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Higher education

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Original poster

And so the 'A-level misery' starts…

137 replies

HappySonHappyMum · 07/08/2023 07:14

So nice of The Mail this morning to start preparing us for the massive grade deflation our DCs can expect next week😡

And so the 'A-level misery' starts…
OP posts:
DustyLee123 · 07/08/2023 07:16

I don’t see the problem, there’s some kind of doom production most years.

JaukiVexnoydi · 07/08/2023 07:23

It's right there in the first lines. The high grades were part of an acknowledgement that the kids who were in their A-level years in 2020-2022 had so much disruption that no actually fair assessment was possible.

The kids who are getting their A levels this year have been allowed to go to school and study properly. It's right for the normal standards to return. It's obvious that there will be fewer A grades. There will be no more misery (but no less either) than in any year up to and including 2019.

Bozzicle · 07/08/2023 07:30

I personally think it is too soon. For these kids it will have been the first public exams they have ever set. Also I think if some parts of the uk (Wales) are still adapting things then it isn't fair - everything should be equal.

Scottishgirl85 · 07/08/2023 07:33

To be honest far too high a percentage receive the top grades anyway. I think this is a good thing.

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2023 07:33

The papers froth when results go up, and when they go down. Stay away from them. I agree they ramp up stress. MN is just as bad, though! Anyone who received results last few years can find them being devalued right here on this site...

It's not true that the current exam years had no Covid disruption.

However, the pegging to 2019 is not quite as simplistic as the press are suggesting.

Hardchoice · 07/08/2023 07:36

I’m more clueless about pre-pandemic (2019) A Level grade boundaries, and how they will correlate for the cohort getting their results next week. .
My DS, who is due his A Level results next week, prepped for his A Levels by using 2019 grade boundary raw marks as a bench mark.
He prepped using past papers from 2017, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 2022, and sat the 2019 papers last using the 2019 grade boundaries.
I fear there will be something more nuanced in the way grade boundaries are constructed this year.

IncompleteSenten · 07/08/2023 07:36

Fair enough.
They should be difficult.
Making it easier and easier is making qualifications meaningless

DustyLee123 · 07/08/2023 07:37

Pumping up the grades doesn’t help those going to Uni, gives them false ideas of how good they really are.

TeenDivided · 07/08/2023 07:42

The headline isn't saying anything that the students shouldn't already know.

Original poster
HappySonHappyMum · 07/08/2023 07:45

I appreciate that grade inflation can't continue but it's wrong to say this cohort haven't been affected by Covid as this is the first set of exams they have sat properly in their lives. My real bugbear is that schools have probably not been marking work to 2019 standards, expected grades have not been based on 2019 standards and therefore Uni's have not given offers based on 2019 standards. Are we going to see a whole lot of students missing their grades and having to go through clearing or will Uni's let students in anyway?

OP posts:
Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2023 07:46

I see they are quoting Denis Sherwood whilst not really understanding his main point.

He is a long running commentator on the unreliability of exam grading. That's not a Covid thing.

OP it makes teachers anxious, too, I can assure you!

TeenDivided · 07/08/2023 07:52

My real bugbear is that schools have probably not been marking work to 2019 standards, expected grades have not been based on 2019 standards

Why would they not have been using 2019 standards?

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2023 07:55

We just mark work. Using markschemes. And levels.

Grades are always a guessing game, and not included in any markscheme.

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2023 07:56

I don't think your main bugbear should be the teachers in all this! We have spent three years now pretty much flying in the dark.

I am sure universities have thought about this.

cptartapp · 07/08/2023 07:57

JaukiVexnoydi · 07/08/2023 07:23

It's right there in the first lines. The high grades were part of an acknowledgement that the kids who were in their A-level years in 2020-2022 had so much disruption that no actually fair assessment was possible.

The kids who are getting their A levels this year have been allowed to go to school and study properly. It's right for the normal standards to return. It's obvious that there will be fewer A grades. There will be no more misery (but no less either) than in any year up to and including 2019.

Many of them started their A levels not even having finished the GCSE syllabus for the subject, particularly so for the content heavy sciences. So spent the first part of year 12 trying to catch up missed content. And sat their finals never having sat a public exam since year 6 SATS. And they were the first poor sods to do the reformed version of those.

Every cohort in an exam year 10-13 when COVID kicked off should have been given some allowances until the end of year 13 going forward, and all have thus far. Except this year.

PrivateSchoolTeacherParent · 07/08/2023 08:01

This is back to "business as usual" for universities. They will be much better prepared to cope with decisions than during the CAGs/TAGs years when many more people than expected made their offers. That is much harder to deal with than too many people missing their offers. If the latter occurs, they will let in applicants who had near misses (as they always have; they need to fill courses) before turning to Clearing.

The point about the Welsh exam board is a good one, though!

TeenDivided · 07/08/2023 08:02

cptartapp · 07/08/2023 07:57

Many of them started their A levels not even having finished the GCSE syllabus for the subject, particularly so for the content heavy sciences. So spent the first part of year 12 trying to catch up missed content. And sat their finals never having sat a public exam since year 6 SATS. And they were the first poor sods to do the reformed version of those.

Every cohort in an exam year 10-13 when COVID kicked off should have been given some allowances until the end of year 13 going forward, and all have thus far. Except this year.

Show quote history

I haven't got an A level student but I would disagree.

If they have been impacted as a cohort by their disrupted GCSE years, then you'd expect their results to be worse than 2019, not equal. So the fact they are aiming to peg to 2019 % grade levels means they are being given some allowances.

littlequestion · 07/08/2023 08:12

If more UK students miss their offer, with more clearing places as a result, are those clearing places reserved for UK students or could they go to international students?

Are there separate quotas?

Original poster
HappySonHappyMum · 07/08/2023 08:16

@Piggywaspushed Please don't think I was having a go at teachers - not my intention - they have had as much of a difficult time as the kids. Why on earth do exam boards announce now though that grades are going to be deflated when the ship has sailed!

@TeenDivided In an ideal world schools will find out at the beginning of the teaching year that grade boundaries would be applied differently this year - then everyones expectations could be managed before they even get to the exam part.

OP posts:
TeenDivided · 07/08/2023 08:18

HappySonHappyMum · 07/08/2023 08:16

@Piggywaspushed Please don't think I was having a go at teachers - not my intention - they have had as much of a difficult time as the kids. Why on earth do exam boards announce now though that grades are going to be deflated when the ship has sailed!

@TeenDivided In an ideal world schools will find out at the beginning of the teaching year that grade boundaries would be applied differently this year - then everyones expectations could be managed before they even get to the exam part.

But we've known for ages and ages that exams were going to be pegged to 2019 haven't we?
It factored into decisions for my DD re resitting her GCSEs this year.
So surely we have known for a year?

PrivateSchoolTeacherParent · 07/08/2023 08:18

@HappySonHappyMum It was announced at the start of the academic year. Nothing new recently.

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/grading-exams-and-assessments-in-summer-2023-and-autumn-2022

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2023 08:21

Hmmm, that was a full year and a month into the courses....

PrivateSchoolTeacherParent · 07/08/2023 08:23

Piggywaspushed · 07/08/2023 08:21

Hmmm, that was a full year and a month into the courses....

It was confirming what was planned in September 2021:

Beamur · 07/08/2023 08:24

Universities won't want empty seats. They are more likely to accept lower grades. Pragmatic decisions will be made. Very popular courses will still need good grades.

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