GCSE/A Level will be teacher assessed again?

[Lemons1571]

Watching how this is all going, with many 14 day isolations and patchy remote provision, I can’t see next years exams happening. I don’t think the government can either. It’s not a fair playing field. At this rate the year 11/13’s won’t even cover all the content, let alone revision techniques. And this chaotic situation is going to run until at least the spring.

I suspect that’s why primaries are prioritised over secondaries in the current guidance. Keeping primaries open does at least let parents work and help the economy. Keeping secondaries open doesn't (at least short term). Bung them all their predicted grades and say “we tried”. That’s why schools are doing assessments in the next few weeks, to get some data ready.

If nothing has changed with the covid situation come spring, we won’t even be able to get the kids together in a hall to physically sit the exams. They won’t fit while keeping 2m distance. If they hire external halls they’ll need hundreds of trained invigilators (and these are often older people so understandably may not want the job!). What if they have to start a 14 day isolation the day before their first exam? Do they get awarded nothing?

I think Ofqual can’t say this yet, as the affected year groups would just stop working right now. But I am really struggling to see how these exams could fairly happen in 8 months time.

My DD is Y11. She is taking mocks in 2wks under exam conditions. Then another set in December, again under exam conditions. A third set have been timetabled for early March. Her school seem to think it will be a mix of both. They think it could well be 50% CAG and 50% exam. They want to have robust evidence data in place for this. But the Y9s and the Y13s have already been sent home due to positive tests in each year group.

@mrshoho

Ofqual have said they will finalise the arrangements by mid September. There's still talk of the dates being pushed back by a month also. My daughter's school are preparing for exams to take place.

Ok about just then.

Ofqual did want exams last time and had three options. What happened wasn’t one of them. Although they did get it for their algorithm.

About now then

@NellyJames

My DD is Y11. She is taking mocks in 2wks under exam conditions. Then another set in December, again under exam conditions. A third set have been timetabled for early March. Her school seem to think it will be a mix of both. They think it could well be 50% CAG and 50% exam. They want to have robust evidence data in place for this. But the Y9s and the Y13s have already been sent home due to positive tests in each year group.

That’s soon. Is it state or private?

I think so. Every teacher I know thinks so.

Local secondary school have just put whole of year 11 into a 14 day isolation following 5x positive kids in that year bubble.

It sounds to me as if all will be done to ensure that exams happen next year. Report yesterday of plans to use public building to do SD exams and also back up exam papers for those isolating and ill to do at a later date

But all this does is sort out the SD issue. What is an issue is the fact that a term's face to face teaching has already been lost, and there may be more. The exam boards held a consultation of sorts, and refused to remove much content (very little for A level, a bit more for GCSE). So what are the kids meant to do?

I agree it has to be moderated teacher assessment. It could be done on the lines of this year but with a safeguard that your grades cannot go up or down more than one grade from the teacher assessment. So if your predictions are BBC, you can't do worse than CCD or better than AAB.

@mrshoho

Ofqual have said they will finalise the arrangements by mid September. There's still talk of the dates being pushed back by a month also. My daughter's school are preparing for exams to take place.

Ofqual need to improve their maths skills then.

@MarshaBradyo, it’s a state grammar.

September 2021, presumably...

[quote NellyJames]@MarshaBradyo, it’s a state grammar.[/quote]
Thanks your post had just prompted me to email the school. I’d like to know when they are holding mocks.

I don’t think it’s standard Y11 practice at all. She’s started back with no easing in at all. They were told about the exams first day back. But we’ve also been told they have no way to finish the courses. Further maths has also been dropped but I think that’s happening everywhere as a friend’s son is Y11 at a different school and they’re no longer doing FM either. She’s very worried about music though as her practical playing is rusty and next week will be her first practical lesson since March.

Nelly I must admit your post made me sit up (figuratively speaking) and get that pre exam tension - on someone else’s behalf.

Ds was still getting FM work throughout summer so will check on that too, I haven’t heard anything about it changing. Only thing he’s mentioned is speaking dropped from French. Think I need some school info directly.

I agree it has to be moderated teacher assessment. It could be done on the lines of this year but with a safeguard that your grades cannot go up or down more than one grade from the teacher assessment. So if your predictions are BBC, you can't do worse than CCD or better than AAB.

