All 9s at GCSE….

[CurlewKate]

Less than 1.5% of candidates get all 9s at GCSE. I wonder why so many of them seem to be Mumsnetter’s children! 🤣

@MiserableMrsMopp

Is your view about iGCSE being easier based on quality of answers you're seeing or questions themselves?

Yes mine did too. And four A stars at A level. Without any tutoring ever. It's assumed that state educated DC need to be tutored to the hilt. Some DC really need none. PS They are six foot four too.

Just to weigh in from an English teacher's perspective (having taught/examined CIE, Edexcel both IGCSE and GCSE, AQA, OCR and a limited amount of WJEC - both Lang and Lit), difficulty varies according to the board more than IGCSE/GCSE.

Edexcel IGCSE (and GCSE tbh) I would say is probably the hardest for my subject, but could certainly be rivalled by OCR. Then CIE, but CIE is so different for Language that it's difficult to compare there - some of the skills are harder, some more straightforward. AQA is challenging, but my students tend to find it more straightforward - although that doesn't mean they'll necessarily score more highly - and WJEC slightly easier, although I have the least experience with it as a board.

Which is all to say that it varies massively, IGCSE vs GCSE is not a straightforward comparison in English, and straight 9s is a huge achievement for anyone!

I think there's probably a bit of sampling bias going on @CurlewKate . Someone who's taken the time to sign up to a site called "Mumsnet" has a good chance of being a more engaged parent than the average. Someone who seeks out the Education board even more so. And then of those people the ones most likely to proactively post their childs grades are the ones who have something to boast about.

So yes, only 1.5% of children get all 9s, but a significantly high proportion of that 1.5% have parents who are Mumsnet posters on the education topic

Both. IGCSE questions are easier. Also virtually NO ONE ever makes it to the top of the mark bands for IGCSE. I checked yesterday (for work, not for this thread) and out of over 500 papers that I marked Summer 2024 none were in Level 8. Only 12 were in Level 7. These are not grades. Examiners aren't involved in setting of grade boundaries. Just giving a score on the grading rubric. So 500 papers, 488 didn't get above Level 6. I was pretty shocked by that.

My examining is checked throughout and I'm held as a category A examiner, so it isn't just my bias etc.

Isn't that interesting? For me, I'd say WJEC is the hardest. Subject differences I guess.

CIE IGCSE easiest.

Right, so you are now saying that you can only speak for your own subject, and you only have access to 'levels' and not grades achieved.

This, 100%.

and yet Miserable you still haven’t responded to other posters here re anything evidence based. Which given you are a grade A examiner I would have thought was part and parcel of your understanding.

Obviously not then!

I bet there are a lot of St Olave's, HB, Westminster, SPS etc parents on MN, not sure why it's controversial

There are lots of parents of SEND children posting proactively on MN, many of their DC are not going to achieve all 9s if any and they're not necessarily posting to boast about their DC's achievements.

Surely if no one makes it into the very top bands on the iGCSE papers, it would logically follow that those papers are harder? (ie because those top bands are almost unachievable for the average 15-16 year old) whereas if GCSE candidates are scoring in the very top bands, it means the questions are achievable?

Either that or those doing iGCSE are less intelligent than GCSE candidates?

so.... maybe iGCSE are actually harder if nobody can reach the top??

or is this both iGCSEs are easier and students who take them are stupid at the same time?

@nearlylovemyusername

Ha ha our posts crossed!!

Tbh I’d question everything.
The conclusions are based on nothing and do not align to educated research on the two.
We are still waiting for evidence of course.
Maybe we’ll get a link to the daily fail next 🤣

aparently the fact that no one gets the highest marks in iGCSE is because the exams is so easy….well that view is bizarre

@MiserableMrsMopp

What your data actually shows then is that a Grade 9 GCSE is only equivalent to a Grade 7 iGCSE

You beat me to it too. 🤣🤣

At least there’s a few logical thinkers on this thread

Interesting isn’t it.

Overall, I guess OPs original (snarky) question about high proportion of all 9s amongst MN kids is answered.

Derail about iGCSE and never-ending spat on private schools is boring. It's reassuring that that poster is not teaching anymore, at least one danger removed. They shouldn't be worried about their grandchild's education - surely experienced teacher grandparent will help them. Ironically making this child privileged.

So you mark around 800 papers for multiple exam boards (unusual?) in one subject and categorically state that iGCSEs are easier.

I don't think your opinion can be claimed as fact.

Anecdotally my DCs did a mix - not all the same subjects either. They both got a mix of 7-9s and A/A*. Surely if the iGCSEs were so much easier they would have got much lower grades in the other subjects?

DD actually complained about how much more she had covered in biology compared to non-igcse students when she started A level meaning lots of repetition. By the way she got 3A* at A level so I think her 8/9s were probably accurately awarded.

Lack of logical thinking in esteemed teacher is scary though, isn't it?

What I'm really worried about is that people with high IQ just won't go into teaching at all, then the entire society is screwed.

This is standard as an examiner otherwise it would cause a bias in our marking.

Later the grade boundaries are released and at that point it's possible to see where our marking awarded which grades.

And of course own subject. No secondary teacher is a multi subject expert. 1, 2 or at a max. 3 subjects maybe. I examine 2.

So if the teachers and the examiners aren't the experts who do you think are?

No. If you only get to a Level 7 and get awarded a 9 it's a very very easy high pass. That is logical.

Ones that understand data analysis and do not base it on prejudice and small sample sizes.