University 2020 :6: The one with the results at the end

[MillicentMartha]

Hopefully as the title suggests we will actually get up to results on this thread! Only 5 weeks to go.

Old thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3918392-University-2020-5-Results-day-approaching-and-beyond?pg=40

Help yourself MillicentMartha. I do think the reference to "Bristol" is a nice touch.

Ah, cheers, Hogh. Now all I need is a thunderstorm to get rid of this humidity.

- 2020 A levels - what students and parents need to know. I found this, by a Professor of Higher Education Management, useful... though perhaps give it a swerve if you're already overwhelmed with nerves.

Yeah, I suggest you don’t bother reading that biased load of tosh. They don’t exactly propose a better alternative, do they, except just giving everyone their UCAS predicted grades, which are definitely known to be way over optimistic!

Stay strong, everyone. Thursday approaches.

@SeasonFinale

Networks- you are mistaken.

The Scottish results were not split by indie and state but by area least deprived and most deprived. The mostt deprived were adjusted by more than the least deprived because they had overinflated by a far greater amount than least deprived. After adjustment/moderation the most deprived still actually had a greater uplift than the least so actually they suffered less disadvantage .

See attached:

That's really interesting @SeasonFinale and illustrates just how badly the communications have been handled in this mess up. If the SQA (and English exam boards) had done what seemed like the sensible thing at the time they could have worked with schools at the outset to agree on the grades they were allowed to give (based on past results, trajectory of school, trajectory of cohort, outliers etc.) and then asked the schools to apportion them. The headlines could have been "Schools in deprived areas have record high pass rate" or something like that. Instead, by requiring schools to give CAGs (and asking them to stick close to historical performance, which of course many schools ignored) there are now headlines about "downgrades". Entirely avoidable I think.

The problem with that, SnapSnap would be some teachers might have apportioned their grades to make sure their ‘newsworthy’ candidates got their places rather than fairly ranking them. With the ranking system, hopefully teachers would have been fairer, because they thought they could set their own grade boundaries. Maybe?

And, if more teachers had actually estimated more realistic grades, they wouldn’t have needed so much moderation.

With these CAGs vs last years actual results, something had to be done. And how do you decide which schools had over estimated vs those who were more realistic, except by previous history?

Why dismiss a report by an academic for an independent higher education think tank as biased load of tosh, OP? On what basis do you consider them biased? The analysis is in line with what the Royal Statistical Society already released, and they've gone on to urge UK's Statistics Authority to urgently review both English and Scottish exam authorities.

And, if more teachers had actually estimated more realistic grades, they wouldn’t have needed so much moderation.

I refuse to blame teachers. Either they're the experts in their pupils and should be assigning grades, or they're not and they shouldn't. OFQUAL can't have it both ways. And the reality is that grade inflation will happen anyway, since in October exam series final grade can only stay the same or go up.

The truth is that teachers cannot account for the uncertainty element. They know that Alex will probably get A/B and Brienda will ge B/C, but they don't know which side of the line they will fall on the day, with the right questions, changes in grade boundaries etc, so they say Alex will get A and Brenda will get B, because they want to give them the benefit of the doubt.

The more I think about it, the more I think that the fairest thing to do would have been to give each school a statistically calculated pot of grades to distribute as fairly as they could across the pupils, which schools could negotiate if they could demonstate major changes. Of course teachers may well have felt uncomfortable doing that as it makes them the ultimate judges, but I think it would generated the fairest grades which would have been considered at student level rather than anonymously.

I've read a lot of proposals for fairer systems, Monkey, and that's one of the better ones, I agree. Personally I think that there should be reference to the GCSE grades/earlier A level result (if retakes or one taken early) of each student and recent class work evidence from before lockdown, to support A level grades, rather than based on prior cohort of school which seems most unfair. (I say that as someone with a child at a selective school who has less to worry about on a personal level thanks to prior cohort - and she is bitterly upset by that as feels it's unfair to others.)
Whatever method chosen, I think a sufficiently higher percentage of grade inflation should have been allowed to enable everyone to get the grade they would be expected to gain based on the standard of their classwork in January/February.

