GCSEs Summer 2020 (thread 4) -the final countdown

[PostNotInHaste]

Thread 3
Thread 2
Thread 1(year 10)

Hope OrangeCinnamon doesn’t mind me starting another in her absence , feel twitchy without ! Apologies in advance if I have messed the links up.

The last thread ended with discussion of possible school closures, not really what we want to hear at this point - let’s hope things sound more positive as thread progresses.

Absolutely, @firstboard - as you say your DS could consider taking the English exam in the autumn if he needed to.

Mine could be in a similar situation with biology as he felt ill during the mock exam so got a lower grade in that subject than he should have done, and he wants to take it at A level. I'm anticipating that he may want to take the GCSE biology exam 'proper' in the autumn if he's not happy with his allocated grade.

But at least if our DC just want or need to sit one or two GCSE exams in the autumn, they can target studies appropriately during the summer. They don't need to go hell for leather revising everything.

DS1 and I have agreed his study plan for the next few months : keep working at the subjects he wants to do for A level (along with English and maths - he wants to do psychology, which requires 6s in English and biology and 5 in maths) so that sixth form doesn't come as a massive shock, but completely forget about don't worry too much about subjects he loathes with a passion doesn't want to take any further (Spanish, I'm looking at you )

he will easily get 9s in them

I'm still wondering how 9s will be awarded. By definition it's meant just to be awarded to the top % of the cohort so how will the schools know what that is?

I think the other grades can be awarded fairly in most cases - I can't quite get my head around how they'll manage the 9s.

One thing I've not seen mentioned yet - if a child opts for the "Autumn exam" what will happen if they actually get a lower grade than they were assigned? I guess it depends on how many students they want to actually sit these exams - if they offer them on a "no lose" basis then you'll get much higher numbers as it will become "might as well have a go" for a higher grade. On the other hand the prospect of "losing" your grade will mean the only students likely to sit these are those on borderline 3/4 or 4/5.

Wondering how the autumn exam will work with starting Post 16 courses? I can imagine the main motivation behind many wanting to sit exams will be to get a good enough grade to get onto a Post 16 course. So will courses let you start in anticipation that you might get a better grade? What then happens if you don't?

@HPFA - DS got 9s in Mocks and has been given good remarks and merits in homework/assignments etc. In Parents meeting, we were told that if he continues doing what he has been doing till now, he has very good chance of scoring a 9. If his teacher sends his test scores from year 10 till mocks, he has been consistently scoring near top 5% , so if they don't give him a 9, I will be very surprised.

You are right about getting actual grades lower than Predicted ones !! That will be a bummer. I am sure teachers would be able to advice on case to case basis , looking at level a student is working at time of exam. They would be able to advice who should resit and who shouldn't take a chance.
If our teacher suggests that the chances of DS scoring 7 is very low, I would have to rethink. It is a calculated risk.
I am also presuming that all high scoring kids will sit out, so average top score will come down, bringing the Grades down.

@FlyingPandas - I'm with you. DCs don't have to revise the subjects they don't like or the ones that won't make any difference to them. Their burden is reduced as every DC would have a couple of subjects they won't want to resit.
However, their summer holidays are screwed, it won't be as carefree time as they were planning . They'll have to carry on studying till Sept.

@firstboad (won’t let me tag you). My son has same issue with English - hoping for 8’s & 9’s in most, he would have met 9 rating for most based on last years exams but for English he got a 6, but he’s predicted an 8. I have told him if he wants to appeal there will be a chance to sit the exam in the autumn

DD used an extra sheet of paper in her English lit mock exam, which got lost before it was marked.
Her teacher gave her a few extra marks, but said she couldn’t give more, even though she knew DD would ordinarily have got them.

@firstboard

I think the system as it stands looks in principle the fairest that could be devised. But there could be a lot of "devil in the detail". I'm still not sure how it's going to work for the home schooled or schools where it's their first year. DD is at a massive school which I think helps - if the school submits a set of grades which broadly match its usual pattern then probably OFQUAL will accept it without too much argument.

