To still feel angry about GCSEs 2021

[Stillfeelcross]

I’ll start by saying I know it’s not the teachers fault.
I’m so angry about the way GCSEs were graded this year and need to get over it. It’s the massive discrepancies between schools, some of who gave their pupils a much easier time than others. Some did mini assessments and then had the chance to take the test again if the pupils didn’t get the grades they wanted. In some schools the dc were told exactly what they were going to be tested on. Some schools did no assessments at all. Some poor dc did full on GCSE exams in exam conditions. It seems the JCQ basically agreed with whatever approach the school chose and exam boards barely moderated any work at all. In the future nobody will know which pupils went to a school with a tougher, more rigorous approach and all grades will be seen as equal even though they’re really not.

@girlmom21

Employers really don't care about your GCSE results unless they're recruiting for apprenticeships.

I wish people would stop spouting this.

For competitive grad schemes, you don't just get asked for a minimum 2:1, you get asked about your school qualifications as well, including GCSEs. Underperforming at GSCES can close doors later down the line.

There are usually alternative routes you can pursue, but you are starting at a disadvantage. GSCE results do need to be taken seriously.

@thebeatingofthedrums do they actually check the results though? Granted I've never applied for a grad scheme but lots of employers ask for specific grades etc but if you lie it's irrelevant because they never actually check.

@Stillfeelcross

I’ll start by saying I know it’s not the teachers fault. I’m so angry about the way GCSEs were graded this year and need to get over it. It’s the massive discrepancies between schools, some of who gave their pupils a much easier time than others. Some did mini assessments and then had the chance to take the test again if the pupils didn’t get the grades they wanted. In some schools the dc were told exactly what they were going to be tested on. Some schools did no assessments at all. Some poor dc did full on GCSE exams in exam conditions. It seems the JCQ basically agreed with whatever approach the school chose and exam boards barely moderated any work at all. In the future nobody will know which pupils went to a school with a tougher, more rigorous approach and all grades will be seen as equal even though they’re really not.

Agreed - where you go to school has always resulted in some inequality, but the last two years have really magnified this.

[quote girlmom21]@thebeatingofthedrums do they actually check the results though? Granted I've never applied for a grad scheme but lots of employers ask for specific grades etc but if you lie it's irrelevant because they never actually check. [/quote]
Well, yes. I had a graduate job and I recruit others for graduate jobs, so I know a little about what I'm talking about. Certificates need to be produced, they certainly don't take anyone's word for it!

Well yes, you can go through cleaning, but it really is far from ideal. And it bars you from the most competitive courses.

You won’t go to Oxbridge, or on a medicine degree, or dentistry, or a lot of Law degrees, through clearing.

I went with YABU, although I agree that they were unfair.

On the other hand, they are GCSEs, so unless your child failed or could not do the A levels they wanted to, it will make v little difference in the log run.

Haven’t read the whole thread but I agree OP and multiply this in impact if students are A level and it impacts where they go next. It’s been an appalling year and they just should have sat the usual exams - it would have been much fairer

I'm still angry about GCSEs 2020.
How Gavin W has still got a job is beyond me.

It’s not something I can bring myself to get worked up over. After all the loss and ill health the pandemic has bought, I’d rather children were healthy and happy. So many will have suffered losses etc,

Oxbridge will rely more than ever on their own entrance exams and interviews to separate applicants.

@SpicyJalfrezi

Well yes, you can go through cleaning, but it really is far from ideal. And it bars you from the most competitive courses.

You won’t go to Oxbridge, or on a medicine degree, or dentistry, or a lot of Law degrees, through clearing.

You’d be surprised - St George’s takes students for medicine most years through clearing. I know someone who got a place there through clearing this year.

@PumpkinPie2016
How can you say your school had a rigorous, fair process if students were given a chance to redo assessments? What a contradiction

I agree with you. The government have completely failed a lot of children.
I’m in NI and still bitter about our EA’s failure to sort out the AQE transfer test. It’s been a huge balls up!

