To think they’ll be uproar unless 2021 GCSE cohort get the same pass rate and high grades as this years?

[Mrschickpeabody]

And the whole thing is a complete mess.
I have a ds in Year 10. He was doing brilliantly prior to lockdown. He’s done his best with somewhat patchy home learning but I can’t see how he’ll possibly do as well as he would have done. All the focus seems to have been on the current year 11s missing their exams, proms etc. but I do think the year 10s and 12s are the worst hit years.

I want to bang some heads together.

All this "Oh woe, they will be competing for places with some of this Years 13's (who is some cases have been obliged to defer btw)"

So get your current Y12's to consider a gap year - just like the one imposed on some of the current Year 13's

I reminded my DS who is going to uni next month to be sure to clarify that his A levels were 2019 ones in any on going applications as he will be going to uni, and graduating - with many 2020 ones. Fortunately his arts course is pretty much portfolio and interview entry, mostly offered pre Covid.

He's spent the intervening year doing a (more or less compulsory) Art Foundation via UAL, which was pretty much unaffected by Covid.

But I, too, feel great sympathy for this Sept's Y13s as there will be fewer places at uni for them. But I don't think at this stage ditching their A levels in favour of CAGs is the answer. The government won't allow this amount of grade inflation again anytime soon.

I started a thread about my hope that careful stats would be recorded over the next few years to see the affect having DC enter courses that transpire to be too hard for them, for example, would have in terms of dropout rates and lower degree classifications as the stats might be used, going forward, to take the emphasis off be all and end all terminal exams. Or reinforce the need for them as indicators of ability.

However, it garnered little interest 😂

As you know Miljea, most students doing an arts degree (what is he doing, Fine Art?) will have done an art foundation year first, hence he will be competing with other 2019 A level students for the main part

And don't kid yourself re the 2020 grades - my dd's CAG grade for A level Art matched her grade for her NEA which normally (again, as you know) consists of 60% of the final A level mark. Art / Graphic Communications/ Sculpture etc A levels are probably the least likely to be affected by (the much vaunted but actually not that frequent) grade inflation given that they will be based on NEAs completed and marked prior to lockdown

@SuitedandBooted

Of course rates will be significantly lower.

Kids will be actually sitting exams, so the "Bad Day" effect will be back.

For the first time ever, everyone in 2020 did as their teachers hoped and had evidence for (even if some were optimistic). Nobody had to cope with a bad nights sleep, family worries, anxiety, illness or even just reading a question incorrectly! That was the main driver for the grade increase. If you think huge numbers of teachers thought "Well Katie should only get a 4 , but lets give her an 8", you really don't understand the process.

And there isn't a prom in my kid's school.

Regarding 'Katie', tbf, people (teachers/some schools) have apparently admitted to trying their luck with over-optimistic grades!

The issue comes if Katie then thinks she's an 8, not a 4, and goes into that A level based on that.

An aside, my DS struggled with English to the extent of both external private and in-school tutoring in Y5/6, to get a 4 in his SATS.

At GCSE, 3 years ago, He got a 6 for Eng Lit- and an 8 for Lang.... we both 😂😂😂 at that and he assumed they must have marked the wrong paper! In fact, he's very diligent and must have learned every which-way quote and go-to passage. But even then, an 8??

But no way was he going to try for an English A level based on that!

Limitisup

So your solution to the current education/unemployment crises would be to flood the job market with entry level candidates desperate for work?

Because Tit for Tat... Interesting

LimitsUp I don't think I'm 'kidding myself'.

Yes, arts students are ultimately judged on their actual output, not A level entry grades.

But the big design companies, with 50 applicants for one job are going to start with an elimination process somewhere, aren't they? And while I say the UAL Foundation was largely unaffected, maybe I should say 'for my DS' as he already a) had his unconditional in the bag, and b) had already amassed enough points for a Distinction by March.

As for doing the Foundation, it was an odd mix. The two RGs he looked at weren't that fussed, three of the others more or less demanded it!

But I will still be reminding my DS to differentiate his A level results as being 2019. While sympathising with those DC absolutely caught in the middle of 'all this'!

And the hysterical breast-beating about 'prom' is totally absurd, too

The hyperbole about other posts is a bit tiring as well

Yes Katie’s do exist. I’ve read about students getting a 6 for maths when they were only ever going to do the foundation paper!?! Plenty of teachers and parents on MN have confirmed the marks were inflated at some schools.
I’ve absolutely no idea how they’ll be able to make next year’s mark fair after all this.

The inflation was mostly due to the algorithm, not teachers

The algorithm calculated ridiculous downgrades AND upgrades - but the algorithm's upgrades can't be cancelled, as that would be too cruel.

Schools consider appeals against GCSE grades that are too high
Exams fiasco continues as heads fear results raised by algorithm set pupils up to fail

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

Just because one year has been buggered up by incompetent government is no reason to keep buggering up every future year

Grades change when an Education Secretary changes the syllabus, or cuts out coursework

... and this illustrates the stupidity of insisting on 1 set of exams, when anything could go wrong, to judge years of work

I am perfectly happy to accept that some teachers were too generous and there were grade anomalies -as there always are. But certainly not all teachers, in all schools.

