Scottish Exam Results 2020

[Lidlfix]

After hearing DD3's deep sigh and worried voice observe "this time in four weeks..." I feel it's acceptable to begin the 2020 thread.

Over the years Scotsnet regulars and visitors have given great support, advice and even (tales of blissfully unaware snoring DC) light hearted relief to each other over the years.

This year has been particularly fearful for us and our DC and I know how much I have appreciated results threads in previous years. As there are plenty of threads with political discussions and chances for posters to express concerns about what politicians/councils/ schools/ teachers are or aren't doing, can I gently ask that we keep this to topic?

I have DD3 waiting on 1 AH and 2 Highers for a conditional offer and DD4 waiting on 5 Highers - results depending she'd like to apply for Law for the end of S6.

Lidl, there is a completely different process at our school. Parents were told not to contact the school re a review and that the school would contact parents if they thought it was appropriate.

It would be helpful if there was consistency across the board.

Wings I don't know is my honest answer. I can't get my head around a school estimating lower than the evidence they hold, I know it's happening though. DD won't be told if she has grounds for appeal until next week so we don't know if (like your DC she had a significantly lower than anticipated estimate - which will break her heart) or was downgraded by SQA.

@WeAllHaveWings

That's really disappointing, particularly when your DS seems to have put a lot of effort into doing past papers etc. Doesn't make any sense why a school would only predict a B when all the evidence points towards an A.

I'd be speaking to the headteacher and demanding answers tbh. I'm not sure what the situation is with regards to appeals when the predicted grade hasn't changed but it's certainly worth investigating.

Hi everyone, another teacher here. My subject’s estimates were all entirely based on robust evidence, but this particular cohort for Higher were outstanding, by far the best in the last ten years or so, so by comparison to last year’s cohort, or the year before’s group, they would have looked inflated. However one look at the prior attainment would have shown how exceptional they were.

SQA downgraded 2/3 of them. I am utterly devastated. I have so many appeals to prepare now, I just hope the process works.

My DD is devastated. She was predicted ABB and she got CCC. In one subject she got an A on the prelim exam and never got a mark lower than a B on coursework, yet she was awarded a C. She had a conditional offer for uni and we are waiting to see if she will still be accepted or if she will have to try and get onto her course through clearing (she has four highers ACCC). She just got a phone call from her head of year who has described the whole thing as a clusterfuck. She said the SQA board completely disregarded the recommendations of the head teacher and teaching staff and it all seems to be a numbers game. They have been talking to distraught students all day. She has grounds for an appeal and we will be going in to meet her teachers next week as they are helping her with it.

My daughter got her higher results 4 x A's and B in chemistry which she is breaking her heart over , a high A result in her prelim and consistent high results throughout the year ,also a high A in her Nat 5 but they award her a B and also going against the teachers recommendation, how can they justify that to the kids ,just because historically the schools results averages B's!!!! I know is is still extremely good results but it wasn't what she had worked for and wanted ,we are appealing but my heart goes out to all the kids in this position

@Lidlfix

The parent council at my DDs school are focussing on that. So much has been put into addressing the attainment challenge we should be seeing grades go up. So why down grade such a significant figure in exactly the area that PEF money has been targeted towards?

I was just making exactly that point to dh: it makes a mockery of PEF funding whether they even want it to have any effect if they base the adjustments on past results

Unless it is simply a case of non-joined up thinking: the SQA not realising what the intent of PEF funding was and where it was focussed

Thinking about it, it would only really be with this year's cohorts that the successful use of PEF funding would have worked through the system.

For those PPs claiming teachers have vastly over-estimated, therefore, leading to downgrading, where do you get this idea from? In my department all gradings were robust, based on previous performance, prelim, class assessments and folio. All evidence was moderated by another teacher and spot moderated by the PT. SMT trust their staff and have no need to question why wee Jimmy was awarded a Band 2!

Hello

Disappointing results here also for my DD.

Can I ask on the certificate, where it states the result and then below it says external assessment and repeats the result of that is what the predicated grade was from the school v the final grade?

No exam it will be coursework that is sent away to be marked externally (Folio/ practical work/ experiments done under exam conditions) .

@Puffalicious

The figures have all been publicly released. Teachers predicted that 85.3% of the poorest 20% of pupils would pass at higher- the figure last year was 65.3%.

Even for the richest 20%, teachers predícete a 91.5% pass rate against 81.7% last year.

That is why the SQA have downgraded results.

I strongly suspect that if some teachers had been more reasonable in their predictions, there would have been less downgrading.

I predicted based on the pupils I had in my class, their work, ability and potential.
I didn't compare that to what we got in the last three years or whatever.
I didn't overestimate.

