Surely they can't cancel GCSEs and A levels again

[Marcellemouse]

Heard there are calls for it. After what happened with this years cohorts surely it can't happen and it's a terrible idea.

I must say I’m very against cancelling them again. I’ve got a y11 who worked consistently in lock down and went back and has already had exams. He will feel very annoyed and disinclined to work for A levels.

I don’t see why they can’t all sit the exams, but teachers make sure they are aware they probably won’t be able to answer all questions. All the grade boundaries are flexible anyway.

To account for schools or pupils in lockdown for each week missed you add a few percentage to the actual score - in the same way I got an extra mark or 2 for sitting my O level cookery early in the term (this was when external examiners were sent into schools and they had to spread them out) to try and make it fair that we missed 1/2 a term of practice. Or in the way children who are ill during an exam can get a few extra marks.

It’s not perfect, but does seem better than wholesale scraping of external assessment again.

@BlackPuddingEggs I think there’s too many variables for this to be fair. What about the schools who have been told not to send the whole year home, just the close contacts in the year? Or the kids that have to isolate for 2 weeks because household has symptoms but can’t get a test? You’d have to have a personalised marking scheme for each pupil based on exactly how much face to face they’d had.

i tend to agree that we don't need GCSE and all the anxiety and competitiveness (amongst parents mostly) that they entail, however, it is very difficult to be motivated for a subject if you have nothing to aim for. I have changed my mind about the 3 year gcse program now as my daughter has just started year 9 and with for example, french she is just with her GCSe group and now there is WAY less mucking around and she is enjoying it - hurrah.
It's a tough one!

Our year 11s have already missed 3 weeks due to having to isolate for 2 cases in the year group.

We should not have exams this year, it’s unfair, the kids in my school are way behind nationally anyway and with all this missed face to face teaching they are skrewed.

There is no perfect solution.

CAGs/coursework would no solve the problem that some schools have missed more teaching time than others. You have to judge on a level playing field to make it fair but but yet there is no way of levelling the playing field. It really is a mess.

In an ideal world, they would repeat the year but I can't see that happening either.

The only solution I can think of would be to do region/school specific grade boundaries based on how much teaching time has been lost. Nightmare to implement though and subject to all kinds of manipulation.

I have read lots of suggestions about how to make results “fair“, so as not to penalise those students who have lost more learning time, and I completely understand this desire.

However the qualification also has to mean something. It would not be right to artificially boost someone’s grade from a “true” 5 to a “fair” 7, say, in compensation for missing a lot of school. If they have not covered the material, sadly we would be setting them up to fail at the next step - an A level course, for example.

Year 10’s last year lost most of their input and will do as Year 11’s. They aren’t comparable.

They lost some input from Late March to July, that's about 4 months out of six. Not most.

@beachedwhales

Year 10’s last year lost most of their input and will do as Year 11’s. They aren’t comparable.

They lost some input from Late March to July, that's about 4 months out of six. Not most.

Yes it is, when you are talking about exam courses. The content can now not be covered. Combined with random isolations and closures, they will have lost most of their learning.

Do come back to me when you know what you’re talking about. Until then, don’t bother.

Do come back to me when you know what you’re talking about. Until then, don’t bother.

I don't need an exam course to know that 4 is less than 6, when you've completed your remedial maths course perhaps you'll have something worthwhile to say. Until then, don't bother.

Telegraph front page tomorrow says A-levels will be delayed by three weeks for catch-up according to a leak.

twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1311774212432986114?s=21

The problem is if exams are cancelled won't loads of DC just sit back and relax?

Mine have been made fully aware they might not have exams and to make coarse work mock exams and homework count.

You should be telling your child the same.

Some exam boards have reduced content

Some are giving candidates a choice of questions so they cover a reduced syllabus.

Some exams will be completely cancelled.

I have two year 11 and one year 13

I’m not worried

A three week delay till the mid of July? Well - they better sort out recruiting markers and let the universities know that results will be delayed so can we start uni terms a bit later.

