GCSE and A-level guidance has been issued

[TheletterZ]

The guidelines for the GCSE and A-levels has now come out.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/877842/Summer_2020_grades_for_GCSE_AS_A_level_EPQ_AEA_in_maths_-_guidance_for_teachers_students_parents.pdf

Main points, schools will come up with the grades using their professional judgement and performance in exams, assessments, in class etc...
They will then rank the students in each grade band.
This will then be subject to statistical analysis by ofqual and might be adjusted.
The results will be published ahead of the usual schedule and certificate will look exactly the same as any other year.

I don’t know, they will have to add the ranking I guess but the rest of the guidance didn’t add any specifics did they?
The grades they created were specifically for this purpose. The school tests a lot and has a lot of data to use.

I hope the school has a rethink when ranking them. I wouldn't rely on your child getting the grades given 2 weeks ago.

They were clear they would be calibrated.

Wonder how on earth appeals will pan out. Will parents be appealing to schools who gave the grade or exam boards?
As I read it parents will only be able to appeal against the process not the grade. If GDPR rights have been parked for this info then I can't see any school giving you any info especially around how they came to rankings. If you think the grade is unfair/wrong then the option is resit.

Genuinely surprised that a year 11 at this stage has never seen a predicted grade, only a target grade.

I would say this is DS. In autumn half-term teachers & pupils came together to agree an aspirational grade. He knows Christmas mock results & a sense of working at until two weeks ago.

A couple of months back before all this it became clear school has a 'predictions database' which it doesn't share. eg DS was told you're a likely LK+.

What will be interesting will be end of year report. Will there be one? Will it just be narrative?

I hope they don't use averages over the three sets of mocks towards deciding grades, ds didn't get a mark for the first English Language mock because somehow his paper went missing, he missed all the December Mocks before Christmas because he was off sick with something very much like Covid 19 & they only did core subjects mocks the week he went back to school after half term which he spent in southern Italy with school & subsequently fell ill towards the end of mocks but managed to get all his papers finished before he went off. He has had an awful three GCSE years, as well as being ASD & suffering bad anxiety & depression his dad was in & out of hospital which affected him badly, I hope the exam boards are sympathetic towards students like him.

Ah I thought originally they said there would be a robust appeals system.

@nat6999 The school will submit the grade they thought he would get if he sat the exam in the summer. They won't just use mock scores, expecially if he was absent. Please try not to worry. If you really think he is in danger of not passing maths or English then encourage him to keep studying in preparation for a November resit.

@aut0replenish You can appeal the process having been applied unfairly. There is also the chance to resit if you really disagree with the grade given. Noble is correct you need to stop worrying. Your situation is the same as it would have been with exams being sat

Newone wasn't bothered at interview as they take everybody as long as you get course requirements.

Is this an indie? State schools are explicitly forbidden by the Admissions Code to interview applicants (other than to assess suitability for boarding). They are, however, permitted to hold discussions with applicants re the suitability / combination of their intended subject requests, but must not base the decision on whether or not to offer a place on this discussion. Which would probably explain 'they take everyone as long as you get course requirements', because they are complying with the Code and adhering to their published admissions criteria. (Which must include how to deal with oversubscription, but they may never be oversubscribed? - looking at the size of some sixth forms vs the numbers their admissions policy allow for, it's obvious that some aren't, overall, and probably weren't even within the most popular subjects).

I know we need to stop worrying but can’t. I have to reassure dd who is stuck inside each and every day with little else to do but worry. Working towards resists and trying to figure out which to do and how means you never really leave it and shut it off. Obviously I do the “all will be fine” thing with her but she vocalises what I’m thinking but not voicing iykwim. She really needs to move on and get on these A level courses for a host of reasons. There is a big chance that might not happen.

Don’t see that her situation is the same as it would have been if she’d sat them.She isn’t sitting them inMay/ June. She has to second guess which to take instead, will need to study alone without the extra support, classes and materials she would have had from her school in the run up. During the summer holidays no teachers will be around and then she starts a new school to do Alevels in diff subjects alongside her retakes she’ll be doing with zero contact from previous teachers in Nov. Not a small undertaking.All this after a crap couple of years she has worked hard to overcome and was making progress in.

No not an Indie, massive 6th form. I say interview, can’t remember the correct way they referenced it thought it was described as an interview but could be wrong. It was more a form filling in and discussion/ reminder re what was needed for said courses. Questions, picking additional extra curricular etc.

