IB results out tomorrow

[truelove]

DS expecting IB results tomorrow afternoon. He needs 7,6,6 at HL for Physics at Warwick (same for his insurance, Bristol) but has since decided he wants to try for Durham through clearing (because his GF is going there assuming she gets the results she needs . He knows it’s a long shot and that he will probably have to wait for A level results.

Anyone else’s DC awaiting IB results tomorrow?

That’s so frustrating. I’ve been reading similar on The Student Room today. Have the school advised contacting the universities yet? I suspect most universities will be waiting to see what happens with A level results as they won’t be able to gauge how many have met offers etc until then.

@nightsoutasap good luck with any appeals the school may make. This is a worrying start of statistically produced exam results and terrible for the poor DCs caught up in it.

Hope the universities are sympathetic.

DD was predicted 7s in maths and psychology and got these results in all of her exams including mocks taken in January. She got 5 in each. She is disappointed and perplexed but happy that it has no bearing on her uni place.

Dds school not released IB results yet.. Very strange there are only 6 girls who took IB within the cohort.. All. Incredibly bright (9s/A*s at GCSEs). The HT has however issued an email today stating that Universities are making generous revisions to their offers and encouraged girls to ignore their grades and just move forwards... so this in itself speaks volumes.

It's going to be tough for some of our Yr11s and 13s

I shouldnt say generous..understanding is a better word...

My daughter is refusing to even look at her results. Predicted 39. Still don’t know what she got. Anyone else in same boat?

My ds didn’t do well in physics but ok in maths and Spanish however as we thought his engineering result will be out in August. He’s gutted about the physics - seems it was at least one grade lower if not 2

My daughter was predicted 39. Got 29.

29 when predicted 39???? That's outrageous. It's 1.5 to 2 points less in every single subject! I hope you can appeal it nightsout. I did the IB years ago and would have been gutted had that happened to me. Poor girl.

Just seen this on another thread (the Uni 2020 thread).www.tes.com/news/ib-results-day-2020-coronavirus-rise-average-score-worldwide

So the actual results overall are at a 4 year high. Higher average grade (in UK) and higher number of passes.

Sorry hope this will be a clicky link

www.tes.com/news/ib-results-day-2020-coronavirus-rise-average-score-worldwide

The school is complaining in the first instance. She has lost a mark in every single subject. Got an A in the EE which is a consolation.

I have seen the link too! It doesnt match my dd’s story, nor many of those in her cohort sadly.

@nightsoutasap...is your Dds school high, middle or low performing in IB?

Still waiting to hear from Dds school in terms of results but this cohort was very small and high performing compared to last years.. So if its historical based some girls may have lower points than expected.

Nightsout - it does sound then as though your school have been subject to moderation because they over assessed their grades compared to their historic data.

However IB is using actual coursework so this should reflect the pupil's ability too.

However IB is using actual coursework so this should reflect the pupil's ability too.

This is what I don't get. If they used actual coursework then how are the exam boards explaining the huge discrepancy between predicted and actual?

I am not sure what you mean by "predicted". Do you mean the centre assessment? The coursework this time is being marked by external examiners. The schools will then assess a grade too. If the schools are over predicting then their grades are moderated down.

The overall results are higher and there are more passes. It would seem some schools have not assessed their students at the correct levels and have been subject to moderation. Also did those schools make sure the grades they submitted were sensible with past results as historic results are also used. If they submitted over 75% getting 776 when they usually only get 20% 776 then they will be moderated as it would seem unlikely that suddenly the cohort had changed that dramatically.

If however you meant predictions as for UCAS forms it is well known that these are frequently overestimated with only 17% of UCAS predictions being accurate.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-ib-results-unhappy-schools-want-more-transparency%3famp

@SeasonFinale

However IB is using actual coursework so this should reflect the pupil's ability too.

no, my DDs retake was coursework based and she was moderated downwards massively. We won't know more until the full marks are released but it stinks. It was reviewed by 2 teachers before being submitted.

Moderation by examiners is a very blunt tool - DS lost an A* for GCSE music because the whole class was downgraded for one of the performances although they did not listen to his work for that element. His other performance (which got full marks) was in the moderation sample for the other element and the mark was confirmed as correct. Both elements were marked by the same teachers. It was a GCSE so just annoying rather than having the significant impact that downgrades have on the IB students, people who have this happen to them in IB are justifiably angry!

Also, a lot of schools do not have numbers taking IB large enough to work for statistical moderation. If @Oneteen's school just had 9 of the brightest in the year, comparing with previous years just does not work.

Many of us are worried that the A level moderation will have the same blunt effect. It is not such a big deal for GCSEs as the numbers are a bit more consistent, cohorts bigger and they are less important.

I still can't imagine how they will manage the fact that DS1's school maths A level results were 14% A last year and 3% A the year before, with a similar sized cohort (around 70).

At least the IB people will hopefully have a better basis for appeals as it is their work rather than just statistics which is supposed to underlie the awarded grades.

@DennisSherwood - I am sure you have thoughts here......

Sorry, should be @dennishsherwood

@monkey2001.. My daughter had exactly the same happen with moderation of GCSE DT... She got just 1 mark of the top mark in her written exam but her coursework was downgraded by 17 percent even though it wasn't marked enough to take her A* to a B (1 mark off an A).

I think Dds school IB results maybe lower than the girls deserved (I'm not sure by what margin yet) largely because it's a tiny cohort against previous years..all the girls were very bright..most have had 121 teaching because there are only 6 of them...

I'm not surprised to see better overall results I expect to see better overall results in A level too... The results over the last 7 years have deteriated and the 'Government' need to show that 9-1 GCSE reforms have improved standards... So A level results will show improvements but unfortunately it won't be bottom up due to the algorithm favouring historical results.

thank you Monkey2001. i don't know much about IB, but the TES piece this evening talks about the lack of transparency; things are worse with GCSE and A level, as (most politely) described by the Royal Statistical Society in their submission to the current Education Select Committee Inquiry committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/6407/pdf/ and committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evidence/97/the-impact-of-covid19-on-education-and-childrens-services/.

If you want a case study in bureaucratic obfuscation, take a look at question 482 here -committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/493/pdf/. Please let me know if you can understand the answer.

The issues about the vagaries of the statistics, and the applicability, or otherwise, of historical comparisons are real, especially as regards bright students in schools with weak histories, and small cohorts.

There's quite a lot more here - www.hepi.ac.uk/2020/05/18/two-and-a-half-cheers-for-ofquals-standardisation-model-just-so-long-as-schools-comply/ - especially in the comments.

To add fuel to the fire, the Ofqual appeals process is very limited, but there is a "consultation" still open until 14 July www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-statutory-guidance-in-relation-to-the-gqcovid-regulatory-framework.

It's very hard to know what to do to influence things. If anyone is a constituent of Robert Halfon, Kate Green or Layla Moran, a letter (with as many signatures as you can muster will help) - or any member of the Select Committee - committees.parliament.uk/committee/203/education-committee/membership/

Also contact with any journalist is really good.

And there's this lively facebook group too: www.facebook.com/groups/Alevel2020exams/about/