That would have been no good for my Dgd being as she was Ill and then in hospital january-february.

And therein lies the problem, there would be winners and lower based on whatever system was used.

De fleury - The problem is that the article referred to above uses hypothetical outcomes as regards purportes Engkish results based on sampling taken prior to CAG submission and therefore serves no purpose in the run up to results day than to speculate and cause fear. Although there are some factual snippets that can be taken from it it refers to previous discredited blogs too.

Thank you phone for making losers = lower!

48 hours to go until we're put out of our misery.

DS1 is looking decidedly distracted and is not reacting well to any discussion of results. I'm trying to find very important jobs for him to do to keep him busy. Today his task is to try on his suit and see if it fits him. There has been a bit of lockdown spread and upwards growth. The frenetic cricket playing has dealt with the spread but I'm not sure the suit can accommodate his new physique.

DH is not impressed that his first born has outgrown him. I think it's quite funny.

Doesn’t look good in NI either. We had a radio interview with someone from the exam board (CCEA) yesterday. He said the grades awarded from teachers were well up on what would be expected and they have been moderated down. He clearly said this moderation was partially based on how the school performed in the last two years in that subject.
Reporter was outraged and accused them of basically discriminating against bright kids in traditionally lower achieving schools.
I’m worried for DD. Her three subjects have not scored highly in previous two years but she has worked at A/A* level and expects to get that (she had 3 As at AS). There are also small numbers in her subjects - 15 in one, 8 and 3.
She is very fortunate to have an unconditional offer and everyone is telling her it doesn’t matter what she gets but it really does matter very much to her.

Refusal to discuss results in this house, or to even decide if he wants to receive an email or go into school. I am taking him to get some new football boots and gym kit today as a distraction. Dh keeps telling me to stop talking about results with ds but I think dh has no idea how the whole process is going to erupt on Thursday.

Specialted it's the same here. Every newspaper and news bulletin has another story about results, without any concrete evidence. DD sees the headlines. DH thinks everything will be fine, so we should ignore all the reports. DD's offer is all or nothing, as she will be looking at Clearing if her firm choice says no. I know she should have an action plan in place (I have one in my head) but it's her future & I can't force her.

Complete refusal in this house as well, on the grounds that it won't change anything. BBC have published an article about university's holding open places for students who need to appeal, which I can't see working as that would surely impact clearing?

Oops, wrong link completely

Years ago my DB missed his firm & insurance place. He picked up a place in clearing & started a few weeks later. His insurance uni called a couple of days after he started and offered him a place, but he decided to stay where he was.

DS is, in between working and seeing friends, sorting out his room. He paid his sister to sort out his clothes yesterday - she’s putting together a capsule wardrobe, to minimise the risk of sartorial disaster. Any recommendations for sturdy but stylish boots for everyday wear if too wet/cold for trainers?

Quietly in the background I have checked out a couple of clearing options just in case.

Nicky2512 she is a decent position then with those class sizes, any she? Isn't the guidance that classes with 5 or under (or is it under 5?) will just take the CAG and that 15 and understand (same proviso) will still lean heavily in n them? Or is that just England?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53729376

I would love for this to happen for anyone who finds themselves having to appeal but do we really think it will happen? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Shauna Timberland have some brilliant offers in their sale. I got some shearling lined boots for wearing to rugby matches (if ever stadiums reopen) at 50% off.

Michaelahpurple
I’m not sure if that applies here. Will have a look and see.
It’s such an extra worry for them all. I just watched a girl being interviewed on tv who expected 5 As and got 2 As and 3 Bs.
It must be awful to actually sit the exams and not get what you hoped for but they have no control over this at all. I just feel so bad for them all.
My own DD says even if things do work out for her, she’s never going to feel proud of her results or as happy as she did with her AS.