This year's GCSE maths.....

[BertrandRussell]

My ds's maths teacher has just told me that the 7000 odd schools that did the new maths GCSE as mocks recently achieved a modal score of 11% for paper 1. 11% ? Surely not!!!!!!

Just thinking logically. Wouldn't broadly speaking the 20% (or whatever) who would have got an A or A* under the old system, be surely still the most likely to end up in the top 20% this time and get the new 7/8/9 grades?

Or noble (or other maths teachers here) do you think that different schools will have managed to adjust to the change so differently that a large fraction of old A-grade students will be replaced by better taught old B-grade ones?

Happy. No it isn't necessarily too late to move from a 4 to a 5 but it does depend on lots of things like how close to a 5 he is already, where he is having difficulties and why and of course the amount of time he is able and willing to spend working on it.

He might already be on a 5, no one knows for certain. There's certainly plenty of time for him to improve his score with dedicated practice, identifying his weak areas and working to improve them.

Some ideas for maths revision here:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/2822454-Study-tips-and-websites-for-those-with-children-in-Y11

that a large fraction of old A-grade students will be replaced by better taught old B-grade ones?

I think it's true that some students will be better prepared for the new exams than others in other schools. Students in schools where there aren't enough qualified maths teachers who are being taught in a lecture theatre alongside 100 other kids or by a string of supply teachers will be at a disadvantage compared to those in a school with qualified teachers and reasonable class sizes. Some schools are having 5 hours of maths a week and others 4 or fewer. B grade kids in some schools could certainly overtake A grade kids in other schools depending on teaching arrangements. However I don't think that a load of B grade kids in a particular school could overtake A grade kids in the same school. There will be kids who slip down because of how hard it is knocking their confidence, but I think that will affect all levels

Are the Maths 9-1 specimen papers, on the board websites, indicative of the rigour. I ask as Maths does not seem that bad. The worry is if the actual papers are far more challenging than the specimen papers.

Some of the Edexcel practice papers seem to be much easier than the secure mock papers, god knows what level the real things will be set at. Edexcel wrote their actual exam papers a year ago, so they won't have modified them in the light of the dreadful mock results.

Noble u are right about some of the practice papers are easier nothing like the mock paper's the grade 4 questions are so difficult honestly times ticking away so fast...

I just hope my ds gets a grade 5 he just cannot get past -4 he's trying so hard I wish they didn't change the style of the questions really not fair... on all year 11 students this year who are sitting their exams..

I wish I hadn't read this thread now. DS' school has changed from IGCSE to AQA Maths this year and is just ploughing through all the AQA past papers.

Does anyone know if the AQA paper is likely to be very different from previous years' papers? Especially with regard to the wording/style of question which seems to be what other people are concerned about re Edexcel.

I've not heard anything from the school about the difficulty of the paper having been ramped up, nor of DCs getting exceptionally low marks in their mocks, so I just hope they are being suitably prepared.

to all parents having to worry on their child's behalf because it's not clear.
to all those studying who actually have no clear idea of what they can expect grades wise.

to noble who I'm finding is providing a very open and honest outlook which is the best we can hope for ATM.

My DS is only year 8. He has ASD and some SEN. His language/communication is a big issue. He's highly intelligent. We (school and me) are noticing how much he's struggling academically now with the new system of more wordy questions. It concerns me. Ds flew through a level 6 at SATs. He should have had maths in the bag at at least a B at gcse. English is poor. It was always going to be a challenge. He faces continual resits in FE. But his asd isn't going to disappear just to prevent it.

Sorry for personal hijack - I underdstand I'm in no way in a worrying situation as much as those with year 11's. Please know I'm thinking of anyone doing GCSEs this year and wish them all the best

Hi 'namechange' if I were u I would go to school or give the school a call are the papers on AQA changed aswell.

I'm not sure but I think they all have edexel and aqa just make sure and if they are change try getting practice papers from the school they won't have too much because nobody has done these papers good luck for ur ds

AQA have changed to a similar/same standard.

Here is a link to some sample papers:
www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/mathematics/gcse/mathematics-8300/assessment-resources

This is just crap.
I feel so sorry for all the dcs and their parents this year.
This should have been introduced bottom up.. not suddenly changing the goal posts for those at the top
Also particularly feel for the kids with Sen who perhaps struggle with English . Maths was a safe subject for ds (who has asd) when he did his GCSEs . He understood exactly what was being asked of him and could do well at it. He would have spectacularly failed this new wordy paper ,particularly because they have been given no run up to it.

And now, at the last minute before the kids actually sit the exams, they've decided that a 4 will be a pass after all, and that students won't have to do a compulsory resit with a 4 ever.

Which is good news for those on the boundary, but bloody annoying that the DfE didn't announce this two years ago when the problems with changing the goal posts in 2019 was pointed out to them.

Hi 'Noble' my DS school hasn't told us yet that 4 is now a C they still want the DC that are doing higher to get a grade 5 atleast.
'Noble' if my son gets 30/80 on the 3 papers for maths is that a grade 5? (90/240)

This change was only announced today, after the end of school. Schools will still want DC to get a 5 if they can.

Someone who got 90/240 on the mocks (November or most recent?) should be ok for at least a 5, I reckon, if Edexcel. Usual caveats about not having a clue about grade boundaries apply, but the sort of kids at my school getting around that score aren't the type who would be scraping a C.

It's making students really despondent too. Dd who was always an A student in maths got really down about her mocks, she got 104/240 which was marked as a 5, though looks like could be either a 4 or 6 depending on the school. . She needs a 6 to study chemistry a level and is stressing so much. I think the whole thing is shocking, piss up in a brewery springs to mind

If a kid getting 104/240 in November gets a 4, we're all screwed. I think she will be fine for a 6, tbh. The proportion of students getting a 7 has to be the same as last year, and it's unlikely, given the exam, that loads of A grade students will be dropping marks that are now being picked up by previous B grade students.

My daughter is in year 10 and predicted to get an 8 in GCSE maths and an aspirational level of 9. When I asked her teacher what sort of mark is expected for a 9 all I got was a shrug. Apparently none knows where the cut-off for an 8 is!

I am so glad my son's school are doing IGCSE Maths and Edexcel have stuck to AStar to G for this year. One less thing to worry about.

My dd is doing aqa maths. Some of the questions she has to do are A level questions (she's in the top group).

Anyone's DC have done the second secured mock from Edexcel recently?

Thanks noble. She's hoping for a 6 but morale definitely low, lots of students in tears etc.

Ghgn - yes DD has done all 3 secured mocks in last 2 weeks. She's had 2 back and averaged 35/80 , same as November mock. She's not happy. It's really knocked her confidence but I said to her it's actually a really good mark... she said her school says you have to get 50% to get an 8, not sure how true that is.

Ds got 98 in the EdExcel mock which is a 5 at his school. His school require a 6, ideally 7 for A-level maths. It's so flipping scary that teachers haven't been given any indication about boundaries so we really won't know if he's A-level material until results day.