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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Yr11/13 parents take a look at the sneakiness

188 replies

lifecouldbeadream · 17/04/2020 16:42

The Consultation on how the GCSE and A level grades for this cohort has been released....... very quietly.

Consultation ends 29/04.

You can see the proposal here...... and it appears it includes SATs grades...... yes really......

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/exceptional-arrangements-for-exam-grading-and-assessment-in-2020

OP posts:
CostaRicaCoffee · 17/04/2020 22:21

I thought it had already been decided how they were setting the GCSE grades but i guess not if they are running a consultation on it!
Will read through the thread after Friday Night Dinner

helpfulperson · 17/04/2020 22:27

It's not individual SAT results. All its saying is ' if your feeder primary SAT results are rubbish dont expect us to believe all your year 11's got A+.'

MsJaneAusten · 17/04/2020 22:37

As an ex CofG, you should already realise that SATs are used every year to assess how schools have done. That’s how they will be used this year too.

I have responsibility for determining 446 GCSE grades this year. I won’t look at any individual child’s SATs results, but I’ve already taken a close look at the cohort’s SATs results. Overall, our current cohort got similar SATs results to our 2017-2018 cohort, so I’ll be trying to apply a similar grade spread to this year’s group as that year’s, not last year’s, who were a less able cohort at the start of their secondary education and therefore would be expected to get less good results than the cohort before or after them.

CostaRicaCoffee · 18/04/2020 00:20

Can anyone tell me how likely the process for deciding GCSE grades is to change as a result of the consultation? The latest info released about how it was being decided seemed as fair as it can be to me. Just wondering if they'll spring a change on us following the consultation!

Hercwasonaroll · 18/04/2020 02:19

Costa I'm anticipating minor tweaks if anything..

TheWordmeister · 18/04/2020 09:48

All I care about is that my ds gets his university place. He stuffed up one mock so I am worrying.

Lilyamna · 18/04/2020 10:33

It’s open to bias, yes, especially the ranking part, but what better alternative is there?
I think that offering all students the opportunity to sit exams in the Autumn as backup is as fair as they can be really. I don’t see a better way out?

Lordfrontpaw · 18/04/2020 11:08

They need to tell us if the exams are to be a available next term!

lljkk · 18/04/2020 11:10

Not that sneaky, DC HT sent out an email inviting all parents to fill in the consultation form. I got about 1/3 the way thru before giving up. I didn't understand all the questions (double negatives etc).

WhyCantIThinkOfAGoodOne · 18/04/2020 11:13

It's not individual SAT results. All its saying is ' if your feeder primary SAT results are rubbish dont expect us to believe all your year 11's got A+.'

I don't actually see an alternative so am not being overly critical but there are issues with this as some schools prep more than others for SATS with the result that some SAT results are inflated. Hopefully they'll look at the historical correlation between SATS and GCSE results for individual schools.

pinksauce · 18/04/2020 11:34

The consultation needs to go much wider - qualifications are valued by people who request people to have them - not by those who issue or are part of the system providing them. Unless industry believes in the qualification results, they are of no use.

Unfortunately, these qualifications will be seriously tainted. At my organisation we typically take on many interns from A-level, and at graduate level - with typical strong competition from thousands of applicants. We have already decided in our policy making, that we will not accept any qualification based on estimates - only if students take the exams will we recognise them. Instead we will look for people who qualified last year or so if people are not able to have formally examined qualifications available.

Life is on hold for so many at this time, and the integrity of there qualifications system needs to be maintained, even if this means some short term disruption for 12 months or so. We have previously found non-exam assessment of candidates led to poor indicators.

titchy · 18/04/2020 11:49

We have already decided in our policy making, that we will not accept any qualification based on estimates - only if students take the exams will we recognise them

And the equality impact assessment of that decision said what? You did do one of course...? Oh you didn't. Let the lawsuits commence...

titchy · 18/04/2020 11:52

We have previously found non-exam assessment of candidates led to poor indicators.

