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,

@Chicchicchicchiclana - ok so why give grades at all? As I said I have DC studying 'A' levels, it very much matters what they got at GCSE - maths for example is very very hard. On another note this year group will be known as the Covid year group where the exam results were over inflated, your child got 8/9's - yeah didn't everyone.

I'm a TA in a secondary school and I support students with SEN. I remember speaking to one very bright, but incredibly anxious asd student I was supporting last year. She was having an anxiety attack over her mocks and I just took her aside and pointed out every member of staff we could see (there was quite a lot) and I told her I havent the faintest clue what anyone got in the gcses. I presume they all got c's in maths and English as that is a requirement of our job, but otherwise, I dont know if they were a grades or b grades or just scraping a c because at the end of the day - it really does not matter. As long as you achieve what is needed for the next stage of education or employment, then anything more is really kind of irrelevant in life. So who really cares if all the extra 9s mean some are devalued, what does it really matter in life?

And as pp suggested, some screw up on the day. Last year I had a student who, if applied himself, would get a 3. Should definitely get a 2, but ended up having a bust up with a friend the morning of the exam so wasn't in the right mindframe and just managed to scrape a 1. I would've predicted that student a 2 as that was the level he worked at, obviously some just don't manage it under pressure so going by CAG would always mean most students being predicted what they should get, as opposed to what they do in a normal year

Also, I’ve been enrolling for sixth form today and have seen the usual spread of grades with no students massively surprised about what they got. In fact a few of them thought they would have done better had they sat the exam.

Well my ds didn't get all 8/9's

He got a few and he got them in the mocks they did before Christmas and before lockdown.

The same as the 4/5/6/7's he got are all accurate too.

In fact he went down a grade in one subject. (Which was fair)

They are real. They aren't predictions they were centre assessed grades which were then ranked and put against schools previous performance.

Not plucked out of thin air.

A very few teachers may have inflated their asssessments,
but nearly all would have responsibly assessed what their students could do if they didn't have a brainfart / bereavement / breakup / illness etc

So the students should be capable of handling their Uni course / apprenticeship / job

My son 'did' GCSE's this year
So far I have heard of someone who failed the mocks completely and now getting 7 7's and 2 6's
I know of many students who have gone up across the board 2 or 3 grades from mocks
These instances have made a complete mockery
Whether anyone likes it they are not worth the paper they are written on and some students will think they are equipped for A levels when they are not
And anyone asking - my son got 7,8,9's and must be one of the few that got exactly his mock grade with no uplift

It's devastating that we can't even enjoy them with him as he knows they are worthless

A few people seem frustrated that students won't after all lose out on their grades and opportunities

Students had a shit time in 2020; they'll never be called the "lucky year"

My son's school seem to have got things vaguely right. The kids who were always going to do better than my DS have done so. Those who were always going to do slightly worse have done so. Whether it's a 5/6/7/8/ or 9 - what does it really matter for the WHOLE OF THE REST OF THEIR LIVES?

Lots of hyperbole on here. Really it is not a disaster is it?
It would be a disaster for pupils to not pass unfairly and be unable to progress to their next step/choice because their expected results had been downgraded.
But it isn’t a disaster for some to be over graded. And the degree of inflation is definitely being over-reported. A bit unfair for those who would have always had top grades in the exams because their results may be undervalued in the future. But it doesn’t really matter as GCSEs are just a stepping stone to next choices. They will have to prove themselves on their next stage of education anyway. After this no one cares about actual grades as long as you have passed maths and English.

My son sat two sets of mocks in November and March. He'd had predicted grades from early on in year 10.
He worked really hard on some weaker areas and had pulled himself up a grade or so.

The results he got today were very much in line with his predicted grades at the end of year 10, and both sets of mock results. As well as this they'd had proper assessments in every subject every term (a 'half' term so six per year).

