Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Covid

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

To wonder what will happen if exams are impacted by Corona

370 replies

B1gbluehouse · 03/03/2020 06:36

Starting to think they aren’t going to want halls filled with 100s of kids if it spreads more.

What will happen to GCSE and A level students if they can’t take their exams?

OP posts:
Kazzyhoward · 04/03/2020 10:39

They don’t do them from predicted grades if you are ill.

What do they use then?

michaelbaubles · 04/03/2020 10:39

OK, people are really panicking about things that aren't going to happen.

They won't - can't - just "use the mock results" for many obvious reasons outlined here.

They also can't just "use predicted grades" because there isn't one set date/set of standards used to create these grades.

If for some reason no exams will be set at all (which is unlikely) I'd say the most reasonable thing would be for them to use teacher assessment, but this would be a new set of grades generated by teachers based on class work and mocks. Exam boards have the grades from centres in previous years and could use those as a baseline to standardise and to see if centres are artificially inflating. Although it's true predicted grades aren't particularly accurate, in a case like this, armed with two year's worth of knowledge about a student, teachers would be able to make a pretty good prediction. And if this was the case for every student in the country there's no reason to think any individual student is disadvantaged. Also teachers could remotely set their own assessments to mark and use as guidelines.

Students who have been performing at a D for two years and suddenly get Bs and As in the exam are very few and far between by the way! Last-minute revision isn't a miracle worker.

woodchuck99 · 04/03/2020 10:44

They don’t do them from predicted grades if you are ill.

When I say "predicted grades", I don't mean the grades that are given to UCAS for university places. I mean actual predicted grades from teachers. I know someone who missed some GCSEs and they examine board did give them GCSE grades despite that so they must have used something from teachers.

bluehighlighter · 04/03/2020 11:02

They could just reduce risk. So instead of all children sitting in one big room, you could use 2 or 3 rooms, desks much further apart, windows all open. If sunny, the exams could maybe be sat outside. If the schools are shut, there'll be plenty of teachers available to invigilate if needed.

Original poster
B1gbluehouse · 04/03/2020 11:15

Thing is teachers working it out is equalling worrying as they will vary re expectations, materials judging from and for those that have had a rocky time it’s so hard to calculate anyway.My son is bright and it simply is down to lack of revision and head space. We’ve been told he can jump several levels and he already is simply because he’s now revising, having support from CAMHs and better able to focus. It will be so upsetting as he has worked so hard and could well be judged on his shitty previous 2 years.

OP posts:
noblegiraffe · 04/03/2020 11:18

I mean actual predicted grades from teachers

And they still don’t use these. If a child has sat 25% or more of the assessment (e.g. 1 out of 3 maths papers), then they use that to give them their GCSE or A-level grade.

If not, they don’t award a grade.

See pages 8-9 www.jcq.org.uk/Download/exams-office/access-arrangements-and-special-consideration/regulations-and-guidance/a-guide-to-the-special-consideration-process-2019-2020

To wonder what will happen if exams are impacted by Corona
Kazzyhoward · 04/03/2020 11:20

If teachers' assessments/grades/opinions were accurate enough, we'd have scrapped exams long ago. How do you cope with nepotism, "favourites", etc? What about the teachers who have the opinion that little Jimmy will never amount to anything - little Jimmy isn't going to get the benefit of the doubt is he, yet he's the kind who may well pull it out of the bag by last minute revision (or even last minute private tuition).

It's why we still have 11+ for grammar schools with all it's faults. In theory teacher assessments would be a far better gauge of suitability for a grammar school, but they're not accurate/trusted enough.

woodchuck99 · 04/03/2020 11:36

If not, they don’t award a grade.

And yet I know someone who was awarded a grade. The teachers didn't think that the exam board would do it but he did .They missed exam for very good reason though (mother died day before).

woodchuck99 · 04/03/2020 11:36

he they

woodchuck99 · 04/03/2020 11:38

I think it more likely that the exams would continue with steps taken to reduce chances of infection such as tables being spread out. It may mean teachers have to be invigilators but still more accurate/fair than any other system.

noblegiraffe · 04/03/2020 11:47

They missed exam

How many qualifications are based on one exam only? And when was this? JCQ advice is clear, no components sat, no grade.

woodchuck99 · 04/03/2020 11:51

How many qualifications are based on one exam only? And when was this? JCQ advice is clear, no components sat, no grade.