These results will be totally different from any previous non-exam assessment you've seen. Totally. They're robust, moderated, fair. And will reflect the grades kids would have got in I'd guess 99% of cases. Your policy just shows how ignorant and uninformed your company is, and as I said leaves you wide open to legal challenge.

ZandathePanda · 18/04/2020 12:09

I think the main problem will be the different strategies schools took after the lockdown. Some piled on the work to create extra evidence. A past paper done at home with all the answers is very different to a mock exam.

Hercwasonaroll · 18/04/2020 12:14

We have already decided in our policy making, that we will not accept any qualification based on estimates - only if students take the exams will we recognise them.

What the actual fuck.

This is awful. These qualifications are exactly the same as any other year. It's not the fault of the students that this year is a mess. As a PP said, let the equality lawsuits come your way.

@zandathepanda Centres have been told to all but ignore anything done after the 23rd March. They shouldn't be disadvantaging students who did nothing after this date because home circumstances differ.

Piggywaspushed · 18/04/2020 12:17

They are not estimates. They are qualifications.

I am genuinely shocked.

MsJaneAusten · 18/04/2020 12:29

We have already decided in our policy making, that we will not accept any qualification based on estimates - only if students take the exams will we recognise them. Instead we will look for people who qualified last year or so if people are not able to have formally examined qualifications available.

Appalling. That is completely discriminatory.

SeasonFinale · 18/04/2020 12:33

AuntieUrsuala - page 28 of the consultation refers to adjustment for small cohort.

PinkSauce - wow! Your organisation have to come to a super quick policy on this already or is this one of those posts that will appear on Twitter under the #thisdidnthappen hashtag!

CostaRicaCoffee · 18/04/2020 12:38

Thanks Hercwasonaroll
What organisation is this @pinksauce ?

noblegiraffe · 18/04/2020 12:44

Yes, which organisation, pinksauce so it can be added to that list of companies that have acted like complete dicks during this crisis.

Willows76 · 18/04/2020 12:48

Ok does that mean that my daughter who was supposed to sit her actual a levels right now will not be getting the a levels she deserves as she was predicted A B B for 3 subjects. How do her chances of attending university she wants to go to? One of her subject teachers took an instant dislike to her last year, will their opinion count? Can students appeal against decisions? If so when by? Whats going to happen come september when no universities are open to take students on? Omg frightening, we owe our children a future to fight for so how do i comment on this whole rigged mess? How many people does it take to comment on this before whoever is responsible for this underhanded decision making has to notice it and re think how to do this? Post links please. Ill twitter it if i have to. And every social network.
Thanks for alerting parents to this.

noblegiraffe · 18/04/2020 12:51

Willows if your DD was predicted ABB previously, then it seems unlikely that the school will predict her lower for the DfE.

And her university place is probably looking safer than it did previously. Universities have been told to be very flexible, also they will be losing international students and looking to pick up more home students.

MsJaneAusten · 18/04/2020 12:55

@Willows76 - breathe! The links are all on here. The consultation is open. It is not ‘rigged’. I’d love to hear your idea for a fairer system.

Hercwasonaroll · 18/04/2020 13:00

@Willows76 Once you have stopped frothing and getting outraged for no reason, read calmly the following.

  1. Teachers will be sending to ofqual the grade they think the student would have got in the summer. Teachers will also rank students within the grade from top of the grade to bottom of the grade.
  1. Ofqual will then standardise these grades by comparing teachers grades with a variety of other data. The main purpose of this is to check that schools aren't over or under grading cohorts of students.

It is in no one's interest to under estimate your child's grade. Teachers will use evidence they have avaliable along with gut feeling and knowledge of the student. Any perceived personality clash won't come into it.

University's and colleges are being asked to be flexible. They know students will be arriving with some missing knowledge etc. I've already heard of some places sending reading and work for students in preparation for September.

As for "whole rigged mess", what is your alternative solution?

QuestionMarkNow · 18/04/2020 13:16

@pinksauce, that's crap!!
Becaue you are basically writting off a whole year from your interns.
On the other side, I suppose it shows what sort of organisation you are wrking at and I would be happy to very widely avoid it....