How grades will be awarded. The government and exam boards have got it wrong.

I think I would still be worried about teachers deciding grades. I did music GCSE and one of my teachers really disliked me. She did all she could to give me the lowest grades she could within the confines of the moderation system. But she couldn't do anything about my exam performance, so to her annoyance, I got a pass grade. But if she had been able to give me an overall grade I would have got a D or lower. I suspect there are a few teachers out there like that.

I know there will be a chance to take the exam if you don't agree with your grade but that might be too late if you needed a particular grade for sixth form college.

Most underperform.... so a success of this years system will be if the majority of A level students are pissed off....

This does depend what you mean by correct

Extensive research was published last year revealing how incorrect exam marking - especially in history and English- can be!

In addition, there is a longstanding tradition in some schools of UCAS grades being the best possible grade a student could achieve (this is where the problem of this being done less for BAME and disadvantaged students comes from). The internally gathered PGs are probably not as high.

I hear tell already today of students contacting teachers and telling them what grades they 'need'.

only 17% correct. That's frightening. titchy Do most students tend to outperform or underperform in relation to UCAS predictions?

My DD is really worried about her grades as she had a shocker in Y12 (severe depression/change of schools etc...) and has only in the last few months had a need for extra time recognised (and subsequently granted by the exam boards). In the past few months since mocks she has been making massive progress in her academic achievements. She is gearing up to have to sit the exams as it is highly unlikely the grades she is awarded in July/August will reflect what she should be able to achieve in the exams after a few more months on this trajectory... not quite sure how any student can maintain the momentum over the summer though. As long as she gets her uni place it won't matter, but for that sense of personal achievement, I think this year's grades will fall flat for all the exam candidates.

There's clearly no perfect system anyway, though...Que sera, sera, c'est la vie and all that!

A comparison of predicted vs awarded grades would be VERY interesting to see

I know! I wonder what success would look like. Only 17% (ish) of UCAS predictions are correct, so ironically if final awarded grades also only have a 17% match rate then we can be assured that overall the cohort as a whole has been awarded the right grades.

Hard to explain that as success though.

@bigvig please come back and retract your OP before this thread gets any more traction.
The situation is stressful enough for our DC without misinformation being posted as fact.

My understanding is still that teachers will award grades then the exam board will move grades up or down so they are in line with the results from last year.

Your understanding is wrong. As several people have explained.

KS2 as part of analysis on a cohort level not individual level.

Yes true, sorry, having re-read your post, you were not talking about the KS2 being used by schools. My mistake!

My understanding is still that teachers will award grades then the exam board will move grades up or down so they are in line with the results from last year.

That's not correct though

The standardisation model will be complex and the school's recent results would be just one factor. The are also proposing to consider e.g. prior attainment of the cohort.

Chloe KS2 as part of analysis on a cohort level not individual level. They have been clear they aren't going to 'reorder' the pupils, so they might shift where a school puts its grade boundaries, but if a school ranks Tim below Mary they won't ever 'promote' Tim to have a higher grade than Mary iyswim?

The op is talking shit. The data models on this are very complex and not at all as she represents. If you're interested/concerned read the actual guidance- don't listen to idiots on the internet people!

No but the exam boards will be using it as part of their analysis

KS2 results will be used on cohort basis anyway. Schools are the ones ordering the pupils and the exam boards won't change that. So an individual child not having KS2 results won't make any difference.

Do all schools use Alps? Even indies? I read that they are also taking into account KS2 SATS results but my DD was abroad for primary school so didn't do any.

Even indies do some form of tracking such as through CATS tests so what you have heard is sort of correct but overall data from that far back, whether it is SATs or by other means.
Not every school will use Alps, some use Alis (a lot of indies use Alis)

Do all schools use Alps? Even indies? I read that they are also taking into account KS2 SATS results but my DD was abroad for primary school so didn't do any.

My understanding is still that teachers will award grades then the exam board will move grades up or down so they are in line with the results from last year.

Your understanding is wrong here, sorry. The exam boards will not look at a school’s last year’s results and do a direct comparison with this year’s grades and go yay or nay. They just won’t.

You've over-simplified it @bigvig

Overall, comparative with previous cohort grades will be looked at - as they should - it needs to be seen to all be fair and above board. But that is one factor, amongst many.
If this year's cohort is that much more able than the previous year's cohort, then there will be evidence for that in their previous exams, both mocks, and GCSEs as well as course work etc.

Alps is a data tracking system that schools/Sixth Forms use

What is Alps?

Exam boards will also look at previous years in the school and Alps if you do A level.

I can’t think of any other way to do it.

UCAS grades are different from internal predicted grades, though.

A comparison of predicted vs awarded grades would be VERY interesting to see titchy. Would love your report on it once done...

My DDs concern is that for one of her subjects the teachers have constantly been underpredicting her performance. Her 'maximum grade' prediction in Y10 for the end of Y11 was exceeded in her mock exam marks, but the UCAS grade remains the same prediction as it has been all along (since the start of Y10). In a previous year, one girl was graded 'D' in her mocks in this subject but achieved an A in the exam. Neither of us have any faith that this department will award in relation to the likely grade she would have achieved in an actual exam situation. We complained to the Head teacher before the end of Y10 about work not being marked, the staff being late or not turning up to lessons, feedback being negligible to non-existent etc... Past results for the department have been also 'all over the place, ranging from A to E in a school in which the vast majority of students are achieving A-A in all other subjects.

As she also seems to be towards the middle to lower end in a highly selective school, there's a fear that at the bottom of the rankings her grades are likely to be downgraded...
I have a feeling she is going to have to dig her heels in for the long slog of study to be able to sit the exams in Autumn. Frustrating!!

A colleague and I intend to compare predicted grades that come through UCAS (I work I a university) to those finally awarded to see what the difference is. Just for interest...

I agree with your crossed out bit : interesting , isn't it! I reckon we are more accurate!!