Bloody marvellous. Year 12 and 13 ruined due to covid, and they want to shorten the summer holidays! Who will want to mark these exams that late? Will universities start late to accommodate the inevitable clearing fiasco when able dc haven't achieved as highly as they could due to lockdowns/illness? And why do they think 3 weeks will be the magic catch up time needed? Why not 4/6/8?
Better to do regular in school assessments to provide evidence for teacher assessed grades and move on!

My dd is only in year 10 but I am worried anyway, as any temporary closures, teachers being off, etc, will have a roll on effect.

I have also advised dd to really keep on top of her work and do her best in every item of homework as it may all count...

Better to do regular in school assessments to provide evidence for teacher assessed grades and move on!

I think this is what will happen. If for no other reason than it’s cheap and easy. The questionability of how the results are arrived at, is way down on the list of government priorities. They’ll just inflate the grades a bit, everyone’s happy and move on.

Oh yes let’s cram 4 Months of work into 3 extra weeks...! Joy

@larrygrylls

Lilybet,

We could retain maths and English at GCSE, or add the equivalent of those at 18.

Schools could continue to assess at 16 and use that as a qualification for 6th form entry.

There is a strong argument that the stress and disruption of GCSEs are not worth itif the results are going to be made irrelevant 2 years later.

I suspect that this is the direction of travel.

So...... what about students who don't want to take A levels?

I hope not.

I think a choice of questions is an excellent idea (back to the future, all A levels used to be like that!).

A levels are important for uni. They will not be perfect but the very bright will get to the top ones and the weak will go to the poor unis. For the middle contingent, luck will come into it but, then, it always does really-wake up with a headache or you get identical questions to the ones your teacher went over the previous few weeks.

As long as we get a set of results and unis have the places, there are more serious things to worry about.

Dd has just started year 12. She told me that sixth form do not get supply teachers if staff off. Work shoild be set on Google Classroom. I thank God that we aren't in a high risk area but this is bad if replicated in those areas . Add some kids isolsting and bubble closing into the mix and we will have a very unfair playing field.
Some concessions need to be made for kids worst affected.

@Northernsoulgirl45

Our 6th form never got supply teachers (unless teacher off long term) even pre covid. By 6th form students really should be able to study independently when a teacher is off school for a few lessons a year.

I heard a representative from one of the Universities on the radio the other day and what he said actually made a lot of sense. What they are asking for is a decision now to cancel 2021 A levels and instead use teacher assessed grades. His argument was that if a decision is made now there is time to agree a sensible and fair way to moderate assessed grades (involving educators not algorithms), pupils/teachers would know what to expect and how to gather evidence for grades, grades would be known in time for pupils to make decisions about the next stage in their education etc.

I don't think there is an ideal solution, but a carefully planned way to assess must be better than hoping exams can go ahead and then letting the politicians decide what to do at the last minute if they can't.

Boris,

I think that just throws the onus on to schools. Schools are encouraged, at one level, to not discourage students. On the other hand, they will have to defend these CAGs from students and, more pertinently, irate parents who believe that Thick Tarquin is an A* student.

CAGs would realistically involve lots of testing, whenever possible, and telling students far more realistically how they were working, however discouraging. I suspect it would make the year far more stressful, with every test counting.

The appeals process would also have to be transparent, made to be fair (so no expensive lawyers involved for those who can afford them) and not too onerous for schools and teachers.

Personally I favour well designed A levels with a choice of questions and the emphasis on skills, rather than content.

My daughter would be absolutely heartbroken if they cancelled GCSEs. She's worked so hard all throughout lockdown and again during a two week isolation period after a child tested positive. Her schools have been utterly amazing.
Couldn't they just lower the thresholds for each grade instead? I think the kids need something to work towards.

We should have had exams in 2020. A level students barely missed any teaching - maybe a few weeks?

But the 2021 cohort are much more disadvantaged. No teaching for an entire term plus all the disruption and difficulties that they are currently having and bound to go on happening.