To be struggling to take this years GCSE grades seriously

[awaywiththecircus]

It’s no the dcs fault but I do think the GCSE results this year will be taken with a pinch of salt. I do feel sorry the the students who would have actually got a bunch of 8 and 9s if they’d sat the actual tests as it seems more than ever are getting those grades this year and it does make you wonder. We’re they not meant to be for the very top percentage of students? I’ve spoken to a parent who is pleased the marks were centre assessed as he thinks his ds probably wouldn’t have passed his maths and English if he’d actually sat them,

And it just raises questions about teacher assessment vs a single few weeks of exams.

In what way? Maths is pretty clear cut so I don't think the lower marks were anything to do with incorrect teacher assessments. She just usually made silly mistakes or went off on the wrong tangent in school tests/mocks.

@WhatamessIgotinto

Exactly. It was an impossible situation though, but all this 'they've been through so much!' is bollocks.

You are showing that you have no idea. You have no clue what this year has done to the mental health of many, many young people in their situation including my own son. And no, that's not 'bollocks' either.

Absolutely

I don’t doubt there are some children who think this is ‘heaven’ my ds2 for example

But dd Would 1000x rather Do the exams

And ds1 struggled Mentally with the first 6 weeks or so

Blanket statements are so stupid

Some/most children have and are struggling, some/ most children are not struggling

In what way? Maths is pretty clear cut so I don't think the lower marks were anything to do with incorrect teacher assessments. She just usually made silly mistakes or went off on the wrong tangent in school tests/mocks

It shows that some children are good at subjects - but they struggle with exams - for some of the reasons you have discussed.

[quote areyoubeingserviced]@Pikachubaby- your niece should not be doing maths if she was working at a level 4 or 5. She will definitely struggle.
Even students who have taken exams and achieved grade 8 at maths, struggle with A level maths. It is hard.
This is the issue though , sixth form places will be taken up by people who cannot cope with some courses.
I don’t mean to sound like a negative Nancy( my dd has done well out of this) , but I do feel that this is going to backfire[/quote]
I agree, it is a worry that students are possibly now going to be trying to attempt A Levels due to sudden high results. I'm hoping colleges will be able to avoid that situation, but I'm not sure how

@itsgettingweird. I said the same to mine. He got 6s and a couple of 5s which was in line with both sets of mocks. He's gutted he didn't get to sit his exams as he thinks he could have done better if he had but he's got what he needs to move on.

People just love to piss on these kids' chips, that's one thing that hasn't changed. It's the same every year, just more so this year.

There's no right answer to whether this year's cohort were lucky or blighted.

DS2 got his results yesterday. He thought he'd won the lottery when exams were cancelled. He had 3 months off relaxing then started an apprenticeship he loves that has no academic requirements. His results were broadly as expected,a mix of 5s and 6s.

DS1 took A levels last year after virtually dropping out of school in the second year and doing very minimal revision if any. He passed all three - maths, physics and chemistry - with C grades because he is exceptionally bright and excellent at exams. I very much doubt his CAGs would have been that high because it would have been very difficult for a teacher to justify anything above an E purely due to lack of evidence.

As a family we have been very fortunate in the timing of this pandemic.

' you have no clue what this year has done to the mental health of many, many young people in their situation including my own son'

I have teens and older kids if course I know the impact of the pandemic on all aspects of everyone's life. The fact is not having to revise or sit exams, then being given very favourable grades isnt quite the drama some are making it out to be.

@GetOffYourHighHorse

' you have no clue what this year has done to the mental health of many, many young people in their situation including my own son'

I have teens and older kids if course I know the impact of the pandemic on all aspects of everyone's life. The fact is not having to revise or sit exams, then being given very favourable grades isnt quite the drama some are making it out to be.

Not everyone has received "favourable grades". Some would have done better if they had taken the exams . On top of that they have to deal with some people calling their qualifications "mickey mouse" qualifications and not taking them seriously. They also missed months of education no on line lessons or teacher input once the exams were cancelled.

I tell you what I’m going to do OP, and that’s take all the naysaying, nitpicking and negativity with a very large pinch of salt

It is what it is. For both GCSE and A level. What we have is not a perfect solution but then neither are exams. None of the students had a choice and they all deserve to either celebrate good results or commiserate disappointing ones, whichever applies to them.

The thing is it is shit for ALL of them.

It is shit for Y11 and y13, who had no chance to prove their “worth” in exams and will now have years of other people sneering and dismissing their results and telling them they never earned them so they’re just “mickey mouse” grades.

It is shit for y10 and y12 who have missed out on huge chunks of teaching and will understandably be nervous about what next year will bring. Particularly shit for y12 given the uncertainty of uni places for next year with all this year’s deferrals.

