University 2020 :5: Results day approaching and beyond

[MillicentMartha]

Old thread
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3855474-University-2020-4-The-wait-for-grades-and-better-days-ahead?pg=40

Less than 3 months to go until we have a better idea what the future has in store for our DC. Let’s hope that even if most lectures are online that accommodation is open and they can move up, across or down to their university towns and start their student life.

We should have been in the middle of exams, instead we have this strange limbo of lockdown. It could have been worse, though.

@Monkey2001 - I had wondered if that might be fairer ie give each school a pot of grades to allocate internally.
But very difficult to ensure fairness as there would be even greater pressure on teachers to award the grades each student deserves, rather than the grade needed for a uni place -as per so many of the Oxbridge comments on here. I was particularly surprised at a suggestion that a teacher could ever regard it as fair even to rank students in such a way as to protect their Oxbridge students!

I'm fairly certain that Dds Maths department will be relieved at using historical results because last years results were very good and this years cohort is a weaker... However, this year's cohort is similar overall to last years based on GCSE results which means that there will be subjects where the results should be much better than last year.. So yes @monkey2001 allowing a school to tweak their distribution of grades by subject would be much better although that doesn't help with overall grade quotas. I think there are 6/7 students that have taken Classics and Latin this year out of a cohort of 60...there were no entries in 2019..and the 2018 A level results were awful... (17% down on 2019)...the girls taking Classics are incredibly bright most holding either Oxbridge or Durham offers... I hope they do manage to moderate so that DC do have fair results..

Article without pay wall - www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-teacher-assessed-grades-higher-grades-2019

Agree that it seems like the schools have been pretty restrained on the whole. I think the system is likely to be more reliable for GCSEs than for A levels as the cohorts are much bigger and the odd outlier will not stand out so much.

@errorofjudgement.... I was particularly surprised at a suggestion that a teacher could ever regard it as fair even to rank students in such a way as to protect their Oxbridge students! I think it will happen but we will have to wait and see the stats.. .. I can't see how a school can predict grades for a student to be able to go through the Oxbridge application process and be offered a place... For a school then to assess the students grades at a lower level unless it's well documented that performance has deteriorated...doing so could possibly lead to legal action. I think rankings tend to be mentioned on Oxbridge applications so it's a can of worms if schools have been less than honest.

This is probably useful ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2020/06/gcse-results-2020-a-look-at-the-grades-proposed-by-schools/

A few caveats that I'm picking up from those links:

First, it seems the research was only on GCSE results, so I'm not sure whether The Times were right to quote A levels in the headline shared earlier - anyone seen anything about A levels?

Second, it's based on those secondary schools that were using this particular organisation (about half of all schools, they say), and is NOT based on what schools actually submitted to exam boards. Indeed, the service that FFT were providing was to help schools assess if they were statistically in line with previous years, so schools may well have used that feedback to adjust before submitting.

@Oneteen - seriously? There are parents who would mount a legal challenge that their DC was not awarded the grades the parents think they deserve in exams the student hasn’t sat?
Utterly bonkers!!

I have not seen any info on A levels but yes these are not grades submitted just an analysis of data used by some schools to assist them with their assessments. I know some exams are not regulated by Ofqual.. Pre U? Are these exams being submitted and moderated in the same way?

It will be interesting to know whether schools have just submitted the grades that they think are a true reflection of what student grades would have potentially looked like had the exams gone ahead or whether they have looked at historical data and adjusted appropriately. Interesting to see its 1/2 a grade difference on some GCSE subjects because I read a blog stating they they thought schools would average up and this would have a bigger impact on overall grade quotas.. I wonder how you then adjust if you only need to adjust 100 student grades yet 200 have been averaged up.. Do they look at the larger 6th forms first?

@errorofjudgement.. I didnt say that the grades would be what the parents think they deserve did I? I said if a school assessed grades which were out of line with the predicted submission eg... If the grades were A*x2 A on the Oxbridge application and these grades were confirmed on regular reports back to parents and the ranking on reference was say 3...then the school submit assessed grades as AAA and ranking 9..then I think parents could well hold the school to account if they lost the place.

Why do we always revert to Oxbridge?!

I think there’s an Oxbridge thread isn’t there? It feels quite elitist to be always coming back to Oxbridge on a general thread.

I was particularly surprised at a suggestion that a teacher could ever regard it as fair even to rank students in such a way as to protect their Oxbridge students!

I'm not sure which poster suggested this would be 'fair' errorofjudgment, just that it could happen (quite easily I think). Schools don't like to lose Oxbridge offers.

@goodbyestranger

I was particularly surprised at a suggestion that a teacher could ever regard it as fair even to rank students in such a way as to protect their Oxbridge students!

I'm not sure which poster suggested this would be 'fair' errorofjudgment, just that it could happen (quite easily I think). Schools don't like to lose Oxbridge offers.

Unprofessional behaviour

I asked that same question a few posts back Railingsohno but to be fair this is about results for Y13s in general. Plenty of posters' DCs' hold offers from those two unis - it's a bit exclusive to tell them to shove off to another thread.

Realistic though and only arguably unprofessional to give a student the benefit of the doubt.

@goodbyestranger fair enough but as long as it doesn’t take over the chat! Puts others off.

I think it is unprofessional of teachers. They should be thinking only of what a pupil would be likely to get in the exam. Where they want to go to Uni is irrelevant.

I would like to think teachers would be more professional anyway.

Did you all see the news about the meds that have been helping to treat hospital covid? I feel increasingly positive that by sept life will feel more normal - hopefully the uni experience will be too. Well done scientists!

“Fair and objective” are the key words. Uni destinations irrelevant

@Newgirls

Did you all see the news about the meds that have been helping to treat hospital covid? I feel increasingly positive that by sept life will feel more normal - hopefully the uni experience will be too. Well done scientists!

Do you have a link to that? Lovely to hear positive news. All doom and gloom at work here today.

My son was always deferring but I feel sad for those missing out on a proper first year experience.

Has anyone else’s DC still not firmed/insured?

Last week mine asked his preferred and insurance to agree to a subject change, and is waiting for confirmation from the insurance uni.

@railingsohno... Sorry that's my fault...its just sometimes the thread moved on and then bounced back and i was the person who brought up the issue as to whether schools would protect their Oxbridge places. Do I think it's fair if it happens no.. Would I be peed off if my child lost their place in a standisation process..definitely Yes..and that is in respect of any offer.

Railing sorry i don’t know how to link but it’s on the BBC news app today

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53061281

[quote Oneteen]@railingsohno... Sorry that's my fault...its just sometimes the thread moved on and then bounced back and i was the person who brought up the issue as to whether schools would protect their Oxbridge places. Do I think it's fair if it happens no.. Would I be peed off if my child lost their place in a standisation process..definitely Yes..and that is in respect of any offer.[/quote]
I hope it works out. Stressful times all round.

They’re all certainly having their resilience tested. We’re lucky because our son, whilst he struggles academically, is very relaxed and go with the flow. This takes the pressure off a bit. Harder for more focused/ driven pupils.