My husband is a teacher - their grades as a school are very similar to normal. Slightly higher for GCSE, but this was the best cohort they have had in the last 15 odd years through the school.

Grades were supposed to be carefully checked, going right through a department up to senior management. Questions should be asked of schools with big increases , particularly jumps of more than two grades.

I think the smart sixth forms need to be on top of this and to get DC to drop courses they can't manage as soon as it becomes apparent, otherwise their league table positions are going to take a hit in two years time! Someone mentioned an Oct 'Swap or Drop' which I think is a good idea.

I speak as the parent of a DS who started 4 academic AS levels (back when they did them) at a fairly lenient sixth form, but who by the end of lower sixth, had dropped one altogether and got DEU in the others...

We did the cull for him and he restarted elsewhere doing a BTEC (now midway thru uni).

The sixth forms may meet quite a lot of parental opposition, tho!

There's going to be an impact on what's been missed from the curriculum. Subjects like triple science have loads of content - so even if the exams are changed (which doesn't look like for science it will be) ,there is still going to be an impact on topic coverage for A-levels etc.

I don't trust the Government or OFQUAL on this.

Exactly @chomalungma. If a child coming into Y11 is graded highly for science based on the work they have done (if teacher assessment is used rather than exams), would they actually cope doing a science A-level as they won't have done the base work covered in the GCSE subject content.

I have a DC coming into Y11 and I am very worried.

Nope!

But there should be if they don't adjust the exams to take into account the 15 weeks of home learning (I know some years 10's got face to face).

This years grades reflected this years situation.

Next years exams should reflect the same. But all being well those pupils will get to take exams, have a feel for how they did, have the end of year stuff and prom etc.

It's tough for every year group. Current year 10 s have had some class room time over the last half term which puts them at an advantage over years 7-9 who havent been in a classroom since march.

I don't know how they are going to take into account the wide range of home learning since March. There are going to be a lot of children who have been disadvantaged - it is going to be a mess and there needs to be open debate about this.

That debate should be taking place now.

Do you lot think this year's Y11 were all handed 8s and 9s? Those grades took weeks. We made sure our overall pass rate was broadly the same as the year before and didn't give a single grade we couldn't evidence. Thousands of kids across the country still haven't got what they wanted, have got 1s and 2s, will have to retake. No 'Katie's in my department! Nationally results have gone up but certainly not grossly.

Honestly this thread is ridiculous. Trust the teachers and let those kids know they earned those grades FFS.

Sorry, I understand this thread is about Year 10 but let us get them back first and we'll do our best for them too!

Honestly this thread is ridiculous. Trust the teachers and let those kids know they earned those grades FFS

This thread seems to be about the impact of lockdown and learning on Year 10 and Year 12 - who have missed out on school based learning, a large amount of their curriculum - and who will be part of the group who take final exams - which they will be judged on.

There will be some who will have bad days on that day - but that won't be taken into account.
Nor will what their teacher thinks they will get be taken into account. Nor will an algorithm be taken into account.

It will just be those few exams in that few weeks.

@IHeartKingThistle

Sorry, I understand this thread is about Year 10 but let us get them back first and we'll do our best for them too!

It's not really about teachers doing their best. It's more about the Government and OFQAL and what they plan to do.

Surely the current focus on yr 11 and 13 is because they need grades now. Come September the focus can be on how to catch up the new years 11 and 13 and ask the other years who have missed work?

@SleepingStandingUp

Surely the current focus on yr 11 and 13 is because they need grades now. Come September the focus can be on how to catch up the new years 11 and 13 and ask the other years who have missed work?

Both debates should have happened from March and should have been public.

I really hope the exams go ahead, and the option of having, say, five questions and choose three to answer will help those who missed some content in subjects like English and History. But I can see the issue with sciences- the students need to know the syllabus to study the subject at A level.
My daughter goes to a private school and fortunately had full schedule of online lessons. She is changing schools for sixth firm so her results are crucial.
But as others have pointed out, teachers would not be doing their students any favours by overinflating their GCSE grades too much - and students should know within themselves if they can handle doing a subject at A level, which they surely choose with guidance from their teachers.
But it's a great opportunity for a review of the exam system as a whole. I think A levels narrow children's choices far too soon. While some standardisation of exams is worthwhile, I think course work should also be included, as well as a broader range of subjects studied. My own daughter is torn between science and creative subjects, choosing for example Art, History and Biology will not harm her chances for a creative arts degree, but is not appropriate for a science one. If she could do five subjects then she could have more choices of what to pursue when she is 18 and may have narrowed her focus. Her current school offers the IB, but it is still not broad enough and is yet to be universally accepted. In the US you still do 7 or more subjects til the end, and while university is four years there, the students are not disadvantaged by not doing three more intensive subjects.

Schools go back in a couple of weeks. Teachers will have planned their lessons based on current guidance. Problem is seeing the complete shit show of how this year’s grades were handled by the Government I have visions on DS being told the night before he is meant to be sitting his first GCSE that they have been cancelled by guidance that is published at 11pm (as that seems to be the time favoured by the Government at the moment)