It is shit for uni students who had their academic year and student lives cut abruptly short and will have to deal with a very different student experience this year.

Shit for younger secondary and primary and nursery pupils in different ways.

It is shit for so many people in so many situations.

What I can’t bear is the attitude of some parents, both on here and in other areas of the media, who are deliberately dissing down and expressing outrage about this year’s exam cohort to big up their own y9/10/12 children and bemoan how much more unfair it is for them. I can’t bear it. By all means express valid concerns but there’s no need to pour outrage and negativity on other children’s results and efforts in doing so.

I am a current y11 parent. I very much hope that significant concessions will be made for next year’s y11 and y13 so that the exam situation becomes as fair as it can be. It may even be that those kids get a much more positive and fair end of school experience than this year’s cohort have. We don’t know yet, but I really hope they do. And you know what? If that happens it will take nothing away from my child’s achievements and I will be delighted for them all.

@FlyingPandas

I tell you what I’m going to do OP, and that’s take all the naysaying, nitpicking and negativity with a very large pinch of salt

It is what it is. For both GCSE and A level. What we have is not a perfect solution but then neither are exams. None of the students had a choice and they all deserve to either celebrate good results or commiserate disappointing ones, whichever applies to them.

The thing is it is shit for ALL of them.

It is shit for Y11 and y13, who had no chance to prove their “worth” in exams and will now have years of other people sneering and dismissing their results and telling them they never earned them so they’re just “mickey mouse” grades.

It is shit for y10 and y12 who have missed out on huge chunks of teaching and will understandably be nervous about what next year will bring. Particularly shit for y12 given the uncertainty of uni places for next year with all this year’s deferrals.

It is shit for uni students who had their academic year and student lives cut abruptly short and will have to deal with a very different student experience this year.

Shit for younger secondary and primary and nursery pupils in different ways.

It is shit for so many people in so many situations.

What I can’t bear is the attitude of some parents, both on here and in other areas of the media, who are deliberately dissing down and expressing outrage about this year’s exam cohort to big up their own y9/10/12 children and bemoan how much more unfair it is for them. I can’t bear it. By all means express valid concerns but there’s no need to pour outrage and negativity on other children’s results and efforts in doing so.

I am a current y11 parent. I very much hope that significant concessions will be made for next year’s y11 and y13 so that the exam situation becomes as fair as it can be. It may even be that those kids get a much more positive and fair end of school experience than this year’s cohort have. We don’t know yet, but I really hope they do. And you know what? If that happens it will take nothing away from my child’s achievements and I will be delighted for them all.

Well said

@RufustheSniggeringReindeer how did your DC do?

My DC took their GCSEs 3 years ago. They went to an academy that consistently ranks in top 10 of non selective state schools nationally. As a result of their mocks, work throughout the year and teacher predictions they were 'expected' all As and Bs or equivalent. They do not perform well under stress and actually achieved all Cs and Ds or equivalent. Nobody can accurately predict how someone will perform on the day. My child would have probably have fared significantly better if they were in the class of 2020. The head teacher of her old school who always harped on about the importance of exams has now said. " This system allows us to mark students on how well we know they perform, rather than the result of one exam." I personally have always maintained that exams only prove what you can remember on one given day, rather than what you actually know. As a consequence of what has happened this year I believe that this year's marking process goes to prove that the whole current system of linear exams is fatally flawed as it disadvantages those who do not cope under stress. I cannot possibly recall the amount of times in the past 2 weeks that I have heard teachers saying " We know our students and their capabilities, so are in the best position to award their grades". Well Hello, Let's reform the whole final grading methodology.

@WestendVBroadway

My DC took their GCSEs 3 years ago. They went to an academy that consistently ranks in top 10 of non selective state schools nationally. As a result of their mocks, work throughout the year and teacher predictions they were 'expected' all As and Bs or equivalent. They do not perform well under stress and actually achieved all Cs and Ds or equivalent. Nobody can accurately predict how someone will perform on the day. My child would have probably have fared significantly better if they were in the class of 2020. The head teacher of her old school who always harped on about the importance of exams has now said. " This system allows us to mark students on how well we know they perform, rather than the result of one exam." I personally have always maintained that exams only prove what you can remember on one given day, rather than what you actually know. As a consequence of what has happened this year I believe that this year's marking process goes to prove that the whole current system of linear exams is fatally flawed as it disadvantages those who do not cope under stress. I cannot possibly recall the amount of times in the past 2 weeks that I have heard teachers saying " We know our students and their capabilities, so are in the best position to award their grades". Well Hello, Let's reform the whole final grading methodology.

