To think that the government did this on purpose

[therhubarbbrothers]

The A level results fiasco seemed to penalise bright children from disadvantaged schools. Aibu to think the government knew that this would happen but saw it as acceptable ?

They've backed down now and it's going to be teacher assessed grades.
And to answer your question: No. I don't think that they do anything with much forethought for the consequences.

I can't honestly say that I believe that the Government deliberately made a decision that they knew would throw them into the middle of this mess and cause them to make yet another u-turn. Particularly since they are desperately trying to avoid being seen as a Government that can't make any decision stick.

But do I believe that they genuinely care that it's affected so many students, from any background, in so many different ways? Not a chance. The people who hold the reins of power in our country couldn't scrounge up enough empathy between them to see beyond their own interests.

No they didn't do it "on purpose. It's easy to look for conspiracy theories when the truth is so preposterous and it's hard to envisage how someone could have got things so wrong.

With this Government though, their modus operandi seems to be

• Can we prevaricate and delay any decision making as long as possible?
• Can we test a soft policy through the media and see what the reaction would be, and "focus-group" it instead of using our judgement?
• Is there an outside agency or body we can use as the fall guy for any of this?
• Can we make money out of any of this by generating wealth in the private sector using agency support?
• Never mind a pandemic and the need for extraordinary decisions for these circumstances - how can we spin this so it serves the interests of the voter groups represented by Mail readers?

@JuniperFather
Brilliant post

Dont be so bloody silly

Do you actually think that they’re competent enough ?!

If it's a choice between conspiracy and cock up, I choose cock up every time.

One of the many problems with the current cabinet, is that it's full of people who have been selected for their loyalty instead of their ability. Gavin Williamson has definitely been overpromoted.

It isnt deliberate, they are entirely incompetent.

@cariadlet

If it's a choice between conspiracy and cock up, I choose cock up every time.

One of the many problems with the current cabinet, is that it's full of people who have been selected for their loyalty instead of their ability. Gavin Williamson has definitely been overpromoted.

It's definitely a case of Hanlon's razor: "never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

@cariadlet

If it's a choice between conspiracy and cock up, I choose cock up every time.

One of the many problems with the current cabinet, is that it's full of people who have been selected for their loyalty instead of their ability. Gavin Williamson has definitely been overpromoted.

Gavin Williamson was sacked for leaking sensitive material from National Security Council. Yet he backed Brexit and knew the right folk, so he was welcomed back in despite such a clear grounds from exclusion from any national office.

In her previous Cabinet role, Priti Patel swans off to Israel without informing the Foreign Office and conducts a series of private meetings. Is sacked for this compete breach of protocol and undermining the PM, yet less than two years later, this is enough to bring her back as...Home Secretary no less. Brexit again may have played a part.

Grant Shapps....well, where do you start with this modern day huckster and serial denier of truth about himself. Nothing is ever enough to keep this person away from high office.

I could spend an entire post on Chris Grayling, but you get my point...

For Dominic Cummings to achieve his "disrupt the organs of state and destroy the protocols around government", he needs people there who do just that.

It's terrifying for all of us who just want our government to serve the public interest, but it must be thrilling for this human wrecking ball to have "disruptors" in every office.

I agree with PPs, this is pure cock up. It seems that there was no meaningful testing of their algorithm.

The result was massively unfair especially on high performing outliers - the straight A students in a sea of straight Cs.

Quite simply the whole thing wasnt thought through in terms of students as individuals rather than as a lump.

@chickenyhead

It isnt deliberate, they are entirely incompetent.

This, definitely. Never before was there such an assembly of halfwits.

I think it is a case of they knew that the algorithm skewed the results in favour of independent schools. The data cut had been done and was published alongside the grades on Thursday. I don't think the algorithm was designed to do that - it just turned out that way and they did not care so went with the grades anyway.

Before there is wholesale blame of DfE or Ofqual - the results needed ministerial sign off. Gavin Williamson must have had the high level figures in front of him or if he didn't he is more incompetent than he makes out. Some would say promoted beyond his abilities.

"Never before was there such an assembly of halfwits."

I think folks seem to forget that even with the alogorithim there were more passes than ever before. This is simoly a case of how over inflated the results were. Some folks are reacting like thousands and thousands of kids were given grades worse than they would have achieved, and everyone was downgraded, that’s not the case at all. Overall the grades given were still better and over inflated v previous years..

Yes some kids were penalised by it, but it was a tiny minority where the algorithm got it wrong as it attempted to standardise back to previous years.

What should have occured is teachers told to assess grades but keep it within a given percentage of the average of previous years Performance. That part was missing which is what’s caused this fuck up.

They over inflated too much, so the government tried to standardise it back but still kept it over inflated.

The whole thing is a mess but the media frenzy and the hysteria some folks are displaying shows a wholesale misunderstanding of what’s actually occured.

I don't think it was deliberate, I think they are so privileged that an algorithm which advantaged people like them over the majority of the population just seemed absolutely fine because it's situation normal.

This is a perfect example of why I feel like our government should be more representative of the people it serves.

I look at it this way, if it is not on FB, it’s not true 👍👍😂😳😳👍

Bluntness - over all the grades were similar, but the distribution of those grades meant that thousands of students were penalised - 19%lower in the 6th form sector. The distribution was not equitable for those students and that is what the outcry is about. If you were in small cohorts I am sure you were rather pleased with the grades and the over all distribution.

You get what you vote for...!

I think it’s fairly clear that the government don’t care about children and young people (or women but that’s a different thread)

They cared about grade inflation above all else (a Gove obsession) and ignored the known problems and biases. So yes, disadvantage to high-achieving state school students was designed into the process. Nobody cared. It was signed off anyway. It's perhaps not a consipracy but incompetence is also a charitable way of describing it.

Who voted for this shower of twats?

They are the most incompetent government we have ever had.

If you had asked me in December if this was the case, I could have told you so

@BillywilliamV

Or NOT

chickenyhead

"Never before was there such an assembly of halfwits."

A lot of truth in that. "Halfwits, assembly!" - that's how a Cabinet meeting is called. It's a shame really, it went wrong due to a simple typo seen just before their selection:

"Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the body of senior Ministers of the Clown."

It was just with Boris heading it all up, no one thought to question it.

Ultimately though, an algorithm doesn't treat people as unique individuals and this is absolutely frightening.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it turned out the algorithm was produced by some politician’s business mates (in a sector far removed from education or IT) for several £million.