They missed more than one exam. I meant that they didn't do anything for one subject. The teachers thought that he wouldn't get a GCSE in that subject but he did.

noblegiraffe · 04/03/2020 12:01

When? Was there coursework?

Back in the day teachers used to fill out predicted grade forms for the exam boards and when a kid missed an exam we had to give the name of two kids we thought were the same level, two kids above and two kids below, but that hasn’t happened for years.

Thisismytimetoshine · 04/03/2020 12:08

I can’t remember a time where they plucked a grade out of the ether for someone who didn’t show up for the exam. Someone’s got their wires crossed on that one; no way it happened.

SachaStark · 04/03/2020 12:27

There are so many people on this thread who have absolutely no idea how schools and exams work, just saying...

They can’t sit exams outdoors, teachers can’t invigilate, they will obviously never use their mock grades, we can’t just “add on” a whole grade to their last mock because that goes against expected levels of progress, amongst other silly comments made.

Anyway, the exams will go ahead normally, and as scheduled, I’d bet good money on it.

woodchuck99 · 04/03/2020 12:31

When? Was there coursework?

I'm not 100% sure but don't think so. The teachers certainly thought that the exam board wouldn't give them a grade so I presume it didn't need the stated criteria.

woodchuck99 · 04/03/2020 12:34

They can’t sit exams outdoors, teachers can’t invigilate, they will obviously never use their mock grades, we can’t just “add on” a whole grade to their last mock because that goes against expected levels of progress, amongst other silly comments made.

Why can't teachers invigilate? I appreciate that it wouldn't be ideal but if we were in a circumstance where it was that or children didn't do GCSEs or A-levels in the particular year, who knows what they would do.

woodchuck99 · 04/03/2020 12:35

need meet

Hollyhead · 04/03/2020 14:32

Of course teachers can invigilate if the school is closed otherwise.

I do think the most likely outcome is that schools will close for yrs 7-10 and exams will be sat but across more rooms and with hygeine controls. Pupils with the virus at the time would then be eligible for normal mit circ type processes.

Thisismytimetoshine · 04/03/2020 14:37

But what were they graded on, woodchuck? The exam board presumably didn’t contact the teachers for their opinion, there simply wouldn’t have been an exam paper to mark and grade. They wouldn’t investigate why??

woodchuck99 · 04/03/2020 14:43

But what were they graded on, woodchuck? The exam board presumably didn’t contact the teachers for their opinion, there simply wouldn’t have been an exam paper to mark and grade. They wouldn’t investigate why??

I didn't say that the teachers wouldn't investigate. I said the teachers didn't think that the child would get a grade for the subject. The parent phoned the exam board and they said they could do it.

Thisismytimetoshine · 04/03/2020 14:46

I don’t believe the exam board wouldn’t have advised the parent that the child would simply have to do the exam when the resits were taking place Confused
What would stop students just not bothering to show up in the knowledge that the exam board would bend over backwards to award them a grade anyway? Not buying it, sorry.

woodchuck99 · 04/03/2020 14:58

I don’t believe the exam board wouldn’t have advised the parent that the child would simply have to do the exam when the resits were taking place

Well they didn't. As I said the other parent had died the day before the exam started which seems like a pretty good extenuating circumstance.

What would stop students just not bothering to show up in the knowledge that the exam board would bend over backwards to award them a grade anyway? Not buying it, sorry.

I'm not sure of your logic there. They don't award grades the students who just haven't bothered to turn up. There would have to be a very good reason and evidence such as a death certificate.

noblegiraffe · 04/03/2020 15:05

The JCQ guidelines say no exam no certificate so exam boards can’t just do their own thing.

SachaStark · 04/03/2020 16:30

Teachers can’t invigilate because we aren’t trained invigilators, put simply. Invigilators and teachers both work in a school, doesn’t mean we can just do each other’s jobs as simply as that, in the same way you wouldn’t expect the caretakers or lunchtime supervisors to do it.

Also, there’s no way we would ever be allowed to invigilate in our OWN schools! We have a vested interest in our students doing well, who’s to say we wouldn’t assist them in cheating if it was just the kids and their usual staff members with no official invigilation staff?

Swipe left for the next trending thread