Absolutely this! I fear it will never happen with Gove around.

@WestendVBroadway I agree with your post. Can I ask how your DC are doing now and where they chose to move onto after GCSEs? I have a dd with who due to anxiety and other issues often underperformes in exam conditions. She's going in to y11 and will soon be deciding on 6th form/college.

@mrshoho My DC went on to study a level 3 Btec extended diploma, at a different establishment ( don't want to say subject as may be outing) They got Distinction* and 2 X Distinction. Off to uni this year!

I see that the goody OP @awaywiththecircus hasn’t got the guts to return to their own thread and defend their opinion.

Says it all really.

Only the one took A levels this year smile

1 A level....algorithm B, CAG B, she would have more than likely got an A taking the actual exam

2nd A level ....algorithm C, CAG B, she would have got a B in the exam

BTEC....didnt go through algorithm, Distiction star

So not too bad at all

Ds2 is about to go into year 13 😱

Thank you for asking

@WestendVBroadway Totally agree, I think exams, or at least everything being based on end of year exams is a crap way to measure achievement.

The problem with "cheating" on coursework could have been resolved by completing it at school in exam conditions. Like a sort of open book exam. That's how we were assessed for part of Art GCSE in 1992, it's not exactly unheard of already.

@WestendVBroadway That's fantastic and well done to your DC! Thank you for sharing.

I have teens and older kids if course I know the impact of the pandemic on all aspects of everyone's life. The fact is not having to revise or sit exams, then being given very favourable grades isnt quite the drama some are making it out to be.

I'd like to know where this very favourable grades nonsense is coming from. My ds got what he expected based on the fact centre assessments were always ongoing and he know where he was in March.

And I say that when he managed to get at least one of each grade between 4-9! Which was correct as he excels at maths and science, is not great at English and pretty average in general

I see that the OP has a DC in Y10. Frankly I am amazed by their attitude as it is by no means apparent what will happen wth the exam cohorts in 2021 - their DC could find themselves facing the same or a different scenario. It has been very tough on Y11 and Y13, but also very tough on Y12 and Y10. I wish a good outcome for all DC.

@ShaunaTheSheep

I see that the OP has a DC in Y10. Frankly I am amazed by their attitude as it is by no means apparent what will happen wth the exam cohorts in 2021 - their DC could find themselves facing the same or a different scenario. It has been very tough on Y11 and Y13, but also very tough on Y12 and Y10. I wish a good outcome for all DC.

Yes, I wonder if OP will tell her own children that their results should be taken "with a pinch of salt" if something similar happens next year.

@Asuitablecat

I think we all just need to agree that O'levels were the only proper exams ever taken in this country and that the rest of us have progressed purely down to ridiculous gcses and grade inflation over the past 25 years.

The nostalgia about O-Levels is a real nonsense.

I passed Maths O-Level by memorising the parts where I knew that was enough without having to understand it. Those exams hugely rewarded those with good memories, which I had - sadly the menopause has reduced it to average now!

I saw some 1950's History O-Level papers once and they had questions on like "Describe a Tudor manor house." So much for the so-called golden age.

Sure, maybe another system would have been better/more accurate, but that's true with normal years exams, they're not really an accurate way of showing skill level either. There isn't much can do with just GCSEs (or even A-levels) that we need to fear much if they end up out of their depth for a bit. It's always a jump to the next level/into work. There are some issues for where they go next, but it's not really that much different from any other year.

Businesses have been complaining about results not being useful for them for years and every year people go on about how results are fluffed & people aren't taking what they think are 'proper' courses (a lot of hate for psychology, sociology, and, of course, the dreaded media studies). Exactly what good it does to anyone, I've yet to figure out. Pointing out grade inflation doesn't do much unless planning an alternative.

I have a DS who is ecstatic to have what he needs to move on with his BTEC (and never do English again...). His father and I are glad DS's has been ignoring the coverage and social media on it, from the comments back in March that upset teens are just dramatic assholes who don't care about the dying (like we adults couldn't be upset about life's distruption and the death toll) to the twist on the annual pile-on, it feels to me some people just love to hate on teenagers any chance they get.

The fact is not having to revise or sit exams, then being given very favourable grades isnt quite the drama some are making it out to be.

@GetOffYourHighHorse Were your teens not bothered about not doing their exams?

Mine certainly was. He had been going to before and after school revision interventions since Christmas til lockdown in March. He's always found school hard and wanted to prove how hard he'd worked. He's an average student even with all the hard work (5/6's) and he wanted to see if he could better his mocks. So yes, not being able to do that was a 'drama' to him.