Teachers. If schools close, will you have enough data to grade GCSES? Please make me feel better.

[Lucyandbet]

If they're cancelled again. 2020s results were a mess and I'm becoming so worried about my DD due to do exams in 2021. Obviously they were out of school for a significant amount of time in year 10 and most have had major disruption last term. If schools are shut to the majority again, how on earth will there be a sufficient of work done in school for teachers to base a mark on. I have a horrible feeling this is going to be massively unfair for loads of DC. Please reassure me, I was so looking forward to a break over Christmas but now I can't stop worrying.

I teach Year 13 and I think yes myself and their other teacher would. They have also just done mocks.

What if they didn't do brilliantly in the mocks?

my kid hasn’t.

I've been curious to know whether for year 13s going to university next September, will they have actually learnt enough to move forward? I know exam results are super important and getting enough data to predict that but what if loads of content is missing from their learning? Won't it affect them at degree level? It's so unfair for high year students.

If schools close then I would have enough data on my year 11s to reach some sort of judgement on a grade. They did mocks earlier in the term but were due to do another set of mocks in January and my year 13s were due to do a set in February. It would be better and easier to make a judgement if the next set of mocks were able to go ahead and ultimately I think the fairest thing would be to find a way for the exams to go ahead despite whatever disruption happens in between now and then. I have enough data to make a “fair” judgement on a rank order and grades based on how they have performed so far. That isn’t the same as saying I can make sure they all get the grade that they would get if the exams went ahead though. I can be confident that the grades my students got last year were not simply plucked from thin air. There was detailed discussion of the evidence for every single one. However, if the exams had gone ahead I am also certain that a not insignificant minority would have got a different grade to the one i submitted for them. Every year some students perform better than you’d expect based on their work over the course and some worse, there’s no way of knowing who those students would have been.

My poor year 11s have been jumping through hoops to make "evidence" for me. Rather than half termly assessments we do them every 2/3 weeks as well as booklets of exams questions. So yes I could, however we have planned some interventions that would really push up their grades so I hope that we can chance to include those!

I teach GCSE re-sits in a college so don't have previous school years evidence to go by.

Honestly, I don't have a huge amount of evidence (

*entrance to the course assessment (online so anyone could have done it)
*in house assessment first week on programme - written by bosses and not great
*December mock done online.

Mine do a weekly 'homework assignment' on Teams too so I have those.

I've taught for 21 years though and I'm a dab hand at predictions based on questioning and progress so far. There are a few (from 146) who I'd struggle with because of attendance though.

@Lucyandbet

What if they didn't do brilliantly in the mocks?

But that could also apply to the 'real' exam, unless the person taking thought, 'well its just mocks' who cares?

Do mocks usually match expected grades?

Or if you get an 7/8 at mock for example is it usual for it to go up?

@xxmassy

I've been curious to know whether for year 13s going to university next September, will they have actually learnt enough to move forward? I know exam results are super important and getting enough data to predict that but what if loads of content is missing from their learning? Won't it affect them at degree level? It's so unfair for high year students.

I think it might have an impact in things like Maths and sciences if they've not covered everything - universities might have to teach more "basic" stuff. It may not affect Scottish students as much as they have a type of foundation year anyway.

For other subjects I don't think it matters as much. For example, I imagine MFL teachers are concentrating on the actual language and less on the cultural bits. If you haven't read all the books for English lit it doesn't matter because you will read different books at university anyway. If you study history you might study a completely different era for A level. And you might be doing a completely new subject like eg law or politics or environmental science in which case you'll probably be ok.

Would work submitted on line be admissible? I know the odd parent who still is very involved with their DC's school work despite them being GCSE age. And basing an actual GCSE mark on a mock sat a couple of months after returning to school after no actual face to face teaching for many months and variable online teaching seems very unfair. What a huge mess, I agree that sitting an actual exam is the fairest way if that's at all possible.

DC1 was awarded 3 B grades in his A levels - this was higher than his mock grades. It was also based on his class participation, his knowledge etc to give a fuller picture of what his teachers felt it was realistic that he would have achieved.

My DD hasn't done mocks yet - she's only been in school for 1 out of the last 5 school weeks due to the high rates of transmission in her school. Her mocks were cancelled. The last two weeks before Christmas left the school without enough staff as they had 20 off isolating so it had to close. She's had 9 weeks at school out of the last 30 school weeks. God knows how she's going to pass her GCSEs next year. Zoom lessons are uninspiring and she's struggling to focus after all this time off. It's unfair that Wales and Scotland have already cancelled exams - if they stop kids in England going back in January I can't see how they can take their exams - it's untenable. My DS lost 6 teaching weeks of his A levels and they were cancelled. My daughter has lost 21 so far - totally ridiculous.

@HappySonHappyMum I know. I'm so worried about my DD. She was out of school 4 weeks out of the last 5 before they broke up and motivation (which started well), hit a real low. She's also had loads of supply teachers when she has actually been in school. It's horrendous, but how to give a fair grade seems impossible. She started year 10 so well with glowing reports from teachers in Feb parents evening but it's all gone drastically wrong since then

Yes for my year 11 definitely enough evidence.

Saying that though I usually (9/10) predict their grades accurately at GCSE level by the end of year 7 for my subject.

What about if they haven’t done their mocks yet? DS1 is supposed to do his in January but I’m doubtful they will he able to. How on earth do you make predictions with no mock results to go on?

Last year our mocks were cancelled and we still managed it!

@Amijustagrump but last year's GCSE cohort had nearly finished the course without interruptions. They had been in school continuously for practically the whole GCSE course. This year's cohort had barely started the courses before lockdown 1 and since September have had very little undisrupted teaching in school. It's completely different.

DS is a classic procrastinator. He has a very specific argument about why he never studied for mocks: because the purpose of mocks is to tell him what he needed to revise. Anyway, DS is now yr12 & got to start the A-levels he wanted, but point is... his mocks were not representative of his ability. And now I suspect he'll make zero progress in yr12 before everyone is vaccinated (I expect that in person education and therefore actual learning will stop for DS in meantime).

My only comfort is that DS is now yr12. So hopefully he'll catch up & get some full education before exams at end of yr13.

I could give it a go, but to be honest my Y11s have been incredibly lazy. The test data I have so far is depressingly awful. Lots are pinning their hopes on January mocks but as a PP has said I’m not sure if they’ll happen!!!

I will be able to give my pupils grades based on their work so far based on their mocks etc.

@Lucyandbet I appreciate that but as a school we feel more confident this time now we've done it once. Year 11 have missed out on a lot, and it is horribly unfair but we are far more worried about what will happen to our year 10s!

I feel like we would have less high quality evidence than we had last year. Last year it was fairly straightforward as we had completed the courses, done usual mocks etc. This year it will be harder. My school had tried to balance doing mocks to get evidence but not stressing the kids out and making sure that they have done enough if the course to be successful in those mocks.

OP I agree with you that I would like them to sit an exam (but possibly not all the exams fit my subject).

I am sure lots of schools and parents are in this position.

@xxmassy

I've been curious to know whether for year 13s going to university next September, will they have actually learnt enough to move forward? I know exam results are super important and getting enough data to predict that but what if loads of content is missing from their learning? Won't it affect them at degree level? It's so unfair for high year students.

I often wonder this as well. Does it mean that degrees will have to be 4 years now, or will lecturers have to teach A level content as well? The knock on effect is immense.