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GCSEs 2018 (12) Are we nearly there yet?!

999 replies

mmzz · 08/06/2018 12:40

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calzone · 10/06/2018 20:34

It’s definitely too much Flower.

Ds has had 27 exams. Utterly ridiculous.

Sostenueto · 10/06/2018 20:36

And the examining boards had better give this cohort some concessions like last years cohort who only had 2 new style subjects to cope with!

noblegiraffe · 10/06/2018 20:38

The grade boundaries for this year’s new 9-1 subjects will be pegged to last year’s results for those subjects and will fit predictions based on the cohort’s KS2 results, exactly as last year’s results were for maths and English.

The kids will get what they are expected to get on average, regardless of how low boundaries have to go!

JufusMum · 10/06/2018 20:38

I hope she will be ok. I just think she will get 5's when she is capable of 7's.
Very grumpy this evening so I have fired off moaning email to Head of Year about how the DC still don't have their leavers hoodie's with a week to go despite the fact that I paid for the fricking thing in MARCH!!
HOY hates me anyway!!

Sostenueto · 10/06/2018 20:40

calzone not only ridiculous but f stupid! For a wonder dcs are commiting suicide, suffering mental illnesses and physical illness through all the stressAngry

Sostenueto · 10/06/2018 20:49

That's fine noble only one problem this years cohort are allegedly supposed to be brighter by some stats teachers and organisations have been looking at. Will that mean the grade boundaries this year will be a lot lot higher?
If you went by dgds keystage 2 SATs then for maths she won't get higher than a 7/8 and for English no higher than a 4 to 6. Well the English may be right as she has a thing about it. Maths about an 8/9 is what she is capable of.
jufus my dgd has prepared herself to thing a grade or 2 lower on predictions because of exam nerves. If she gets her predicted/mock marks she will be over the moon.

EllenJanethickerknickers · 10/06/2018 20:51

How about maths and English, noble as those aren't new?

Ah, I reckon DS3 will get what he needs, if not what what he's capable of. A little more revision would have been nice. I hope all your DC get what they deserve. Flowers Will be very glad to see the back of this week.

Stickerrocks · 10/06/2018 20:54

Welcome Flower. It's a sorry state of affairs when you automatically know that someone finishing on 19 June must either have Graphics in the morning or Add Maths in the afternoon. History is over until A level starts in this household, but we'll match maths and sciences and add in Spanish and geography tomorrow instead.

DD has tended to take Saturdays off, as she goes to work and then keels over in the afternoon. We have tried to take her out for a meal or encourage her to bash a tennis ball to destress. The problem with the meals are that she rarely leaves her room at any other time, so we can't help asking her about what she's doing & so on, which sometimes defeats the object of going out. It's also been a case of a drought of info or the floodgates opening in the car on the way to or from school, unless we are car sharing.

Some of us have been here since Don't started the threads around 8 months ago with a simple question about English Lit resources. Please don't worry if there are some themes you wonder about which seem to have nothing to do with GCSEs (K-pop & cricket are popular diversions along which a few health traumas) or let the couple of DC maths geniuses throw you.

To summarise the last 11.5 threads: Blimey it's ages away yet, I don't know why I'm worrying.Why are there no resources? Have they got mocks? Oh dear, that'll teach them not to revise. Those results were crap/encouraging/shame they weren't the real thing. Why is the school doing so many revision sessions/still doing the syllabus/starting study leave at Easter/ not starting study leave til 18 June (yes, really). Prom/leavers hoodies/friendship traumas. IGCSEs starting, rest of us starting, why was there a question about Fat Fred going to Weight watchers? iGCSEs nearly over, rest of us nowhere near over, wrong Eng Lit texts, holiday plans, NCS sign ups, health concerns, will we get to the end of thread 10? Nearly there, oh no, it's biology again.

Sostenueto · 10/06/2018 20:55

As long as DC get grades needed to do what they want then pfft to the golden 9Grin

Sostenueto · 10/06/2018 20:59

stickerocks you always brighten my day!GrinGrinWine

Stickerrocks · 10/06/2018 21:00

Meanwhile, in another universe, there are 156 posts on a thread entitled "Has anyone started to prep for Christmas 18 yet?".

I also for got to mention the pup with a pig and a patio in my summary of the last 11, 486 post.

