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.

@freeandfierce

I work in apprenticeship sales, we are carrying out diagnostic tests on all applicants this year due to the massive discrepancies in grade versus ability. The trend is that high grades given by school don't match the diagnostic results, many who have grades 5 and above come out much lower via our tests which are cross referenced to the core curriculum. We are having to refuse applicants because of this. It's heartbreaking.

Maybe your company could take over the education and exams for next year? You seem more organised than any of the people in charge for the last two years 😂

Any ire should be firmly directed at the system really and not the individual schools.

JCQ produced reams and reams of guidance: www.jcq.org.uk/summer-2021-arrangements/

However there were that many ways to interpret it all, so much leeway built in for students whose learning was badly affected by the pandemic, that really it was hard enough for schools to be consistent within themselves, between subjects let alone worry about consistency with approaches in other schools.

One thing that all schools had to do was produce and publish their centre assessment policy/guide and have this approved by the examining bodies. This was one way that the powers that be could have enforced some consistency by ensuring some sort of standards here. However to my knowledge, not a single on of these policies were challenged, despite them all being submitted and approved.

A tick box exercise at it's finest.

I want to take my DD to Camden girl school anyone know that school plse I need advice plse