A’Level disasters 😔😣

[OverTheRainbow88]

Any other schools been majorly hit?

Well I am going to be requesting CAG's, class ranking and proper mock results to compare with standardisation grades fir my GCSE dd.
I understood that cags couldn't be divulged until results day at the earliest.
Dds school never give out nines in the mocks and use far tougher grade boundaries. She worked out that one of her grades was two grades out in her mocks.
To ignore CAGs in larger centres is absolutely disgusting and does advantage private schools of course.

I hope people are writing to their MPs. I did and got a standard response back indicating that he hadn't read my mail or understood my point (which is about the errors in the algorithm which MUST be corrected). I have responded that I am embarrassed for him. I was the most staunch Tory supporter ever but my patience has gone, will never vote for them again unless this is fixed. It's beyond political ideology now and just down to utter, massive, inexcusable incompetence.

@Toptotoeunicolour

I hope people are writing to their MPs. I did and got a standard response back indicating that he hadn't read my mail or understood my point (which is about the errors in the algorithm which MUST be corrected). I have responded that I am embarrassed for him. I was the most staunch Tory supporter ever but my patience has gone, will never vote for them again unless this is fixed. It's beyond political ideology now and just down to utter, massive, inexcusable incompetence.

My MP is Suella Braverman. Pointless writing to her. She ignores everyone! The one time I did write to her I was quoting a policy and pointing out where it hasn't been applied and asked for her to tell me how she could help to get it applied.

Her response was to send me the policy related to my enquiry as that would explain me me how it works.

Not the 1 time I wrote to her. I mean the one time she actually bothered to reply!

Well some students must have got the 2.4 per vemt increase in A and A* above last year's results and A-E grades up too.

If students go back in September why can't technical drawing use those 5-6 weeks lead up before October exam? I thought government guaranteed any student could sit exam if they wanted, part of triple lock.

Too many teachers give too high UCAS predictions which get students hopes and expectations up then when they can't all achieve these grades students are disappointed. This happens every year. UCAS predictions should be realistic not super inflated to generate offers.

@Northernsoulgirl45

The school produced a file of evidence for each CAG ( NB these are not predicted grades ) if Ofqual doubted a grade they could have called for evidence . If they felt a school had overestimated it’s grades they could have called for evidence , instead they randomly allocated grades. This

Absolutely this.

UCAS predictions are meant to aspirational but achievable, these are utterly different to the CAGs carer

Many posters have shared independent schools have been hit too. Not post code lottery either as in some schools departments which inflated grades standardised down whereas department that were honest notany marks changed.

caringcarer how many times does it need to be said: CAGs are completely different from UCAS predicted grades!

And it is not true that in departments that were honest not many marks were changed.

Too many teachers give too high UCAS predictions which get students hopes and expectations up

This is, as has been patiently explained about a zillion times, irrelevant.

If students go back in September why can't technical drawing use those 5-6 weeks lead up before October exam?

I'm not completely sure what you are trying to say here, but back to where?

Has the government announced that it has plans to accommodate extra students in September?

I've been following this as DS is in year 12.

I'm so sorry for those of you with children who've been given results they are unhappy with.

I can't help feeling there is is perfect storm of a number of issues here:

• confusion in some cases between UCAS predictions and CAGS

• some schools/departments being optimistic in their submitted CAGS

• but fundamentally an algorithm that's not very sophisticated and works by mapping last years results to this years cohort

The latter is why I think we are seeing some very strange discrepancies between CAGS and the grade awarded in that if last year a pupil got an E then the implication is that a pupil must get one this year - even if the classes "worst" performing student was predicted a C.

I understand the need to rein in "over grading" but the algorithm seems to operate at a highly "macro" level in its lack of sophistication and inability to distinguish between the relative "ability" between last years and this years pupils.

Last year my DS's school had 4 children who got 4 A stars. In my sons year there are 8 pupils who are all on track to match that (something in the water that year??).

Presumably only 4 of those pupils would have achieved that under this system regardless of their ability.

Finally I think children who didn't get the grades they were expecting would have been disappointed but accepting if they had sat the exams.

It must be a terrible feeling of injustice to have been awarded substantially lower grades without the opportunity to have proven their actual ability.

to all those with upset children

@Toptotoeunicolour

I hope people are writing to their MPs. I did and got a standard response back indicating that he hadn't read my mail or understood my point (which is about the errors in the algorithm which MUST be corrected). I have responded that I am embarrassed for him. I was the most staunch Tory supporter ever but my patience has gone, will never vote for them again unless this is fixed. It's beyond political ideology now and just down to utter, massive, inexcusable incompetence.

The loss of voters is the one thing they really need to get into their heads that they might understand. It will happen. Parents do not forgive a system that fucks over their children's education. Ask any former pre-2012 Lib Dem voter with young adult children.

Sorry just to add....

I know there are posters with children in the independent sector who've been negatively impacted but as a general rule I can't see how the automatic application of the algorithm to classes over 15 pupils would not have disproportionately impacted the state sector in regards to generally larger class sizes and typically a wider range of ability.

