Surely using mocks for GCSE grades is hugely unfair.

[1nterstar]

Our school did them before Christmas before the whole course was completed, others were doing them this week.

Many kids don’t revise as much for mocks as the real thing( if at all).

The content and marking varies hugely.

Just how can they be used?

No one knows what will be used yet.
it's likely that mocks will be one of a range of things considered.

They aren't jus using the mocks. Nobody has said they are just using the mocks.

How is using them at all a fair test?

they won't use mocks

I've just seen on Facebook our local high school is giving them the prelims tomorrow with no warning. Also, the coursework has to be completed by tomorrow. They were only told today.

My son’s English tutor told me the education secretary just said they will use mocks. My dds gcse mocks were January, she did well but did better in the real thing. They were only tested on what they learnt. Ds did his mocks in November and they were given complete papers.

Dd did badly on her A level mocks due to certain factors and exam technique. She’s improved greatly now.

But how can they go that? Surely those of us whose kids sat earlier mocks will think that hugely unfair and what about the papers sat and how they were marked?

Surely most kids do worse in their mocks and then pull their socks up . My DS’s are always like that. My DS who has GCSE’s this year expected to pull up a couple of marks in the actual exams. I remember I did just that on my A-levels (I can’t remember back to my O-levels!)

Also my DS school did really early mocks , way before Xmas , so most kids I think did pretty badly. It was a new policy this year by the school to do them around a month earlier than normal to give time to revisit etc - so a couple of questions I remember my DS saying they had no idea as not yet covered in the syllabus which was fine , but not if the marks are actually to be used .

Surely parents will be able to ask what papers they sat in comparison to others. What about those who didn’t bother working, they didn’t know they were the real thing. Some schools put make importance into them than others. It will be a mess that goes on for ages. Pointless.

It's rubbish and we don't yet know if that's what they will do. If you have a good solution, do get in touch with JQA

It is a mess.

The education secretary has not said how it will be done yet. There is supposed to be an announcement tomorrow about it.

This is a quite reassuring article.

https://disidealist.wordpress.com/2020/03/18/schools-out-i-predict-a-predicted-grade/

Apparently we do, various reports saying they will be used. Hugely worrying for children and parents.Surely some kind of thought should have been put into it before the gov pulled kids out of school and cancelled exams with zero notice.

with zero notice.

It was hardly a surprise

FGS people were clamouring for the decision to close schools, they had to pull exams at the same time, especially as it was becoming clear schools wouldn't be able to deliver any more teaching because of the other responsibilities put on them and the rocketing staff absences.

They've had 24 hours to rewrite the entire rule book. Everyone knows what's wrong, let's start hearing some of your solutions if it's so easy.

But Savoy the predicted grades in that article had huge variables too and looked no fairer. Teachers vary hugely.

Trusting teachers' professionalism to make fair assessments is, I think, the only way, if there are to be no exams

No let’s stop hearing hugely unfair suggestions. It’s worrying for those kids involved. And everybody didn’t clamour for schools to close. Some did.

But some teaches mark more leniently than others.

I had thought that schools would stay open for years 11 and 13 (and for keyworkers kids) at least so exams could be done. I know in the grand scheme of things it’s all relative, but for the children affected it’s so heartbreaking.

Yes if they’re staying open for key workers why not year 11 and 13. At the very least they could have just come in for exams split up in different rooms.Cancelling was a typical non thought out knee jerk reaction.

Seems unfair to me. No uniformity. Different schools have them at different times, and a teacher can choose a harder mock to prompt/scare the children into working harder, whereas another teacher might make it easier to encourage students. Some haven't even finished teaching the syllabus.

I'm struggling to grasp how it will actually be done!

I agree OP, very hasty. Many students will have checked out by now which is totally natural once they heard the words "cancelled" but my DC year 11 and 13 are being told to continue working/have assessments via school remote learning platform. Very confusing.

Of course it's worrying, is there anything we're not worried a out atm?Do you know how many hugely worrying things education is dealing with atm? In expecting 64 vulnerable kids tomorrow and I don't yet have any food for them, or enough staff.

If this is so unfair (it is but nothing about this situation is fair) let's hear your suggestions for fair solutions. Honestly, we'd love the help.

Oh don’t be so ridiculous you don’t make the decisions. Education dep do and they didn’t think things through and are going to screw things up massively for an awful lot of children. Had nobody ever thought what might happen in event of a national disaster. Isn’t that part of what they’re paid for, to think things through properly.