A level grades

[DolphinFC]

If feel that value of an A grade ar A level has been reduced dramatically. I feel truly sorry for those very bright, hard-working students who would've got an A grade no matter what. Their deserved A grade is now lost in a pile of undeserved A grades.

I just cannot see the issue.

They are going off to uni and they'll either sink or swim so it will all come out in the wash.

Is it ‘nice’ to consider yourself hard done by because of the results someone else got? That seems a strange definition

@Bryonyshcmyony my DD would do exactly the same-because funnily enough, she also is a nice person. It doesn’t mean you’re a horrible person to have wanted to prove and evidence the amount of work you’ve done and have that moment in the sun.

In a few years this will seem meaningless to them but right now it doesn’t and whilst pleased with her AND her friends results, she is a little deflated. And there’s nothing wrong with owning that so don’t try to out her down and make me and her feel like shit for your own agenda.

I don't think that sounds at all healthy, but she's your dd not mine

The results just aren’t believable.

I don’t think your post is insensitive- it’s just the truth. I feel sorry for kids who might be off to university and will be faced with courses that will not be watered down to suit grades that have been bumped up.

If 44% got A's and above 56% didn't

Just saying there's a whole world of perspective right there

@saveyourbreath

The results just aren’t believable.

I don’t think your post is insensitive- it’s just the truth. I feel sorry for kids who might be off to university and will be faced with courses that will not be watered down to suit grades that have been bumped up.

I think you will be surprised at how well they'll do.

Dc find Uni isn’t what they thought it was every year, some for academic reasons.
That’s no excuse to piss on the achievements of all A level students this year. How peevish do you actually have to be to find that satisfying? How sad.

@Saucery

Dc find Uni isn’t what they thought it was every year, some for academic reasons. That’s no excuse to piss on the achievements of all A level students this year. How peevish do you actually have to be to find that satisfying? How sad.

This.

@Bryonyshcmyony you’re just being rude now-first my DD isn’t nice and now she’s unhealthy? I think you’re not very nice and have evidenced that here with your posts, so I’m out.

Bye. I hope you can enjoy the rest of your day hopefully celebrating with your dd

Sadly the shambles of a government/education department has failed totally in this, why no planning for a worst-case scenario given last years joke.

This year they had time to plan for a solution but chose to bury their heads in the sand, and instead spend time threatening to sue schools wanting to close to get ahead of the virus.

Williamson and the civil servants at the DfE should all be sacked.

Feel sorry for the kids.

My dd doesn't feel hard done by, but does feel that results do not reflect ability and effort and performance on the day anymore.
I have two dds, dd1 got three a* today, no surprise, she was expected to from beginning of sixth form, she also worked hard, and would have done well on the day if she'd sat exams. She's off to Bristol to do medicine.
My other dd got a*aa... She was a b /c level ability, she wS never predicted more than three bs. Her mocks in December were bbb, and she has definitely not worked that hard, not enough I'd say to jump up grades so much.
She is now saying she is going to decline her offer to study at uni, as she wants to reapply with her better grades next year to get into a more prestigious uni.. She is also talking about doing medicine.
I love her vety much but she really does not have academic capabilities for this.
So what happens.. She goes, she sinks, there is stress and anxiety and wasted money and a knock to her confidence.
I am trying to remind her how much she wanted to do original. Course... And I can see my other dd feels her results are devalued.

I think you will be surprised at how well they'll do.

Let’s hope so

As a mother of a child who has found the whole process extremely stressful and not received anywhere near her predicted grades - not helpful!

It does seem some kids at her school got the A* if I was to pick them pre getting their results I would be pretty spot on even if they didn’t get them in the assessments…

@Theredjellybean

My dd doesn't feel hard done by, but does feel that results do not reflect ability and effort and performance on the day anymore. I have two dds, dd1 got three a* today, no surprise, she was expected to from beginning of sixth form, she also worked hard, and would have done well on the day if she'd sat exams. She's off to Bristol to do medicine. My other dd got a*aa... She was a b /c level ability, she wS never predicted more than three bs. Her mocks in December were bbb, and she has definitely not worked that hard, not enough I'd say to jump up grades so much. She is now saying she is going to decline her offer to study at uni, as she wants to reapply with her better grades next year to get into a more prestigious uni.. She is also talking about doing medicine. I love her vety much but she really does not have academic capabilities for this. So what happens.. She goes, she sinks, there is stress and anxiety and wasted money and a knock to her confidence. I am trying to remind her how much she wanted to do original. Course... And I can see my other dd feels her results are devalued.

She might not sink?

I think it is a let down to students to have such sharp grade inflation. It undermines everyone's results. How can you objectively look at a CV and understand what those grades really mean, when you know that they are incomparable to the grades from 2 years ago?

