GCSEs 2018 (16) - The Final Countdown

[mmzz]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3304925-gcses-2018-15-the-reckoning?

Great results Kingscote - well done to your DS!

personally I think any essay subject is alot harder to consistency get a top grade
Totally.

with 8 slap bang in the middle. I think this is how all level 8 grade boundaries get calculated from now on.

Lots of disappointed DC over on the Student Room unhappy with IGCSE results.

Well done kingscote! (And your DS) what a lovely way to start the results. Mine will have a similar reaction to an 8 in history, given he got 100% in the not very well thought out mock and thinks he's a genius

And no to cash rewards here too! He'll be lucky to get a meal out the way DH is moaning on about money at the moment (there is plenty but he's feeling like we take him for granted and only want him for his earnings) Maybe a Tesco Clubcard deal at Pizza Express....

with 8 slap bang in the middle. I think this is how all level 8 grade boundaries get calculated from now on

No the grade boundary for the 7, 4 and 1 will be set and the top x% will get the 9 and then the 8 is set bearing in mind where the bottom of that top X% is set.

It is a different (top) percentage that will get the 9 in each exam depending on what exam it is. For example, Latin is usually taken by top set children etc so therefore there will be a greater number of 9s awarded.

@KingscoteStaff
Well done to your DS ⭐️⭐️⭐️
.....now, if only all our DC do so well.
Next Thursday......aaaaarrrrggghhh

Ofqual states...

The grade 8 boundary will be set halfway between the grade boundary marks for 7 and 9

Blimey if I wasn't confused before then I am now ! I really do feel that all of this is just complicating things for no reason . The 16+ should be an opportunity for all to show what they can do ( as opposed to what they can’t) after 12 compulsory years of education . After 16 they can split off into different routes ; university prep for some academic ones , BTeECs or apprenticeships etc for others .

It is a complete scandal that some will come out after 12 years with nothing really to show for it despite the fact that most of them will have turned up , partipated in sport etc not got into trouble etc etc . And others are stressing over wafer thin differences between grade boundaries. No wonder our young people are suffering disenchantment and mental health issues in record numbers .

8 grade boundaries...
If 9 is 112 marks (for example) and 7 is 100 marks, then 8 is 106 marks i.e slap bang in the middle.

Are we saying different things, ReservoirDogs?

We worked out the grade boundaries a few threads ago. I think this was the final version:-

Good points raised Peaseblossom - but it appears that we will be stuck with this approach for the foreseeable future

I know but it does make me sad , and I speak as one with dc at each end of the academic spectrum . I know ds3 will be comparing 9s and 8s etc and yet there is barely a hairs breadth in it. I worry that if he doesn’t get as many 8s as his high achieving friends he will be discouraged etc as he worked so hard but has a more quirky intellect and can veer from the mark scene etc. Equally it may be reversed , who knows I am just not sure what the value of this whole excercise is !

I do know where you are coming from Pease - all their self esteemed can be wrapped up in these results and the outcomes can literally crush them - or, more optimistically, boost them....

Just has a phone call from the golf club next door. Dd has been asked to go over for an informal interview for clubroom staff at 10.00 tomorrow. That's about 4 hours earlier than she usually gets up

Someone stop me from walking the dog past dd's history teachers house (she lives a mile away) and sticking a note through her front door asking her if she might consider emailing me dd's CIE history result

The Scottish results have been out for a week now, and the dust is settling. My niece and nephew did well but now I'm hearing other stories:-

• a cousin's son who put in a huge amount of effort to get a B or two, but got straight Cs (and is extremely upset because they are no use for progressing to the next level).

• a boy who my family know who was taken from his drug addict mother by social services. He is good at just one subject - and had all his hopes invested in it, but failed it (you can fail stuff in Scotland by getting a D). There's a strong case for a marking review but whose going to speak up for him?? So, he's been in his bedroom for a week, not talking to any one.

Most of us on this thread have DC who are well-cared for and who've been consistently encouraged with their development since they were babies. It is easy to forget the others. I find it hard to imagine a child being 2/3/4/5 and no one caring whether you eat or have clean clothes, but for that to still be happening by the time you turn 16...?!
I feel like taking that boy in and giving him the stable home life that he's never had.

hmc if your dog was suddenly taken lame outside her house it would be incumbent on you to ask for first aid. You could then see if she gave you a secret thumbs up or a sympathetic cup of tea.

Those are sad stories and make uncomfortable reading . I hope that the boy's teacher acts on his behalf somehow, and commiserations to your cousin's son. Its sobering to reflect on those who didn't make their goals

Kingscote - that made me smile. Super inventive approach, I might just try it

Just checking in. We're not mentioning the looming deadline in front of dd but just reading this thread has given me that feeling in my stomach.
My heart goes out to those poor kids who are going to feel like failures because of this process. It's so unfair and makes me quite angry.

Very well done to your DS Kingscote, those are great results.

mzzz My DN certainly not neglected in any shape or form, but he was gutted a few years ago when the only subject he had a hope of getting a C in actually came back as a D with Es and Gs thrown in for the rest. A huge number of students are in that position, but they are ignored at results time. Look at the Educating series year after year.

I didn't mean that you only get Ds if you are not well looked after.

I meant that this boy was a shoo-in for a A in that one subject (the rest were likely to be Cs) and he got a D in the one that was due to be an A (and Cs, as expected, for the rest).
The HT needs to ask for the review. Maybe s/he will even if no one outside the school points out what has happened to the boy. But if s/he needs a little prodding from the guardian, then, in practice, its not going to happen. Ditto if the boy needs help working out what to do next, then he's not going to get that from his (reluctant) guardian either. I think the boy's Dad was never on the scene and, in the back of my mind I think i remember that the mother stopped having anything to do with him when SS took him away when he was about 11.

The problem is that reviews cost money and that's the one thing the schools don't have.

I dont think there is a common factor with poor results ...one of DD;s friends literally fell apart in Yr 11 (friendship issues), her parents are a GP and a Consultant at a hospital ...I dont think she actually passed any of the mock exams but obviously she passed the entrance tests to the school in Yr9 so was considered capable of getting 10 GCSE passes ...(the school are amazing and so supportive when these situations arise) but you cant press a button when someone is not in the right zone at the right time.

I really recommend listening to this: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bd7rvt
It may look like it's all about fostering creativity in your young child when you start listening to it, but it goes so beyond it, to discussing the poison of the "right answer culture" (hello, GCSEs) to discussing Ebacc, the future of the work place, technology, the skills needed to combat automation, and how we can all push ourselves towards a more problem solving and creative way of thinking (with very easy tips). I thought it was great and very relevant to the new world our children are living in.