In terms of the latter, pupils in track for an D never mind an E. wouldn't have even been accepted into the 6th form thus they absolutely will have an advantage if last years grades were applied to this years cohort.

The logic the algorithm seems to use (broken down to brutal simplicity) seems to have been 'a school had a U in this subject in the past 3 years, so there must be a U this year'. And that ain't necessarily so.

That’s what we thought before they were published @pointythings but turns out to be even worse - many schools who have had no U’s in past 3 years got one or more because nationally however many tiny percentage get U’s and the national distribution also factored into the model. The link I posted upthread has the details.

And on the flip side, a teacher has reported grading two students a U because after being entered for the subject they had dropped it and wouldn’t have turned up to the exams (in favour of concentrating on their other subjects). The teacher even spoke to the exam board to explain. But the algorithm moved them up to E’s.

It’s madness.

The exam boards got away without marking exam papers but should instead have been looking at, as Pp’s have also suggested, a package of evidence from every outlier from each school’s statistics.

In terms of the latter, pupils in track for an D never mind an E. wouldn't have even been accepted into the 6th form thus they absolutely will have an advantage if last years grades were applied to this years cohort.

Yes, difficult to understand how pupils wouldn't be given an advantage by going to a selective school, because the range of historical grades would be much narrower.

Delurking to say really hope someone takes legal action to take govt to task on this - I saw a dad was trying to do it and had found lawyers to work pro bono but still needed to find 17k to buy indemnity insurance to make sure ofqual didn't sue him back ! If I had the money I would happily give it to him to do this ..

@merrymouse

In terms of the latter, pupils in track for an D never mind an E. wouldn't have even been accepted into the 6th form thus they absolutely will have an advantage if last years grades were applied to this years cohort.

Yes, difficult to understand how pupils wouldn't be given an advantage by going to a selective school, because the range of historical grades would be much narrower.

There are legal challenges being launched against the Government on the basis of equality legislation. They are saying that the some students have been disadvantaged because of past cohort's performances and and generally lower prior attainment of their cohort, both of which will affect those from poorer communities disproportionately.

@Iamnotthe1 this is good to hear .. hard to explain to DC the fairness of a system that they've been in since they were 5. I worry that for some students this will be a real " sliding doors" moment in which they not only lose faith but opportunity and affects their future.. that might sound dramatic but it's evident that these downgraded marks are going to have a significant impact on young minds invested in an outcome that makes no sense

@pointythings

The logic the algorithm seems to use (broken down to brutal simplicity) seems to have been 'a school had a U in this subject in the past 3 years, so there must be a U this year'. And that ain't necessarily so.

This is all going to happen again next week with GCSEs, with far more students. I'd much rather have a year of grade inflation and a U turn.

I don't think it's worked per school. It seems to be nationally, or locally. DD's school had double the number of U's from last year. They've been given a third less A*'s and A's.

Even worse their number of C's is down considerably. 5 pupils have lost all of the uni offers because of that. 4 pupils, including my DD1, have lost their first choice uni place

Their HT is devasted for them. They have all the info they used for CAG's ready and prepared. They've shared their CAGs with pupils when the kids have asked yesterday.

Comparing them to other schools locally they were already far more realistic with UCAS predictions than some so the kids weren't expecting A*'s across the board when C's were more likely so in some ways that has helped (Another school not far away won't tell the kids the CAG's that were submitted so the kids are all up in arms based on their UCAS predictions, which is unfair)

@lyralalala

Part of the reason for things like that seems to be that the 'value added' progress normally made by each school appears to have been ignored. They've assumed that most schools make the expected level of progress and so that means that those who normally make more than expected progress from the student's starting points (i.e. schools who always have a positive progress score) will suffer more under this measure.

A school mum went to a solicitor yesterday, her daughter massively underperformed in AS due to being in the middle of chemotherapy. She was resitting AS alongside her A2s but now obviously received results that will prevent her going to university this year. The solicitor said it is too early to lodge a complaint yet.

[quote Iamnotthe1]@lyralalala

Part of the reason for things like that seems to be that the 'value added' progress normally made by each school appears to have been ignored. They've assumed that most schools make the expected level of progress and so that means that those who normally make more than expected progress from the student's starting points (i.e. schools who always have a positive progress score) will suffer more under this measure.[/quote]
According to them DD's school has gone backwards considerably this year.

I think they've suffered from being a massive school with a large sixth form. Which means they've essentially suffered from picking up the pupils papped out of other, more selective, schools in the area for "only" being C grade pupils.

They've had at least one straight A/A pupil every year. Last year they had 3. This year they have none. Not even the pupil who has made the papers over the years for her amazing results (the kid is unreal) got her A's. In fact one of her results was a C.

Just saw on sky need some Tory MPS are adding their voices and complaining about the algorithm .. also mentioned one student was downgraded from an A in Spanish to a B despite it being his mother tongue !!! Ridiculous

The Equalities Commission has warned it will step in if Ofqual can’t “remove bias”...