Exam data nerdery

If yiur DD usbright , committed and works hard she'll do well.

Ironically, in my school this year the largest proportion of top grades were in Lit and media!

Sorry, the 2 percent was A level. I think grade 9s are rare at GCSE, but a bit less so!

@Piggywaspushed Crikey 2% get top grades in media GCSE! Is that similar at A level? i think my DD3 will take media as an A level (not offered as a GCSE) as she’s interested in marketing etc. She would definitely struggle with an English A level. I’m now concerned that media is a double edged sword in that she’s unlikely to get a high grade (same as in Eng Lit so fair enough) but would also be viewed as an easy subject and perhaps looked down upon, so there’s no real comparison. Am I making sense?

Speaking and listening has ALWAYS been part of the curriculum. It has to be taught and assessed in both key stages.

But there was a bit of a furore over the assessment when it was the days of controlled assessment, so - instead of requiring we record them, as we do now - it was removed from the "assessment". It was scrapped as counting part way through an academic year.

So now we have to do and record but it doesn't count.

Yes what is the point of the language/presentation thing? (Apart from meaning you might not get the raw mark because of crap software!)

It's just a bullshit waste of everyone's time now. I'm not afraid to say that I pay it lipservice

Quite. Did have a moderator visit though and sit in on some tasks and our moderation process. Was actually a really helpful experience. Unlike what happens now.

And when it DID count, we didn't have to record it. Thanks, OFQUAL.

Oh and don't get me started on the current speaking and listening set up. So much faff and nonsense with recording and mailing on a data stick (FFS!) and it doesn't even count for anything!!!

In terms of reading, rather than have the fiction piece, they could get students to read texts and look for inconsistencies in order to discern between real and fake news and therefore become more savvy readers.

The cynics amongst us would suggest that the government would never approve that...

I write formal letters whenever I think emailing does not seem to be having the desired effect, even if just as a Word attachment.

@TheMoth The FS L2 English does a lot of what you just said. Letters, Email, Reports, Articles, understanding what language to use when. If only I could get someone to teach DD we'd be well away. Interestingly it includes the 'presentational features' but that was in the old GCSE but not the new one.

It looks positively useful and even my reluctant dyslexic DD can see that.

The language exams don't move quickly enough to reflect modern language use, either. Especially when anyone is able to write and publish anything on the Internet, often with a cheerfully inconsistent approach to spag, which would see them fail the gcse (looking at you, online news outlets).

If they actually want to make the exam preparation for real life, look at the type of texts people actually write. I'd keep stories, because it's often the only bit of fun students have. Reports are boring, but it seems to be a real life text type people have to write in work. There are reports on eduqas but they never come up.
Emails. Specifically, ones to complain. How many of us actually write or receive letters?

In terms of reading, rather than have the fiction piece, they could get students to read texts and look for inconsistencies in order to discern between real and fake news and therefore become more savvy readers.

There should probably also be a test where they have to read things like phone ts and Cs, but I'd fail that one.

English language GCSE was better when it was proper English Language with the spoken language study and proper speaking and listening.

One of my A level students still complains at me about how she got 'tricked' into doing RS GCSE because they kept calling it philosophy!

This also happens with film!

Because most English teachers have Lit degrees and would not want to teach just Language! We do do an amazing job of teaching both in -usually- less than twice the time one option gets.
In the olden days there used to be more overlap between them and texts counted twice. You also, at one stage, used to not be able to get one without the other. I have given up teaching English because I HATE what ahs happened to it. They wouldn't' have a cat in hell's chance of dragging me back i Lit got taken out and only taught to the chosen few. Quite a few schools used to do this but I don't know of any that still do. It would hammer the already dwindling Alevel too.

Most people hate the speaking element as it is done at the moment.

The spoken language element we used to like was not 'functional'. Honestly ,there really would not be time to add these functional elements to the existing GCSEs. I think we just need to accept that a GCSE in English means they can read , interpret and write- not that they can specifically write a report, plan a presentation, use ppt etc : other subjects also have that responsibility.

I'm afraid that you're right and it's a roll of the dice, even for talented students. One of mine this year did get 25/25 for one of their long exam essays, but 13-16 / 25 on their other three. I know that they have written equally strongly on all of them during homeworks/exams.

When I mentioned switching to RS (or "Philosophy, Religion, and Ethics") it's not because it's easier or indeed has much of a different grade profile, but because it's a much bigger subject in terms of entries, and that tends to lead to more predictable marking.

It slightly annoys me that even though Philosophy has more candidates than, say, German, the latter appears as a separate subject in exam statistics but Phil gets rolled in with RS or just "other subjects."

I would totally do that! 😂

@Piggywaspushed
I get that exams have to be time limited but it seems they are being asked to do too much in the time limit that they have!

I like to quietly fantasise about a ‘zombie apocalypse’ science curriculum to shake up the content for students who do not want to go on to A level. All the things you would need ‘come the apocalypse’ so teaching microbes via food hygiene and sexual health / chemistry via metal extraction / making useful chemicals like soap/ physics - making generators and motor/ circuits/ build a radio etc. leave in key skills like data interpretation and assessing credibility of science methods. Anything to avoid the nonsense of trying to get ionic bonding into set 4.

Thanks. That's useful to know. I'll probably have to go back to the LA then.

Isn't there a distinction between Lit and Lang? Surely at least some of the latter should be 'functional' including spoken English.
Maybe both maths and English could have a specific sub component of 'functional skills' (basic numeracy and communication) that would be part of the gcse but also serve as a separate qualification that would allow access to employment and further training?

Otoh, I'm not sure why English literature is often compulsory rather than an option like history etc.

With an EHCP you can do that. It would need to be in the EHCP, which you may need to appeal, but it is possible. It is also possible via EOTAS rather than via college. Although, again, you may have to appeal.

Teen for funding, those with an EHCP are classed as 16-19 pupils until 25.