It's fine to say that it will all come out in the wash and that in 5 years time no one will care - that is true. But there are going to be people missing out on apprenticeships and first jobs because of this. Those starts in life won't be replaceable as easily.

The students who have been awarded A and A* grades (or numerical equivalents) in their A-levels and their GCSE’s will have been students who have been consistently achieving those kind of grades throughout the year in their end of unit tests, intermediate assignments, homework etc. It’s not going to be kids who are D or C or even B level students who get given A-grades. Teachers have to provide a large amount of peer-reviewed evidence for each pupil for all the work they have achieved in that subject throughout their school duration to justify their A grades. This is then checked meticulously by awarding bodies.

The reasons that there are slightly more A grades than usual the last couple of years is because all teachers can do is award grades based upon historic performance of the student. They have no idea how a student will perform on the actual day. There will be A grade students who don’t achieve As in their final exam but the teachers have no way of knowing which students these will be.

If a teacher has a class of 10 A students who have produced A graded work for every single piece of work they have ever produced in school, the teacher will give all of these 10 students a predicted grade of A because that’s their graded ability level. Of course on the day, 2/10 of these students statistically will not achieve an A in the exam but the teacher has no way of telling who these two students out of the 10 will be. You have no idea which students might have a bad morning on the day. That’s why every year, teachers UCAS predicted grades are always on average higher than what’s achieved. A teacher can predict the current level a student is achieving at but will have no way of predicting who will have a last minute brilliant morning or terrible morning on the day of the exam. Grading on a curve aligned with previous years data is of course a little different.

@hedgehogger1

thank you for sharing that

@DolphinFC

My DS3 worked bloody hard, in difficult circumstances, to get the results he got - he thoroughly deserved his grades - please stop spouting your crap and denigrating our young people

@Bryonyshcmyony
That is my fear.. The narrative we are wri for some of our young people is just not a true reflection of life.
Its like the endless sm posts about follow your dreams and you can be anything you want.
Well big news kids.. No you can't.
I am realistic, my dd2 does not have the academic ability, to do a medical degree.
Giving her grades that allow her to think she does is a disservice.

This is from the BBC.
For the record, I'm a teacher. I don't teach A level but I have spoken online to over 10 A level teachers this morning.

@Morgoth

The students who have been awarded A and A* grades (or numerical equivalents) in their A-levels and their GCSE’s will have been students who have been consistently achieving those kind of grades throughout the year in their end of unit tests, intermediate assignments, homework etc. It’s not going to be kids who are D or C or even B level students who get given A-grades. Teachers have to provide a large amount of peer-reviewed evidence for each pupil for all the work they have achieved in that subject throughout their school duration to justify their A grades. This is then checked meticulously by awarding bodies.

The reasons that there are slightly more A grades than usual the last couple of years is because all teachers can do is award grades based upon historic performance of the student. They have no idea how a student will perform on the actual day. There will be A grade students who don’t achieve As in their final exam but the teachers have no way of knowing which students these will be.

If a teacher has a class of 10 A students who have produced A graded work for every single piece of work they have ever produced in school, the teacher will give all of these 10 students a predicted grade of A because that’s their graded ability level. Of course on the day, 2/10 of these students statistically will not achieve an A in the exam but the teacher has no way of telling who these two students out of the 10 will be. You have no idea which students might have a bad morning on the day. That’s why every year, teachers UCAS predicted grades are always on average higher than what’s achieved. A teacher can predict the current level a student is achieving at but will have no way of predicting who will have a last minute brilliant morning or terrible morning on the day of the exam. Grading on a curve aligned with previous years data is of course a little different.

Great post thank you

What basis do you have for that? It's almost as though the different circumstances of this year have lead to different results. How many employers look at A-level grades over uni results/experience anyway?

@spongedod

A and above...

2018 - 26.2%

2019 - 25.2%

2020 - 27.6%

2021 - 44.3%

All taken fro Gov website.

Yes this huge rise will have a detrimental affect - how could it not?

Indeed. 45% awarded A* and A.

Obviously youngsters are so much more intelligent that 20 years ago.

The reasons that there are slightly more A grades than usual the last couple of years is because all teachers can do is award grades based upon historic performance of the student.

It's not just 'slightly more' though @Morgoth It's a large and steep increase and that is what makes it difficult to differentiate. When you're young and your grades and choice of subjects are all you've got to give an employer an idea about you, it's really vital that you can give an honest account of yourself.

Regardless of whether grades derived from exams really are 'honest' - we've all had bad exams that we think don't show us to our full potential - they were an agreed and accepted way of measuring achievement. Inflated grades don't have sufficient granularity to do students justice.