University admissions this year

[Teenageromance]

Posted here for traffic but wondered what people thought would happen with admissions this year and teacher assessment. Seems to be huge variation in how schools are doing this so will they let everyone in who has a firm offer even if the drop a grade or two? Will they stand firm if people don’t meet their offers? Anyone any insight?

I think you will find once the school/college submits their centre policy for the delivery of TAGs to JCQ and answers the question as to how they will ensure an appropriate balance of evidence to determine teacher assessed grades that are awarded consistently and fairly to students that the school may struggle to get their policy approved without at least five items for the JCQ governed boards.

If you know otherwise I would be interested to hear which school has managed this.

There is so much testing but far less teaching and far less revision time. This last month my yr13's predicted grades have dropped dramatically as the school being over cautious and very strict where as others are not. It's hugely unfair and would have just been better with exams in June.

The yr13's seem to be in a far worse situation than the year 11's who can include work as evidence.
Then you have people assuming it's easier for them as they aren't sitting exams.

@SeasonFinale

I think you will find once the school/college submits their centre policy for the delivery of TAGs to JCQ and answers the question as to how they will ensure an appropriate balance of evidence to determine teacher assessed grades that are awarded consistently and fairly to students that the school may struggle to get their policy approved without at least five items for the JCQ governed boards.

If you know otherwise I would be interested to hear which school has managed this.

I'd love to know where JCQ have indicated that they need 5 items of evidence. Have you read the JCQ guidance, can you point me to the line that says this?

@Sweetnessandbite

The yr13's seem to be in a far worse situation than the year 11's who can include work as evidence. Then you have people assuming it's easier for them as they aren't sitting exams.

Given that the JCQ guidance for A-level, AS levels and GCSEs is in the same document and the same, the range of evidence that a school uses for GCSE could be exactly the same as for A-level.

I would add I have now been through JCQs grade descriptors and worked examples for the subjects I teach. Some of the worked examples include five pieces of evidence, one of them has 2.

It really is a bafflement to me where this notion that 5 is the important number has come from.

@Sweetnessandbite that’s my exact point. They are being assessed without the same revision and teaching time they would have had for A levels so grades are dropping. So would a student go for a lower offer university on the basis that their school will be providing lower grades while other schools will give inflated grades - it’s so hard to get any sense of where things are heading.

@Sweetnessandbite I agree they would have been better with a levels.

[quote Teenageromance]@Sweetnessandbite that’s my exact point. They are being assessed without the same revision and teaching time they would have had for A levels so grades are dropping. So would a student go for a lower offer university on the basis that their school will be providing lower grades while other schools will give inflated grades - it’s so hard to get any sense of where things are heading.[/quote]
Schools should be assessing each student on what they have been taught, not even what their class has been taught, so if they were off for an extended period of time the topics covered during that time should not be included in the decisions on coming to the grade. So reduced teaching time should make no difference.

Since schools should be using a range of evidence from throughout the course revision is significantly less important this year than in previous years.

[quote Teenageromance]@Sweetnessandbite I agree they would have been better with a levels.[/quote]
Ah but the dear minister decided he would intervene and wash his hands of all responsibility for it.

Speaking to those who work in universities there is wide agreement he will probably interfere again before the results are out and in doing so make a hash of things even more.

I teach at a university. Normally by this time of year we have been bombarded with emails from Admissions about predicted numbers etc. Nothing this year. I don't know what that means. I know we had a lot defer last year.

@jgw1 that’s definitely not happening at my children’s school. They are being tested on material taught during lockdown.

[quote Teenageromance]@jgw1 that’s definitely not happening at my children’s school. They are being tested on material taught during lockdown.[/quote]
I have not seen anything that suggests material that a student was taught online during lockdown should not be tested. But if a student was not able to access the teaching, perhaps due to illness or technology problems then that individual should not be tested on it.

All JCQ guidance is available online and schools should send to students and parents the document that JCQ have written for that purpose.

@Teenageromance Its the same for my child he is being tested virtually every week, often full papers that they haven't been taught all the content. Its relentless and he's not getting the grades he would normally expect. He was expecting to get at least A*AAB before now he's worried as hes been getting Bs and Cs in the papers he was expected to easily get As in and won't get in to any of his choices. He's totally lost any love of his subjects and feels everything is mounted against him, especially when he hears other schools are being told what topics to revise. It's not a level playing field at all.

[quote lostinlego]**@Teenageromance* Its the same for my child he is being tested virtually every week, often full papers that they haven't been taught all the content. Its relentless and he's not getting the grades he would normally expect. He was expecting to get at least AAAB before now he's worried as hes been getting Bs and Cs in the papers he was expected to easily get As in and won't get in to any of his choices. He's totally lost any love of his subjects and feels everything is mounted against him, especially when he hears other schools are being told what topics to revise. It's not a level playing field at all.[/quote]
In which case I suggest you ask the school for the Centre Policy for awarding TAGs and carefully read the JCQ guidance and particularly what grounds for appeals there are.
I would be keeping careful note of what is in the assessments and when if at all it has been taught. One part of deciding what evidence to use is to think about whether a topic has been taught superficially or deeply.

@bathsh3ba

I teach at a university. Normally by this time of year we have been bombarded with emails from Admissions about predicted numbers etc. Nothing this year. I don't know what that means. I know we had a lot defer last year.

I'd imagine they Admissions people don't want to face the barrage of angry emails they'd no doubt face if they asked that this year, along the lines of "how the f* are we supposed to know?"

@poppycat10

I would avoid universities who made offers during the autumn 4 of DS's offers came before Christmas :(

I wouldn't make any decisions based on the timing of the offers. Your son should choose the universities where he thinks he will be happiest for the next 3 years.

@jgw1

I would add I have now been through JCQs grade descriptors and worked examples for the subjects I teach. Some of the worked examples include five pieces of evidence, one of them has 2. It really is a bafflement to me where this notion that 5 is the important number has come from.

As I said has the school where you teach submitted their centre policy yet? You may find it is rejected if less than 5 is suggested as a wide enough range.

Personally if it was my child starting university I would advise them to defer for a year.

^^
Why’s that @StarCat2020

Why’s that @StarCat2020**
I am probably over cautious but I can't see this September being totally back to normal in terms of university life.

Part of uni is the "life experience" (sorry awful phrasing) and I think there is much more chance of that next September.

It all sounds unbelievably rough just constant assessment. Even the my db (doing GCSEs) ‘hasn’t got exams’ he has 42 in class assessments

Ds1 too!
4 offers before Xmas including an RG University.
I think lots of universities are expecting fewer students this year? Although I did think last years deferrals would have an impact which, sadly, they seem to have for oxbridge and Durham and LSE. Lots of stellar students not getting offers :(

@Jenthefredo

Ds1 too! 4 offers before Xmas including an RG University. I think lots of universities are expecting fewer students this year? Although I did think last years deferrals would have an impact which, sadly, they seem to have for oxbridge and Durham and LSE. Lots of stellar students not getting offers :(

Given that the numbers applying to university always go up in hard economic times I doubt very much that universities were expecting fewer students this year, and would have been able to see from the point when the statistics were published at the end of October of the number of applicants who had met the early application deadline that it was not the case.

Most of the parents of uni hopefuls round here, said sod school and engaged tutors for A levels. So the kids know the subjects in depth and hit the ground running for assessments at school.

We did for Dd who got rubbish teacher awarded grades last year so sat the exams in the autumn, gaining results 2 grades higher in each case, getting her an unconditional offer at her uni choice for this year. There will presumably others in the same boat adding to this year's mix.