GCSEs will be cancelled this summer!

[AKissAndASmile]

So the Scottish equivalent of GCSEs have been cancelled this summer.

I posted in chat about this but barely anybody responded. Seems nobody cares because it's Scotland. I thought we were a united kingdom. Seems not. I can guarantee that if GCSEs were cancelled in England my post would have had numerous posts. Nobody cares because it's Scotland, even though during these corona days Scotland seems to be showing us a sneak preview of what will be happening in England in a few weeks. So my guess is that GCSEs will be cancelled this year soon

My on gets extra time for exams

He doesn’t for class work - you figure if he’s more disadvantage or not

Anxiety is a perfectly normal response to exams.

I’m talking specifically about anxiety, not about extra time for other things.

Private schools where there are pushy paying parents might have inflated the grades as they had a lot to lose if they didn’t

This trope is such a load of old shit.

@IrmaFayLear

I’m talking specifically about anxiety, not about extra time for other things.

Yes i know 🙂

I went off on a tangent

I think Nat 5s are a bit less of a thing than GCSEs, league tables in Scotland are based on numbers obtaining 5 Highers (which seem to be treated by universities as just above AS levels) and are usually a 1 year course. Then people either go to uni for a 4 year course or do 6th year Studies which allow them to go to 2nd year.

Possibly NAT 5s are being sacrificed to protect Highers?

I think some form of continuous assessment is a good idea this year, all coming down to an exam on a fixed date is asking for trouble, although hopefully cases will settle next summer as well.

Last year's students would have been in a better position to take slightly delayed GCSEs following the Easter lockdown, online / personal revision as there's only 3 or 4 teaching weeks left after Easter before exams start - and Exams are naturally socially distanced activities!

This year's students lost an entire term of in person teaching, whatever they lose through bubbles bursting or parents needing to isolate because of work.

[quote XFPW]@WeAreFromThePlanetDuplo bleat away - please! I posted a response to the OP up thread noting the announcement from Peter Weir on Friday and it has been completely ignored, not only by the OP, but by everyone else. Maybe I should get on my high horse and start berating people..... or maybe I should just focus on my DS and on the pupils in my school who are due to sit exams this year and next, and do my best by them.[/quote]
DD is in P7. Sympathies to you, it’s a shit time to have a kid in an important year.

@WeAreFromThePlanetDuplo I have 2 in P6 too - yep, it’s utterly crap!

I’m not Scottish but this is awful news, I hadn’t heard 😨

I am Scottish and have a child this affects, I’m glad they’ve been cancelled as they’ve missed so much teaching time, they are constantly being tested at the moment. It sounds full on! Highers are still going ahead but later. If I’m honest I’m not that bothered in what England does as it doesn’t affect me, same as those in England re Scotland

I’d argue that Nat5s are as important as GCSEs. They may be the highest level qualification that many sit and are needed to access many college courses esp. for those that leave school at 16. Plus a nat 5 in English and/or maths is a prerequisite for a lot of university courses. However, the move to centre assessed grade this year is not a disaster - in order to achieve a good grade the pupils will need to continue to work and produce evidence. The difference this year from last year is that guidance will be given re the summative evidence required. Plus there will be checks in place to ensure (hopefully) consistency across schools.

Cancelling the Nat5s protects Highers/Advanced Highers -especially in terms of space and invigilation. What should have been questioned a lot more is the removal of some parts of the curriculum plus for many subjects the removal of assignments/folios leaving many subjects 100% exam to the detriment of many. Many of the assignments focussed on developing core skills that are key to success at university and often completed in class time under supervision to ensure it was the pupils own work. The assessments also reinforced the subject in a practical way.

I think Nat 5s are a bit less of a thing than GCSEs

Nonsense. They are equivalent.

You can't protect highers at the expense of Nat 5s. Period need nat5s to be able to progress to highers ffs! They will just be using a different way to assess them. That's all.

The courses aren't cancelled. Just the exams.

I'm happy for kids affected. Working towards coursework to be assessed is much more manageable in the current situation. I hope they do it in the rest of the UK as well.

bluebell With respect your posts are very naive. If you are aiming for any professional job in the future, excellent grades are essential. I hope you are not telling your dc that exams don't matter as long as you are kind, because you are seriously not helping them! And they are going to find out pretty quickly how ruthless the job market can be/and the sheer numbers of students all applying for the best universities and degrees.

It is not 1950 anymore.

