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?

I've spoken to Dds school and the IB and Alevel/GCSE results will not be awarded in the same way its two totally different ways of awarding results. Dds school did state they have NO idea how the IB scores have awarded and are having to ask for further details.

The school have taken decision not to issue ANY results they feel its not a fair reflection on the girls because they didn't sit exams.

The IB is awarded on a mixture of historic data, teacher assessed grades and ACTUAL coursework which instead of being marked by their own teacher has been marked externally.

Grades overall are higher than the past 4 years and indeed the average grade is higher for both UK and worldwide students thus it would suggest that some settings have either lost out on historic data or they have merely been overmarking their students.

A levels and gcses will have an added layer or prior cohort attainment which should adjust for historic data not matching this year's cohort.

It is unfortunate that with historic data there will be winners and losers but the fact that actual assessments were externally marked suggests they should be more robust. The fact that overall grades were higher suggests that as a whole more people are going to be happier and as with any reviews the negative are more likely to speak out.

Wow @Oneteen, can I check that I have understood you correctly. Are you saying that the school is not telling the girls the results they have been allocated?!

Are they withholding results completely? That’s not right, surely?

Surely Oneteen just meant not publicly announcing the results!!

But correct me if I'm wrong!

@SeasonFinale

The IB is awarded on a mixture of historic data, teacher assessed grades and ACTUAL coursework which instead of being marked by their own teacher has been marked externally.

Grades overall are higher than the past 4 years and indeed the average grade is higher for both UK and worldwide students thus it would suggest that some settings have either lost out on historic data or they have merely been overmarking their students.

A levels and gcses will have an added layer or prior cohort attainment which should adjust for historic data not matching this year's cohort.

It is unfortunate that with historic data there will be winners and losers but the fact that actual assessments were externally marked suggests they should be more robust. The fact that overall grades were higher suggests that as a whole more people are going to be happier and as with any reviews the negative are more likely to speak out.

Following discussions with DDs school today they have real concerns about the treatment of their subject cohort particularly maths and chemistry. The adjustment has not been made in a manner they can understand so I do not agree with your final paragraph. My daughter resubmitted the IA for a retake, after the the mark was agreed by 2 teachers, which was then reduced by 30% for a straightforward and robust piece of work. Small cohorts in single figures seem to be hardest hit. There are also people expressing surprise in achieving higher than expected results. It is not sound and I suggest all of us whose children are affected shout out our concerns.

The girls have their results they are not publishing any results this year..

Oneteen - but it remains that the teachers are from the same school and therefore have used the same possibly incorrect understanding of the marking criteria. There was a school local to us last year where one subject was failed by all pupils who took it because the cohort had not covered all 4 criteria just 3 on a coursework element. The teacher submitted the grades as various levels of passes but as one whole criterion had been missed they all ended as fails. I pity the historic data used for this year's cohort but suspect that this issue will have been addressed prior to submission with the appropriate board. NB. not IB.

@SeasonFinale I am not sure why you are assuming that the schools are wrong and the IB examiners are right.

Every year people get the wrong grades and this year it is more difficult than most to ensure fairness. It was always likely that there would be losers in this. It is not the odd isolated school, several schools with a long IB history are baffled. On TSR there is a desperate mum from a school where they had 17 medicine offers and NONE of them got the grades. This is a school with a history of successful medicine applicants.

Complacency about procedures which do not appear to be so robust appears insensitive when the impact on a significant minority is so damaging.

In these whole school situations I would assume the schools are already in contact with the Board about how standardisation and/or moderation has been applied. With A levels and GCSEs the schools are going to be given the standardisation data used for their school when the grades are supplied the day before results day. If IB has not done the same then I would assume that the schools can ask for this to be provided or looked at again in case the wrong data has been used. In the example you have given it would be odd that a school that usually has a high number of successful medical applications would end up with none. With individual pupils then such an error is less likely.

Sorry if I was insensitive to a party on a completely different board which I am not even a party to.

Out of interest can anyone say which schools in particular are baffled?

The Head of Bryanston was quoted in the TES article

I don't know this years results..all I know is they are having to ask how the scores were arrived at...which is surely a fair request.

I have just written to the IBO with my concerns and suggest that those of us with children affected do as well:
[email protected]

In March we were told that retake students were not going to be allowed to enter the May "exams" and would need an extra year but the IBO changed their decision after feedback from Schools and parents so please do write, it may be worthwhile.

As regards GCSE, AS and A level, everything depends on whether or not Ofqual enforce a policy of "no grade inflation". No one knows, and the blank page 28, under the heading "statistical standardisation" and "Embargoed until 20 August 2020" doesn't help

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/898202/Requirements_for_the_calculation_of_results_in_summer_2020.pdf

Over the last 8 years, when there have been exam scripts to mark, this policy was implemented for each subject within each board by 'slicing' the rank order, as determined by script marks, so as to ensure that there were the 'right number' of candidates in each 'slice'. This was done on large cohorts, but as long as the overall number was 'right', neither Ofqual nor the boards cared whether or not individual candidates were awarded the grade they truly deserved.

This year, the process can be achieved only for each subject within each school - on very much smaller cohorts, and with a correspondingly much greater statistical uncertainty.

But as before, neither Ofqual nor the boards give a hoot about a given school let alone a particular candidate. As long as the overall numbers are 'right', and as long as they have a process which protects them against a legal process such as judicial review, they really don't care.

I've just looked at the IB results from my old school in Oxford (St Clares). While all their students with Oxbridge and medicine offers met them, the top end results are weaker this year. Only 15% of students were awarded 40+ compared with 25% last year. (see www.stclares.ac.uk/our-courses/international-baccalaureate/results/).

Midlife - but have St Clares said they submitted more than the 15% with 40+ or is that what they submitted or what the coursework was graded at. Are they a school that is saying they believe their grades are incorrect or are they actually aware that this is in line with their expectations?

They say in that link that they are exceptional results so seem happy with them. (Sorry should have looked at link first).

Bryanstan are saying they are pleasing results on their website too?

I may get more insight into Dds school results tomorrow its virtual prize giving... They had a wobble IB year last year (although 3 students still got over 40 out of 9)but in 2018 results were good with an average of 37.3 and one student with the full 45 plus a 1/3rd over 40. They were ranked in the top 10 schools for small IB cohorts until last year's blip.

If they are disappointed this year its probably down to having just the 6 girls who are very academic and so expectations would have been high...

It certainly looks like some schools are content. Goldolphin & Latymer report 'superb' results with a relatively small cohort (about 20) but very good historic results. Would be interesting to know from those who have had disappointing results how big their cohort was.

That's a very small cohort @Oneteen - sounds as though it is related to the cohort size with the larger schools shielded to some extent.

Just checked DS’s old school and IB results compare very well to their general trend.
In fact, the average points score is up a little at 37.6.