AIBU to still be shitting myself over the GCSE grades tomorrow

[Lowhangingfruit]

According to the radio 4 show "More or less" this morning some students might not get they're teacher predicted grade. As there's another assessment I'm distraught. I have so much pinning on this tomorrow :-(

You will get CAG tomorrow. It will take a week to get algorithm grades which you can accept if higher.

Why on earth can't the government issue both. They have them. They had them ready to go already so why can't they also be sent out, along with CAGs. These poor kids - they still have to wait another week to be 100% sure what their grades are. Seems so unfair.

yep CAG tomorrow...then the other one a week later so I have been told

Piece- the cag is lower than the awarded grade? Or the centre's grades are lower this year than previous years?

Good luck for tomorrow OP. If it’s any consolation, you’d be feeling like this if you’d sat the exam too!

Fingers crossed for a 4. There are resits in November, is that a option if you don’t make it?

Aragog- yes, perhaps. 5% of ours to be awarded tomorrow were raised grades compared to CAGS. And they're not in the rank order, e.g. one student went from 6 to 8 and she was one place lower in rank order than a student who remained at the CAG of 6. No-one knows why.

I think a PP mentioned BTecs? They won’t be out tomorrow unfortunately

schoolsweek.co.uk/pearson-announces-eleventh-hour-grading-u-turn-on-btecs-telling-schools-not-to-issue-results-tomorrow/

The GCSE download definitely has the highest grade out of CAG and calculated grade. I know this for certain! BTECs have been pulled at the eleventh hour for possible regarding and should *not be given tomorrow. Cambridge Nationals will be released on Tuesday, but schools can issue CAGs tomorrow. I have spent today sorting this!

And they're not in the rank order, e.g. one student went from 6 to 8 and she was one place lower in rank order than a student who remained at the CAG of 6. No-one knows why

This is worrying

Oh my I might just drink a bottle of gin and pass out for the night 😨

Yes but getting a chance to revise, plus courses and childcare! Probably won't be an option. 😬

Once our CAG were pulled down to reflect previous grades (3 years) which is what schools were supposed to do. None should have been much higher. We probably would not have been impacted too much in an algorithm as we were on a par rather than inflated.

What worries me is that parents think that these are teacher grades and they aren't.

@Pieceofpurplesky

Once our CAG were pulled down to reflect previous grades (3 years) which is what schools were supposed to do. None should have been much higher. We probably would not have been impacted too much in an algorithm as we were on a par rather than inflated.

What worries me is that parents think that these are teacher grades and they aren't.

Why would you do that when Ofqual were planning to do that with an algorithm?! It's really worrying that some school have attempted to standardise themselves. Not everyone will have done that.

It is worrying, Hope. Personally for me, and many teachers in schools like mine, because actually the students are likely to hold grievances against teachers for differences in grades between them and their peers, that they believe their teachers have awarded and are fully responsible and answerable for.

@HipTightOnions

Surely that’s what the algorithm did not schools themselves

Some schools did it themselves because they knew there was no point submitting higher grades because the algorithm would just lower them.

Slightly kicking ourselves now.

But why not leave the algorithm to lower the grades if necessary?

But why not leave the algorithm to lower the grades if necessary?

Because schools thought the algorithm would be reasonable and leave their grades alone if their results made sense.

@Onceuponamidnight

It is worrying, Hope. Personally for me, and many teachers in schools like mine, because actually the students are likely to hold grievances against teachers for differences in grades between them and their peers, that they believe their teachers have awarded and are fully responsible and answerable for.

I'm sure they will. There will probably be a mass exodus of students to other sixth forms.

Crossed post with you Piece- that worries me too- it's the message they've been given so we'll be held accountable to parents.

Our cohort is small so there is huge variation year by year, therefore we thought the algorithm would pull down this year's grades, despite it being a relatively able year group. I graded accurately but we expected a lowering.

I hope you get what you're hoping for 🤞☺️.

@noblegiraffe

But why not leave the algorithm to lower the grades if necessary?

Because schools thought the algorithm would be reasonable and leave their grades alone if their results made sense.

It was obviously going to adjust it a bit. Why wouldn't you just let it?

It was obviously going to adjust it a bit

When teachers submitted grades there was no algorithm. No one knew what it would do.

Schools thought their results would be checked for reasonableness and tweaked at the edges if not. The suggestion was that pupils lowest ranked within a grade might move down if necessary. There was a benefit to this not being deemed necessary! If you drew attention to yourself with bonkers grades, the assumption was they would take a closer look and ask for supporting evidence.

God this thread has really made me worried. The teachers at DD's school have always said that they were a very good year and I seriously hope that their results weren't pulled down by the teachers to match previous years just for the sake of it. How lacking in common sense can you get?

@TheFallenMadonna

Different schools. Otherwise I think I would have had to let someone else do the download. Palpitations just thinking of that!

This prospect is going to happen to me & my colleague next year. We have a plan in place to avoid us seeing them. Our boss will pull those results.

Schools thought their results would be checked for reasonableness and tweaked at the edges if not. The suggestion was that pupils lowest ranked within a grade might move down if necessary. There was a benefit to this not being deemed necessary! If you drew attention to yourself with bonkers grades, the assumption was they would take a closer look and ask for supporting evidence.

The is s difference between "bonkers grades" and actually adjusting grades to lower than you though students would achieve. Surely a reasonable but slightly optimistic grade would have worked?

How lacking in common sense can you get?

Well given that you don’t know that’s what they’ve done, you’re jumping the gun a bit.

SATs results were also taken into account so if your DC’s cohort was strong, this would bump their grades up against previous years.

When teachers submitted grades there was no algorithm. No one knew what it would do.

They said they were going to adjust grades using previous years results and other factors such as prior attainment i.e. an algorithm