I do wonder if there are less able pupils with higher results from other schools and whether this could affect dd in the future

How? How will Destiny from Our Lady of the Swamp Comp getting higher grades because her teachers cheated affect your dd in the future?

But mostly I’m pleased that I know her results were earned and not inflated

How do you know that? How do you know your dd's teachers didn't cheat?

Don’t believe everything you hear..l.

I agree with you OP. We are not in the UK so full normal exams under exam conditions went ahead where we are. The grade boundaries for the international Cambridge exam board will have been inflated due to the TAG’s in the UK. DD passed all her GCSE’s despite having dyslexia and no extra time for exams. She keeps comparing her somewhat average results with her UK friends with TAG’s who have been awarded better grades. This is really upsetting to see, especially as she worked incredibly hard and she did very very well.

Let it go. Exam results only matter for the next step, and in future only if it’s borderline (eg C vs D, or 4/5 or whatever is is now.)

Exams are never “fair” and “accurate” anyway, some kids get lucky in the things they revised, or the only poem out of 10 that they learnt is the one they get asked about. Others are unlucky because they’re ill, turn two pages together, read the question wrong, live in a family where their fighting parents kept them up all night…

Some kids got lucky in 2020/21 exams, others didn’t. Same ad always.

Your DC can still take the actual exams though, can't they?

Theoretically they could have studied hard since The end of school in May and sit the exams in the Autumn.

My DCs results were fair, IMO. Two subjects she did OK in could have been inflated by a grade, but they weren't. I'm sure another school would have inflated it, but I also believe she was awarded the grade she would have got if she'd sat exams (she's rubbish at exams) so at the end of the day it's fair.

It’s annoyed me as well. DS’s school marked very harshly I feel. He did well, 5 7’s, 2 6’s, 5, 4 and a Merit but he was predicted several 8’s and didn’t get them (I realise they are only predictions though). He is now doubting himself on his ability to do his A level choices. Yes he may have got onto the course but he feels that doing it with a 7 rather than an 8 is not a great idea as he feels he would struggle.
I don’t know whether an 8 is a true reflection of his ability or a 7. It’s almost like they plucked the numbers out of the air. He had no teaching over both lockdowns for the subject idea so it was almost self taught.

@DrManhattan

I'm still angry about GCSEs 2020. How Gavin W has still got a job is beyond me.

Well Gav is not actually doing the job is he?

The bigger question is will people remember there anger about the multiple exam fiascos next time they go to the ballot box?

@LynetteScavo
Your DC can still take the actual exams though, can't they

That still wouldn’t standardise the GCSEs this year though. Despite them sitting actual GCSEs their results would still be compared with all the other DC who’s school took a soft approach.

@Stillfeelcross I get that.

There at so many income between schools generally though. I think it's really unfair that some schools start GCSE courses in Y9 and have an extra year to cover the exam content, as one example.

I don't think there could be a perfect solution this year, and o understand why you're personally angry. The reason you don't have more support is because other people's DCs got lucky.

@Stillfeelcross I understand how you feel. It was the same for A levels this year. DD definitely got a grade lower than expected in one subject (the one she believed to be her best). Thankfully it didn't impact on her uni offer, but she feels disappointed and robbed. Her school were rigorous with their assessments and grading for both A level and GCSEs. Talking to other parents and DC in the area my DC's school have definitely graded lower. It's interesting, in normal times it is one of the better performing schools. If there were league tables this year I'd expect them to be the worse.

I would welcome the publishing of how schools have performed over there last two years, so parents can compare with accurate data.

I think the whole debacle has shown that GCSEs aren't fit for purpose as the only indicator of a student's learning, knowledge and ability to think.

Direct your anger towards the worst Prime Minister and worst Education Secretary in UK history. Remember when it is time to vote.

Inaction in September and December 2020 and a possible trip to India led to exams being cancelled. Children would have had at least eight weeks more time in school if we had a competent government, and at least say GCSE Maths and English could have been an exam.