I tend to think that even though it might create more work the Autumn exam should be offered on a "no-lose" basis. Because ultimately that's what's going to protect teachers from parents insisting that "my child would have done better in the real exam." They can turn round and say "No problem, they can sit the exam and prove it." It won't help if there's a huge disincentive for sitting that exam.

I’d approach predicted 9s with caution, eldest was predicted 6 x 9s, they got 5 x 8s and 1 x 9

Considering Oxbridge and others are claiming to treat them equally 9s really should be scrapped this year.
(Dons tinfoil hat)

Some subjects, particularly languages, huge numbers of students get a 9. Some of them it’s over 30%. I don’t see how they can justify not giving any 9s to kids where there is evidence that they were likely to get them had they been a year older. They’ve said this cohort won’t be disadvantaged and also said they won’t have any marker on their certificate to say they are from the year of no exams. There should be systems in place where ofqual/exam boards can check evidence the teacher has to justify the grade.

I've just started a new thread for any mums who have children sitting IGCSE, IALs and IB etc as all those pupils are expected to carry on studying at the moment and I think we could do with support as we try to get them to revise with half an eye on the news and worried about lock downs and family. I've never started a post before so I hope I've done it right @0DimSumMum0 and others please join me ! This seems so harsh on these children .. whose schools are also closed ..'

I am staying on this thread for the meantime because it has been great for support with my own DS and I hope I have offered some helpful advice from the other side as a teacher, too.

There will be measures in place. I too am worried for my DS who has been outstripping KS2 targets. I am also very very worried for BAME and disadvantaged students and the impact on them of historical underachievement and under predictions. I am worried that this year , by using statistician meddling, societal disadvantage will become more not less ingrained.I think maybe worrying about 9s is a lesser problem, sorry to say (and I say that as someone whose own DS may lose out on 3 of them)

Believe me, teachers are almost exclusively professional, credible and trustworthy and schools have robust systems. Within their own schools they will be well aware of patterns of high achievement in subjects both nationwide and within the school.

It is extraordinarily stressful for teachers. I will have to predict grades of 3 for some students whose lives that will alter. I will be predicting 5s for students who may have in reality scraped that or a 4 and will enter A Level routes optimistically and then crash and burn. Having to decide whether to suggest a 9 or an 8 for a few of my students is also angst ridden but not to the same degree. I am really hoping students who had very recently been awarded some kind of potentially transformational exam concessions will have this built in to predictions,too.

It's the most stressful time I can ever remember in my whole stressful career. One thing that marks all teachers out is a very critical self awareness of the impact of our jobs on lives. And all whilst worrying about our own health, our families, and the health and wellbeing of all the students we teach.

Please : trust us.

Does anyone know if the Year 11s are still officially in education ? My DS is keen to try and get a temporary job in a supermarket.. do you think he would be allowed to do this and work during school hours ?

Piggy, I really feel for you and absolutely trust teachers. I emailed DS’s the morning after the announcement to just remind them that DS did at the start of the month he was ill for, they have all been lovely.

I am looking at the bigger picture and frankly don’t care too much in DS’s case as he is pragmatic about the situation and I know that in a few years time all anyone will look at is Maths and English in his case as doing A levels and will do a degree and know from going through DD that GCSE become a distant memory however grim at the time.

DS’s personality is well suited to this situation, he failed the 11 plus which has stood him in good stead for this sort of scenario. I asked him about resits and to my relief he will not be and we are going to be looking to the future now. He got 5 x9s in last complete mocks but we don’t feel they’re important now in his case.

That is very rough on the International students, really sorry.

Am getting my head around what year 13 will look like. DS was going to be weekly boarding . If this is to take 18 months next year will be disrupted for them. Boris also mentioned briefly at one point about using 6th formers to help the elderly and vulnerable so I expect we will hear more of this at some point. Still waiting to hear about DD’s year abroad which we are hoping will be cancelled. She has wanted to do it since she was 13 but not in these circumstances. Could do with knowing soon as has had offer to share with friends. However as no one going anywhere for now it doesn’t matter really.