The only thing we couldn't correctly predict was how he would do in his weakest two subjects. He could have got 4/4, 4/5, 5/4 or 5/5. He got 4/5 but not the way round I'd expected! And there was one subject he was at 6/7 boundary he would probably have pulled up to a 7 by June, but the 6 he was awarded was totally fair.

What CAGs can't assess is who had a bad day in an exam, but that reflects more on the failings of an exam-only system. You shouldn't be judged on one day anyway.

I agree with @Chicchicchicchiclana. In the long term who cares? GCSEs are the staging post to the next part, not an end in themselves.

Mine got the grades she deserved apart from the most important one that was out by 1/2 grades. Just to add more to the debate it's classed as a private school too.
In fact a few of her friends lost the odd grade to what they should have had, in both private and state schools.
I've not heard of any drastic differences though, so seems that at least the teachers/ schools got it right.
I think they have worked wonders to support our children through what has been a terrible experience, since March.
I don't just mean the teachers, but obviously they are brilliant, but the heads, assistants, SMT, etc.

To be honest, this should have been seen coming long ago. As soon as exams were cancelled, the options of what to do next were there and then maybe, just maybe, a plan of how to deal with the aftermath could have been thought about. On the whole though, its better to give the kids opportunities now than deny them, and where this leads them later for A-levels and the real world will depend on them entirely and today's results is just a small step for them.

Sorry I beg to differ students had a shit time in 2020
Our children had no exams, no pressure etc
My children are this year and have got away with murder.
Think of those poor year 10 and 12 - without doubt at the moment that is the single cohort that has been damaged.

In the great scheme of things after what's happened to them this year I think let them have it. It really doesn't matter in the long term and and voicing sour grapes is not going to make any of these kids feel better.

@Paddy1234

My son 'did' GCSE's this year So far I have heard of someone who failed the mocks completely and now getting 7 7's and 2 6's I know of many students who have gone up across the board 2 or 3 grades from mocks These instances have made a complete mockery Whether anyone likes it they are not worth the paper they are written on and some students will think they are equipped for A levels when they are not And anyone asking - my son got 7,8,9's and must be one of the few that got exactly his mock grade with no uplift

It's devastating that we can't even enjoy them with him as he knows they are worthless

That’s a bit sad. You don’t really know what other people should or shouldn’t have got. Celebrate with your child rather than under-valuing their grades and being bitter about it.

I think this message is damaging to the mental health of these young people. Imagine if you'd spent years preparing for something important and at the last hurdle told you can't show how good you are how would you feel? I think as a cohort they have shown amazing resilience and dignity beyond their years. We should celebrate their results just as we'd celebrate any other year.
My ds already thinks he doesn't deserve them, but he's still worked his socks off for many years to gain these grades. Overall they are probably similar to what he'd have got in an exam. 4 we thought should have got higher based on mocks however 2 were a grade higher than expected evens out overall and at the end of the day they'll have to go on and prove themselves at alevels.

I agree Greengrapes.
It’s a bit sad to see parents undervaluing their children and not recognising the reality of what this year group have had to face.

I really really hope people who think like the op are the minority

The whole thing Has Been a fiasco

My ds was lucky and got his predicted grades ranging from 6 to 8 , already had my brother say 'algorithms must be good in your area '

He says all of his friends got terraces they were predicted ,none were Inflated

My best friends son didn't pass any , that was also predicted, no inflation there

If the media go on like the op I feel so sorry for this year as they will be working their fingers to the bone at A level to prove their worth in an academic year that will be like no other, no assemblies, no team sports , school have already said sixth form will start at 10amand finish at 5 , the buses are a shit show because stagecoach have lost so much money they cantafford to put on extra buses and it is only going to be one student to a seat and no standing so half the capacity

But hey , let's beat them up about it , it's great eh?

Haha

He is a well adjusted lazy teenage boy. No problems and will excel at A level.

It is his choice to look at them and be circumspect at the true value.
I congratulated him and he laughed and gave a wry smile.