OK let’s look at some facts

DSis 11A*s works as a waitress
DCousins (twins) both high achievers era both work in night clubs
DSis2 left school no qualifications - now a highly paid manager with NHS next pay grade up and she’s working part time and travels the world
DSis - flunked out of A levels, got a degree recently and now works in the medical profession of a decent salary saving for her own practise (would’ve happened pre COVID)
DD15 already has 3 A is maths science and language - due to sit GSCEs this year on track for 11As - she wants to be a chef
DS15 dyslexic, most likely will leave school with no qualifications, excellent social and people skills real peace keeper, most likely to work for himself as he’s not stupid doesn’t fit the mould for academics.

Bit the world needs sheep, the world needs Alevel students to keep the universities ticking under the general fuse a degree is everything. It isn’t. It may be a pathway for doctors and teachers, but it’s not the be all and end all for most work places.

I’m not Scottish but this is awful news

Why? It's not like they are cancelling qualifications, just the method by which they are achieved.

@BluebellsGreenbells

OK let’s look at some facts

DSis 11A*s works as a waitress
DCousins (twins) both high achievers era both work in night clubs
DSis2 left school no qualifications - now a highly paid manager with NHS next pay grade up and she’s working part time and travels the world
DSis - flunked out of A levels, got a degree recently and now works in the medical profession of a decent salary saving for her own practise (would’ve happened pre COVID)
DD15 already has 3 A is maths science and language - due to sit GSCEs this year on track for 11As - she wants to be a chef
DS15 dyslexic, most likely will leave school with no qualifications, excellent social and people skills real peace keeper, most likely to work for himself as he’s not stupid doesn’t fit the mould for academics.

Bit the world needs sheep, the world needs Alevel students to keep the universities ticking under the general fuse a degree is everything. It isn’t. It may be a pathway for doctors and teachers, but it’s not the be all and end all for most work places.

Ahh you are 100% right then, of course anecdote equals data .

I’m just saying, as I’ve already said, qualifications don’t equal success. Hard work and determination are a better indicator.

We need caring people to look after others, we needs hands on people to turn the cogs, we need farmers more than we need lawyers.
We need creators, artists, performers and bin men and cleaners.

A*s aren’t the only option.

I think Nat 5s are a bit less of a thing than GCSEs

Christ. I was on board until I heard this.
The implications of that idea are huge, and not in a good way.

Qualifications aren't the be all and end all.
But they give you choices in life.

With Good GCSEs you can go on to A levels, or BTEC or Apprenticeships.
With poorer GCSEs the A level option is removed at least initially.
Passing English and Maths is needed to access various courses.

Mental health is more important, but mental health plus some qualifications will make more options available and access paths easier.

The problem is that there isn't enough time to do properly moderated "coursework". I did GCSEs with coursework in the early 1990s and it was very standardised. Everyone did the same released task and you had a set amount of time to complete it. Depending on the subject, that, along with further, standardised tests that you sat throughout the two years that were appropriate to what you'd learned so far in the course was what made up the coursework.

There is no time to create a similar set of standardised coursework for this year's students. Coupled with fact that students are not used to extended research tasks which the coursework usually was so having to learn a whole new skill instead of carrying on with the syllabus they are familiar with doesn't make sense. I've read the Scottish guidance and what they mean by coursework is really just more high-stakes mocks. OK, so some teacher judgement will be included but really, they are clear that mocks exams will carry the biggest weight.

How will that benefit the students? To me it seems that it will be MORE stressful as they have to sit a high stakes exam earlier in the year instead of just cracking on with the course and revising at the end like normal.

How can people figure that its not a big deal? Kids in S4 have already lost a term of learning. They are now facing constant assessment, so still missing the actual learning part of it.

It's more that the nat5s aren't part of league tables, and aren't fixed to S4 in the same way that GCSEs are effectively fixed to Y11 except in a very few circumstances.

I guess some of that is that all results are the same day so there isn't the separate hype.

They are now facing constant assessment, so still missing the actual learning part of it

Tosh. They can't be assessed on something they haven't learned!

@DizzyPigeon

They are now facing constant assessment, so still missing the actual learning part of it

Tosh. They can't be assessed on something they haven't learned!

They are assessing the pupils on the work that may or may not have been done whilst the schools were closed. Not every child had the ability to do it.

The narrative of 'Don't worry, you'll be given every support to catch up' is what is "tosh".