So what stops an unscrupulous school awarding every pupil AAA*?

@Ellmau

I agree it has to be moderated teacher assessment. It could be done on the lines of this year but with a safeguard that your grades cannot go up or down more than one grade from the teacher assessment. So if your predictions are BBC, you can't do worse than CCD or better than AAB.

So what stops an unscrupulous school awarding every pupil AAA*?

It didn’t happen. The teacher assessments and the CAG’s were heavily moderated. No school would do that, knowing they’d be in huge amounts of trouble and audited. Oh and they’d never hit performance related targets again.

I can’t believe that’s a serious question.

Marsha, believe me, the tension is very real in this house. School have acknowledged the stress but say the more evidence they have the easier it will all be. DD is frustrated about further maths but more worried about music. I have friends with Y11s at the local independent school. They are apparently doing some form of mock assessment via an online system which will be marked and moderated externally. I have no idea how that works.
I hope your school is on top of things. From speaking to others it seems plans and provisions are very patchy. I’m guessing that’s replicated around the country.

Nelly the school has been really good throughout. Good, fast communication so I hadn’t thought to check those things.

But I did just ask Ds who said November for mocks and FM still on. Am relieved. He’s actually really laid back about it all. Just have to trust it’s fine (atm) and hope not too much isolation looming. He is better when in school.

*It didn’t happen. The teacher assessments and the CAG’s were heavily moderated. No school would do that, knowing they’d be in huge amounts of trouble and audited. Oh and they’d never hit performance related targets again.

I can’t believe that’s a serious question.*

No, it didn't this year, because the schools understood they would be moderated. In the event, after all the U turns the CAGs were awarded unmoderated, and some were, um, optimistic. Some were very optimistic.

Marsha, glad all good for your DS. Interesting that his school is still doing FM. DD wants to do maths A’level so it would be useful but her teacher has said it’s much more important to ensure her class get 9s in the limited time so I don’t want to argue. Her school seem very insistent on making sure they have lots of evidence. I have no idea if this is good or bad. They were excellent during lockdown and her courses seemed to carry on as normal through to July. The only major problem being the lack of practical music, understandably. She’s also been told there will be no speaking part to her French and less poetry in the English exam.
Despite the stress of mocks, DD is so much happier to be back in school. I think there was a novelty factor attached to the first lockdown but any subsequent closures will not be good for her at all.

My school is preparing for exams to go ahead as normal this year. As we've not had any information from the government that anything different will be happening.

Therefore, I am recording all of the examples I do in lessons and putting them online for any isolating pupils to access. Just because they aren't physically in front of me, does not mean they aren't being exposed to the same content as the others. The problem will be the kids who are actually ill and not well enough to do the work, or the kids who do not have reliable access to the technology that would enable them to watch the videos they are being sent.

We're doing year 11 tests now, not so we've got evidence for cags (that will be a nice bonus if they do prove to be needed) but because we need to know how much the kids can remember from last year in order to plan and prioritise content for this year. Schools always assess pupils knowledge, although it's often at the end of a year rather than at the start, but that was impossible in June/July so those assessments are happening now instead (in less formal circumstances in my school, as we aren't forcing them into full exams this early). Our normal mocks will take place in December and March for year 11 and January for year 13.

Nelly yep same here re being happier back and further closures.

My worry is that Y10s will get forgotten in all of this. Missed half a year, and now back in self isolation as whole year group in our local school.

Govt will have to do something for Y11s to ensure some semblance of fairness, but Y10s will just get forgotten about. With a vaccine hopeful in 2021 (fingers crossed), by summer 2022 it will be 'old news' politically, and there will be a whole swathe of y10 students who've missed out on the best part of a year of education (if we're lucky!).

Not being good for them that is.

61% of schools start GCSEs in Y9, so the impact on the current y10 is going to be significant.
www.tes.com/news/exclusive-63-schools-extend-gcses-key-stage-3

[quote Timtims]61% of schools start GCSEs in Y9, so the impact on the current y10 is going to be significant.
www.tes.com/news/exclusive-63-schools-extend-gcses-key-stage-3[/quote]
Ofsted don't like this anymore though some schools do it in disguise. Though lots will not have started early.

I am very concerned about this. If some students have received months less teaching than others, how is this possibly fair?