Sorry we don't come from the snow flake generation that needs to applaud at every step.

I can tell you that he has had a great old time these last few months snd never had to read Macbeth or dickens. In his eyes he has dodged the best bullet ever

I think this message is damaging to the mental health of these young people. Imagine if you'd spent years preparing for something important and at the last hurdle told you can't show how good you are how would you feel? I think as a cohort they have shown amazing resilience and dignity beyond their years. We should celebrate their results just as we'd celebrate any other year

Exactly this

It’s not down to teachers

www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/20/schools-consider-appeals-against-gcse-grades-that-are-too-high

’Thursday’s GCSE results were mainly derived from assessments made by teachers and schools, known as centre-assessed grades (CAGs), after the algorithm used by the exams regulator Ofqual was largely ditched following the furore over downgraded A-levels. Grades generated by the algorithm were only retained if they were higher than the school-assessed grade.‘

So the high anomalies thrown out by the algorithm were retained.

This is the fault of the algorithm again

’Philip Jones, the headteacher of Ferndown upper school in Dorset said that more than 300 grades at his school – about 15% – had been raised, some by two grades. “We thought the CAGs were fair. It’s put us in quite a difficult position,” he said’

’Elsewhere there were reports that a pupil in West Yorkshire who was forecast a grade of level 1 in a subject had been upgraded to an 8 after the Ofqual moderating process. At the same school, 12 students studying a subject were awarded results that were four grades higher than the CAGs.‘

This isn’t about the teachers or the students. It’s about Gavin a Williamson and OFQUAL fucking up again?

My son's results were in line with his year 6 sats predictions, his year 10 mock, his (2 sets) of year 11 mocks and his termly progress reports. Mocks are sat under strict exam conditions and marked conservatively. The grades at his comprehensive were predicted by class teachers based on all these evidence sources in addition to his class work, homework submissions and their knowledge of his attitude to learning throughout the two years of his gcse courses. These class results were then discussed amongst the subject teams and ranked, they were then moderated by the subject leaders and senior teaching team and compared to the previous attainment at the school over the last two years.

He did extremely well which was as expected. Obviously the vagaries of a bad exam on the day were removed but given the miserable lockdown months, I feel it's a small payback well deserved. I would be extremely upset if anyone accused him of having Mickey Mouse results.

Surely allowing more children to have the opportunity to further their educational opportunities is better than downgrading them out of hand and crushing their ambition.

Think of those poor year 10 and 12 - without doubt at the moment that is the single cohort that has been damaged

I don't know if this is true
My school has been fantastic at the online learning
There are already plans in place to catch up, extra classes etc
And coursework will now be utilised so not just exam based

@Paddy1234

Sorry I beg to differ students had a shit time in 2020 Our children had no exams, no pressure etc My children are this year and have got away with murder. Think of those poor year 10 and 12 - without doubt at the moment that is the single cohort that has been damaged.

I feel for them too but my son's school have focussed a lot of energy on those cohorts, online teaching, getting them back into school on some way, whereas year 11 was left.

Year 11 went from getting marks for mocks and being told all the things they needed to do to improve and then nothing. Literally nothing they could do. No contact from school, no final day, no goodbyes, no celebration or prom, no positive messages from teachers. Just this is what you need to improve on and then nothing.

My DS was a bit disappointed and got lower grades than he would be done if he’d actually taken the exams. He is a bright child but one of those who does hardly any study until the last couple of months and then ramps it up at the end. So he could’ve done better not the other way round. But he accepts the results and I think feels lesson learned and he’ll not do the same in A levels just in case we have a similar thing in 2 years. Also - he was in a school with historic poor results so not many higher grades could be awarded, and he wasn’t top of the ranking, due to not working as hard as he could’ve done in the mocks.

They’ve really missed out in a lot though this years Yr11- it’s just not the same for them, no send off, no prom , just all a bit flat . Such a shame. But he is looking forward to getting off to 6th form college.