I'm sure not all teachers were fair but I think most would be, i think the difference would be where you have students on a borderline scenario, you are never going to mark them down whereas in real life, lots will get say 69% and need 70% for an A. If I was a teacher and the pupil was sitting getting 67-69% consistently, I'm sure I would have maybe given them the benefit of an extra mark or two. I suspect that is more likely where the discrepancies have come rather than from giving a solid C student a prediction of an A.

Spanish but the teachers needed evidence for these gradings.

Is it not more likely that the present exam based system suits pupils in the richest schools better? Is it not likely that poorer students are not served by a heavily exam based system and perform better with continuous assessment? Their home environments are less likely to provide the optimum studying conditions. I'm sure France has found this once moving to a largely non- examined system.

Wax your point is also completely valid.

I’ve just read that Nicola sturgeon said grading of the pupils by teachers were not credible.

I do not agree with this and hope all those downgraded appeal with as much evidence as possible.

@Pacif1cDogwood

Joining this thread a bit late in the proceedings.

DS1 got his results by SMS this morning.
DS2 signed up for an email and has not received it yet?

We are not actually at home and do not have anybody to go in and lift an envelope off the doormat - argh!!

Congratulations to everybody who is happy with their results, and commiserations to those who are not.
We live in strange times indeed....

Same here - text but no email yet. We are on holiday too.

DS got 8As and 1B in English at Nat 5. He got all As in his prelims but English was an insecure A so he’s not surprised it was downgraded.

Here’s more pleased about his best mate who missed half of 3rd year and the start of 4th year as he had cancer and still managed to get 5As and 1B.

Sorry for those of you whose kids have bad news, esp @Sexnotgender @krustykittens @foxyknoxy30

I'm sure the teachers would also like to appeal the assault on their professionalism. Surely what should have happened then is when the results went through whatever program they did, an actual human should have looked and worked out that particular schools or classes were a bit of an anomaly and requested evidence at that point?

I appreciate this all happens during the holidays but basically they've shoved the kids under the bus instead of dealing with it on a case by case basis.

@Puffalicious

I agree that some pupils from poorer backgrounds would quite possibly perform better under a holistic assessment model rather than a one-off exam.

I don't believe that accounts for the 20% difference between the pass rate last year and this year's predictions though. I think over optimistic estimates by teachers is what caused it.

I agree about teachers trying their best 're grades and maybe being over hopeful.

I think there is a big difference between sitting an exam and getting 49% and a teacher trying to guess if, on that particular day you might get 51, 50, 49 or 48% . I can see why, when you believe the pass mark will probably be 50, you'd give them the 50 or 51. I think schools would normally only allow an appeal if you were 2 bands away from prediction, so if they thought you were a low C and you got a high D then they'd leave it at that and wouldn't allow for a remark or recount or whatever. Not sure if it will different this year or what info schools have been given back.

Spanishpork every year in schools we are supposed to show improvement. If we just get the same % of passes each year that isn't good enough! So every year we have a plan of how to improve results that we implement throughout the year - we can see to some extent if it is working by prelims etc, but the real test is the exam. We also never, never know which pupils will pull it out of the bag in the gap between lessons finishing and the exam being sat. For us to say, last year we had more fails so we'd better move some of these C's down, would mean in reality sitting and saying "Jane Mcdonald looks on course for a C but if I put that down on this form we will have more passes than we normally get - better says she's a fail" which no teacher ever will choose to do.
None of us had ever done this before, for obvious reasons, and we had no face to face access to the students or other colleagues to help us through. I don't think a bad job was done all things considered.
In education, you will find that the SQA are not viewed very positively by many teachers for a whole host of reasons, this does not help.

I think they upgraded dad's maths, we/she was totally expecting a D - maths was horrendous for her, she got a C. But we'll be appealing her B in biology, straight high As all year in a competitive school.

Spanish IKEA et al I'll tell you the situation my school in my subject and you can see what you think.

All Nat 5s awarded as graded by me. Brilliant.

48 Higher candidates, 45 downgraded (35 an entire grade, 10 a band within a grade). The reason? They've downgraded the entire year group in line with the results from last year. Last year's cohort was a much less able cohort- this happens, it's inevitable sometimes- yet this year's cohort are far more able in this subject. Why should they be downgraded due to the results of the candidates last year? It's so unfair. There'll be a ton of work preparing appeals, but the evidence is all there. I teach in a school with the majority of pupils in SIMD 1-3, these are the very kids who need the best results they can get and work so, so hard, in many cases in poverty, to get the grades they deserve.

What are your thoughts?

Damn typos!