involving more than just cooking, and just kicking a ball.

My kids state secondary is proudly claiming to be in the 'top ten of non selective schools in the County'.

So this school is number 10 in the league table, great eh? Except that after stripping out selective schools, special schools and those where 'No data available or applicable for this school or college' there are only 36 schools left to compare against!

Other points to note:

• this is just for KS4 performance
• just for 5 A* - C 's including Maths and English (school number 11 was 1% less)
• making expected progress in Maths for example it is at number 16.

Our bottom set will be doing entry level qualifications as well as GCSE. They certainly won't be forced to learn trigonometry.

I'm teaching an entry level class this year. They are going to have to do the GCSEs too. We know they prob won't get anything, especially as it's getting a lot harder. We are going to focus on the entry level so as not to completely depress them

Gnome, it's issue has always been that the management deny there are any problems. As there are no problems the teachers can't ask for help. If they do they are judged to be personally failing. The last ofsted I was there for I was one of the few to get an outstanding lesson obs, mainly due to the class I had (a bottom set who were actually lovely) others were told behaviour in their class stopped kids making progress. We were still told there was no behaviour problems the next day by the management. Every member of staff is having to work alone. It doesn't work. They feel isolated and that's why we leave! Now from my understanding it's mainly staffed by supply teachers.

It is sad if functional skills being phased out.
They can start at very basic Entry levels, 1,2 and three. Then Level 1 and level 2 [talking English and maths].
At least they are a positive achievement whereas the lowest gcse grade may not seem like that.
I did level 2 maths as an adult. It was great and I felt it worthwhile [City and Guilds].

Entry Level qualifications for the exceptionally weak SEN kids are being stopped by schools because they won't feature in the league tables. This means that these kids will be forced to do GCSEs because even if they get the lowest grade it will still count on the league tables which is more important to schools than what is best for these kids. These are kids that struggle with basic taking away and times tables so rather than being in small classes learning the basics and then having the chance of achieving a pass in something below GCSE level, they being forced to do trigonometry and are being set up to fail.

TaIkinPeace

I agree with you they will wait till the census and then get rid but keep the cash.

greathat I am going to be cynical. There have been and still are some outstandingly good teachers but there have also been some outstandingly bad ones.

I have written about the school repeatedly on this site. IMO it is a monumental failure of management which repeatedly allows good staff to struggle on unsupported and bad staff to carry on unchallenged.

Presumably, if the pass rate drops as much as it is predicted
will utterly discredit the exam results with employers
they unlike many MN posters are not morons

the fact that
9x A was exceptional 30 years ago
15 x A* was unexceptional 5 years ago
10 x A* was exceptional this year

says nothing about the kids
it says everything about politicised exams
but
employers CBA to look at what year a kid did their exams to see if that is "good"
they will be like the Grammar School luddites on these threads and have a fixed letter in their head
which will be a nightmare when the have to remember if 1 or 9 is the good one

Gove has so many circles of hell to pass through, this atheist is still inventing them

Ha gnome! I used to work there! The teachers work harder than anywhere else I've ever been. Including the outstanding school I work at now

Presumably, if the pass rate drops as much as it is predicted to employers, colleges and universities can drop their essential grade as much as they need to fill the places they have.

I don't suppose the DfE can control supply and demand.

alternatively
and its a radical thought
no shit sherlock
they
could stay with A being good
as its been the accepted good
worldwide for decades

gove was an arse
he's gone
1-9 should go with him

I think that the 4+ boundary is pegged at about the same proportion of pupils that currently get a C. But 4 will only be a passing grade for the 1st year. After that it becomes a 5 which probably equates to a high C/low B now.

Although there's probably been a few changes since then.

So boney
will all of the private schools keep their thick kids on roll on the off chance that they will get a 4
or will they kick the 5 and under crew out at Easter - as they have done for the last 40 years ?

Apologies yep its next year, getting ahead of myself.

Talkin

0-1 for English and Maths. Most to follow next year some to follow the year after.

From the information that we have been given an old GCSE C is not the same as a new C as the old C was a 4 and the new C is a 5 but that doesn't fit as a new C is a 4 or 5 depending on your marks.

9-1 starts next summer for maths and English and, I think, the following summer for everything else.

greathat RCC/RA

Boneyback
Lets not forget that some of the results are 1-9, some are A-G and others are D, M and P. none of the results fit neatly in to the any of the others sections as boundaries, grades etc. have been messed with.

DSs GCSE cert listed what grade his funny qual was worth

I'm not aware of any 1-9 in the current cohort

and the best way to fix results is to stop thick kids taking under your reg no - a luxury state schools have not had for years

the only difference between now and a couple of years ago is that it is a different group that is fiddling the figures.

Lets not forget that some of the results are 1-9, some are A-G and others are D, M and P. none of the results fit neatly in to the any of the others sections as boundaries, grades etc. have been messed with.

Always interesting to see what schools will try to get away with.

West London Free seem to be advertising the fact that 100% of pupils of pupils taking separate sciences achieved A*-C. The fact that's the only science result they're publishing raises a few questions I think.

Suspect it's more an inability to organise a piss up in a brewery than malice noble. Progress 8 bears all the hallmarks of Gove having the beginnings of a good idea but totally failing to think through all the implications before introducing it.

MN164
I am ultra aware of the difference because 2 years ago DD had a full cohort remark in English Language resulting in 70 grade changes (out of 300)

I'm also aware (as a public sector auditor) that the Hellograph accept whatever the school tell them
if you want a laugh, look at the 2015 Torygraph table compared with the DfE table for Grammar schools
over egging does not even come close