I just want to put get through it without losing friends and family. Everything else can be sorted in the future.

I have no idea RE job. It's not very clear at all is it.

It’s not clear, think it will be clearer next week.

My DS is also wanting to get a job. Hadn’t even thought about the fact they might only be allowed to work restricted hours

@Piggywaspushed a very thought provoking post - thank you. And thank you for everything you do as teachers. I share your concerns about the use of KS2 data as my DS has outstripped predictions by a considerable extent in the last few years - but it is what it is. His predictions are good enough to get him into 6th form anyway and as @PostNotInHaste says we have to look at the bigger picture. I trust DS’s teachers implicitly and know they will submit fair grades for him.

It is only just dawning on me how much all the stress of exam results has effectively been transferred exclusively onto the teaching staff Obviously exam time is always super stressful anyway but the onus should be on the kids to take responsibility for their own GCSE and A level achievements. They’ve effectively just been absolved of that responsibility, haven’t they? And now it’s all on you guys. Sending you lots of virtual and

We got an email from our headteacher yesterday asking parents to refrain from emailing teachers asking about grades. The fact she had to do that at all suggests that some parents are already on the case nagging and whinging and trying to heckle better grades for their child, it makes me so cross. I know we all want the best for our children but even so.

I am going to stay on this thread too, I think it will continue to be a useful discussion and support space.

@shawarmasue and other international families good luck to you, I do feel for your DC so much.

Re the comment about there being no marker on certificates to state that dc were from the no exam year -I’m kind of assuming they wouldn’t need to. They’ll have the 2020 date on, won’t they? That’s all they'll need to highlight the difference! No one is going to forget 2020 in a hurry.

I've only been posting intermittently but have been reading this thread every day, thank you all for your insights. My DS is really upset about suddenly not going to school (he has AS with its love of routine and stability) but might actually benefit from the lack of exams as he does suffer with brain freeze associated with anxiety. However his English will be borderline grade 3/4 so we will still be nervous. His teachers have been great. However I need to have a difficult conversation with the private tutor he has been seeing for English, who will have probably lost all her work, I can't decide whether DS should try and carry on some remote work with her in case he does need to resit. Plus the logistics, his session is usually straight after school when I'm at work so not around to lend a hand with tech etc.

Yes you are right about the date FlyingPanda, I hadn’t thought of that in the shock of last week. And you’re right about it all being on the teachers. I feel bad about emailing them now but It was a bit knee jerk the morning after announcement and DS had been sick during the mocks.

Aww @PostNotInHaste sorry I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, your situation sounds completely different from some of the emails I can imagine parents at DS’s school sending. I work PT there and during exam time the exams office phone rings with a stream of complaints and worries from parents -some of which are fair and sensible, of course, but others which are utterly bonkers. For example the ones who ring to complain about invigilators ‘standing and walking around the exam hall because it is distracting for the DC’ - umm, that’s kind of what they are employed for Don’t quite know what they are expecting invigilators to do instead - levitate and fly round the ceiling Harry Potter style, perhaps? (Although admittedly that would be fun )

Government guidelines state that this cohort will be able to sit optional exams at some point if they choose to.

I’m hoping the KS2 data will be used to justify the grade awarded after taking into consideration mocks, assessments and teachers predictions rather than ‘dictate’ the grade.
DD is still upset and taking of resisting any grades that come in at an 8.
I know, I know.... but knowing she has options to do so is helping her to come to terms with what has happened and further down the line she may feel differently
Online lessons continue next week and she still has all subject text books, so she is going to focus on finishing the syllabus if the subjects not yet finished until told by school that teaching has ‘officially ended’.

Don’t worry Panda, you didn’t ! That is so funny about the invigilators