TheThirdOfHerName · 10/06/2018 21:01

Brilliant summary Stickerrocks Grin

Devilishpyjamas · 10/06/2018 21:01

Well went over the biology paper 2 syllabus with Ds2. There is a lot to learn for paper 2, goes on and on and on. He doesn’t know it as well as he knew paper 1 but understands the concepts so if they stick to interpretation and don’t ask him for too many details he’ll be okay Confused Hmm if he goes over the syllabus etc again tonight rather than watching Love Island he'll be fine.

The half term really didn’t help him. Knocked him right off his stride.

Sostenueto · 10/06/2018 21:01

ellen all will be well! Think positive and positive things will happenFlowers

Stickerrocks · 10/06/2018 21:01

Swapping the red wine for gin - fewer calories and I have cruise to go on in 4 weeks without DH!

noblegiraffe · 10/06/2018 21:05

Will that mean the grade boundaries this year will be a lot lot higher?

No, it means that more students will get higher grades than last year, and the grade boundaries will be set to facilitate this. It’s based on the average KS2 results for the cohort, so individual KS2 results aren’t taken into account - they won’t look at a student and say she only got a 4b so we can’t let her get an 8.
The grade boundaries are set so that the proportion of students getting a 7 or above would be the same as those getting A or above the previous year, adjusted for the fact that this cohort is brighter so should be getting more As. The number of 9s issued is based on a formula depending on how many students go over the 7 boundary, then they set the 9 grade boundary to chop off the right amount of students. Then the grade boundary for an 8 is set at halfway between the grade boundary for 7 and for the 9.
They already know roughly how many students will be getting a 7+ and a 9, they need to set the boundaries to fit this once the kids sit the exam.

Maths and English will be set in a similar way, to keep the proportions of students getting each grade roughly the same as last year, adjusted for cohort brightness based on KS2 results. This is how grade boundaries have been set since about 2012 to stop grade inflation.

Stickerrocks · 10/06/2018 21:06

DD is currently tackling hormones. I told her I knew all about those, but her father obviously didn't, so she showed me a diagram. That's me corrected.

EllenJanethickerknickers · 10/06/2018 21:08

Love the summary!

Stickerrocks · 10/06/2018 21:11

noble I knew all that, but it's always reassuring when you come on here and say it again. A lot will obviously also depend upon whether our DC RTFQ and answer the question asked not the one they want to answer. If they fail to adopt that approach, any school daft enough to predict 9s could be eating humble pie with a cohort of 5s and 6s whilst the rest of us lowly mortals will have DC on the front of the Daily Torygraph leaping around in delight on 23 August.

EllenJanethickerknickers · 10/06/2018 21:11

Thank you noblegiraffe. My autocorrect had a field day with your name!
No keg gotta
Noble god
Noble giggles
Noble guffaws
Grin

Teenmum60 · 10/06/2018 21:12

Stickerrocks - well done on the resume!

DD has certainly been laid back and quite honest with her observations about grade expectations - she knows that winging it through GCSE's wasn't going to work (although at one stage I thought she was going to give it a try Gin).

Oddly enough I think DD may have bucked the trend - has the exams have gone on the more effort she has put in ...she worked probably 6/7 hours yesterday and about 6 today....but this weeks exams are important to her.

Flower0201 · 10/06/2018 21:14

Thanks for the warm welcome and filling me in on what I’ve missed. It’s certainly been a journey....a very long journey. Shock Wish I’d discovered this earlier. DS is currently up in his room revising biology. Has been working on and off since 7.30am this morning. I keep telling him to stop and have a break which he has done throughout the day. I think when he finishes on 19th June, he’ll feel a bit lost! Lol! I’ve told him to sleep for England, chill out and watch Netflix and play on your PS4. Then we’re off on holiday on 22nd June! I’m so proud of him and his dedication. However, I could stick pins in Michael Gove. 26 exams is ridiculous. Will you really get the best out of kids in week 5 of gcse/ revision when they are all flagging and just want it over with!

goodbyestranger · 10/06/2018 21:15

DD told me today that her maths teacher predicts 200/240 for a 9. Interesting that you think edexcel paper 3 probably won't be a stinker - let's hope so! Biology, Maths, History (Russia), Chemistry and Physics for DD this week and Ad Maths next. Good luck to all for the new week and all the best to Devilish for the long commute to DS1.

goodbyestranger · 10/06/2018 21:17

That bit about edexcel paper 3 was to noble and I the prediction of 200/240 was edexcel specific too.

goodbyestranger · 10/06/2018 21:18

I

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