This year’s GCSE and A-level assessments are a total FIASCO from start to finish! Wales already have their results! GW has to go now!

[Lulalu]

I just found out via another thread that in Wales, “provisional” GCSE and A-level results have been issued and these are basically the results that will be officially awarded in August.

How can anyone take this year’s results seriously when schools across the UK can’t even stick to the same schedule for awarding grades?

It’s bad enough that every school has essentially been given free reign to devise its own assessment criteria!

At my DS’ school they have done three rounds of formal assessment per A-level and the results will be 100% based in this (except for subjects which include an NEA). Yet he had a friend over yesterday, who said at his sixth form college, they’ve had no formal exams whatsoever - just “mini tests” in class during which they could confer with each other and use phones to Google the answers!

Is this some kind of joke???

HOW IS GW STILL IN THAT JOB??? Sorry to shout but, I can’t believe it.

Please vote -

YANBU - GW has let students down and needs to go - NOW! This is a shambles.

YABU - No, GW is competent

@Lulalu

My DD doing GCSE has sat at least three exams per subject and no idea what marks she got in any of them, or if there is different weighting for some exams. So no grounds for appeal and I don’t know how they can appeal in August if they don’t know the what exactly constituted the grades or the weighting / marks for each assessment.

DS has done three exams per A-level between March and May. No idea of marks for any of them. So how can he appeal if he needed to?

Yet they all come out with the same qualification apparently.

I suggest you take this up with your local MP rather than moaning about Wales trying to do right by our students in a devolved system.

“I suggest you take this up with your local MP”

Yes that’ll work miracles

@Lulalu

IGCSEs come out in the same day as other GCSEs as some schools use both.

Not sure this is true. Schools usually give them out on the same day, with all the other results, because they can and do use a mix. But I believe the school do (or did - this may have changed) get those results a couple of days earlier (or even a week or more). I believe schools could tell their pupils those grades earlier if they wanted to, but most don't bother. I knew a pupil who did a couple of iGCSEs in Year 10, and as those were the only results they were getting, the school did tell them early, and waited for the results day for all the Year 11 results.

So no grounds for appeal and I don’t know how they can appeal in August if they don’t know the what exactly constituted the grades or the weighting / marks for each assessment.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021

This has some information about appeals.

While I was aware of the appeals process in wales due to reading around the school only informed us about a week or two ago and we should this week be getting center grades.

So maybe the school will give more infomation nearer the time about appealing grades nearer the exam results time.

And I think Welsh GCSEs have a number of differences from English ones, including two separate types of maths qualification. They can do what they like. If you don't like the English system/timings etc, that is where you have to press for changes.

“DD1 has no choice about sitting Welsh Bac next year as well as A-levels - the welsh government isnsists it equivalent to A-level very few university departments seem to view it that way. “

What is the Welsh Bac?

I can understand you worrying that your kids might be disadvantaged somehow but you seem to be directing your anger and frustration about this at the wrong places.

I was unaware of the system in wales until reading this post but it sounds good. When I did my GCSEs we knew all our provisional coursework marks before they were sent off to the exam board so it's not really any different to that, just that this year the whole provisional mark is known. The fact that different schools have chosen to do things differently is really no different from the fact that pupils can sit a gcse from a number of different exam boards, covering different topics, different exam papers, different percentages of coursework etc and they all come out with the same qualification. Also PPs example of universities is a very good one! Particularly these days where employers are moving towards not allowing you to state the university you attended.

Schools aren't full of staff that want to misrepresent their pupils abilities or screw them over. They have your kids best interests at heart and want to ensure they're academic abilities are fairly represented despite the chaos going on around us. I think the fact Gavin Williamson has left it for schools to decide is a good thing - FINALLY a government letting teachers decide what is best for schools! Albeit only because the government don't want responsibility, but I'll take that.

Obviously goes without saying that GW is an incompetent twat. He is a Tory so...

One difference is that if you know your yeacher assessed grade now hou can decide which, if any, subjects you want to (re) sit in autumn and target working for them. If you don't get results til august you have lost all summer to revise

What is the Welsh Bac?

Welsh Baccalaureate too complex - Qualifications Wales

DH would say a neblous mess - his welsh uni students just groan - DD1 and even just starting DS would say boarding badly taught waste of time at GCSE.

Review I read said employers didn't know what it was, univeristy departments didn't really want it and it stopped some top student taking 4 A-levels and lead other less good student to drop to two A-levels. Most sixth form and collges insist the kid have to take it - it is linked to fiunding for school sixth forms not sure about colleges.

DD1 is going on to college and will start starting four AS-levels the school career person told her she was being ridiculous as she was doing 5 A-levels - as she will have welsh bacc as well - which is rubbish. I'm hoping it better taught at college and DD1 will enjoy it and make it work for her more.

Once again, I’m not annoyed with Wales! I just think the same qualification should be subject to the same timescales, transparency and grounds for appeal.

Some schools in England have apparently issued “raw grades.” They have not issuers grade boundaries, but advised to look at the 2019 grade boundaries to get an idea.

Other schools have no clue whatsoever.

For one a-level DS is doing, there is an NEA which is normally worth 20% of the overall grade. In a normal year, he would have been informed of the mark for this NEA coursework in April / May. But this year they haven’t even been told that. Nor have they been told the weighting for the NEA this year and if it will be the same as in a normal year.

So it’s very difficult to appeal when you don’t know what you’re even appealing (if it comes to that).

I’m not blaming the Welsh govt. I’m squarely blaming this govt and specifically GW.

Why is any of this shit show off a government still in a job - Boris opened the door for the Delta variant by not closing travel, opening schools in January then closing one day later. And no Boris cannot be praised for the wonderful vaccination programme - it is the scientists etc who have made this possible

Plus year 10 and 12 have been doing continuous assessment this academic year using curriculum designed not for continuous assessment and with the aim being for 100% exams next summer.
This continuous assessment is so teachers are able to give centre awarded grades if exams get cancelled again. Each school is doing this assessment differently, some very lax some very very rigorous and tough.
Disrupted schooling, everyone had at least 3 months home learning, but no need for any change to the curriculum for these years. Just carry on as normal and pretend everything is OK. DfE crossing fingers and hoping it works out OK - that is not how life-changing exams should be treated.

Gav has already changed the results day for England twice this year...so could go either way I suppose. He could change it again (as all results have now been submitted to boards, and won't be altered by them) or he could be really tired from changing it twice already, and having a rest until August 10th

Why didn’t GW get sacked last year and where is he anyway? He either keeping a consciously low profile or he’s been banned from doing interviews.

My twins did there four exams in each subject. School have said that they won’t get any grades until august 12th, results day. So no mock results not assessment results. We are waiting. This is as they didn’t wish to be blamed if students went down. Appeals will be following the august 12th date if needed.