Either way they were lovely and she just needs entry requirements for her courses.

State schools are explicitly forbidden by the Admissions Code to interview applicants

@MarchingFrogs we went to a couple of these meetings-which-aren't-interviews for desirable, oversubscribed sixth forms. In both cases we were told they weren't interviews, but they still felt like interviews, and asked the sort if questions you might expect at an interview .... "Why do you want to come to this school?" ... "Why is your predicted grade for [subject unrelated to entry requirement] lower than the rest?" ... and made statements along the lines of "Your application is impressive ... we would very much like you to come here and will be making you a conditional offer". And that was after having to fill in lengthy and potentially intimidating application forms that asked for way more information than is needed for entry, e.g. hobbies and interests, plans for the future, examples of leadership etc. So they are only "not an interview" in name only. Perhaps 'subtle filtration meetings' would be a better term? But most parents and students call them interviews.

Her situation is the same because she will be given the grades her teachers expected her to get in the summer. Teachers predictions are within one grade in 95% of cases. There are very few outliers who absolutely smash exams from doing nothing all year.

Why do you think she will need to resit any of them? From what you have written she is intelligent and going after an academic sixth form place. Sixth forms have been told to be lenient... If she has an offer she should now get in based on government guidelines. Does she really need to resit any of them?

Appeals process will be interesting though. It’s clear from threads on here schools understandably have handled things differently and some have used later/ more assessments. Surely it’s going to be a nightmare with hoards of parents saying that school did it that way- process not fair.

Frankly in our situation I think it will be less stressful and easier to ‘just’ sit the damn exams presuming we pick the right ones.

Sorry crossed posted.

There is the needed to get 8 subjects issue and a 6 or 7 in a couple of supporting subjects. She has also said she wants a good Eng GCSE as it will be her only English qualification. Eng is a hard subject to study alone but originally should have been looking at an 8 so within her capabilities. You never know she may get an ok grade as recently submitted some good pieces before school ended I think.Mocks she did do were shocking so had a lot to prove. 2of the actual Alevel subjects will be fine so not worried about them, it’s just the extra supporting subjects and number of subjects.

I’m aware we do sound a bit over invested but let’s face it none of us have much else to do other than worry.

You are incredibly over invested! Calm down, do nothing for 2 weeks and then come back and see how she feels. Does she need the grades or just want them?

The appeals are only about the application of the process and currently under consultation. I'd imagine appeals to be allowed at a centre level but not at candidate level. Candidates will be expected to resit.

Sorry, was assuming school sixth form - if it's a completely stand alone sixth form centre (not years 12 and 13 of a school), then that is different.

She’s had a week off, will have next week off too then crack open the books.

No she really needs them. We’ve looked at what little data we have and it doesn’t look good.Worst case scenario is that she wouldn’t get on the A level courses.She is being sensible by not just sticking her head in the sand and hoping for the best, trying to make some sort of a plan but that doesn’t help with the worry.

I’ve told DS if he is disappointed with any grades, he can re-sit but much better to direct that effort into his A levels and demonstrate what he can do then.

@BellaVida you’re not the only confused by the ranking and despite the some explanations on here they sound like the they’re saying exactly what our fears are, nothing different.

I have a dc in lower sets (second to the last infact) with SEN including adhd who works at a very high level so he regularly gets top grades when his concentration and meds are all working well. Sometimes if he’s not feeling so well his grades can dip. He’s been working really well all of yr 11 determined to stay on focus and has been predicted high grades mostly 7s and 8s. He’s always remained in his set because they can give him more attention and work at a more manageable speed.

Whenever he has complained before that wants to move sets I’ve always told him not to worry about his set as this won’t hold him back From getting top grades and he will get more input in class etc. This ranking now seems like he will be penalised for that because no matter what formula they are using, by its very nature it’s a ranking system that benefits those in the top part of the ranking with the same grades!

MrsGellar you are assuming that setting will be taken into account when deciding ranks, yet this is not listed as one of the pieces of evidence to consider.

Teachers will not automatically rank a set 2 grade 7 below a set 1 grade 7.

This ranking now seems like he will be penalised for that because no matter what formula they are using, by its very nature it’s a ranking system that benefits those in the top part of the ranking

But that's fair surely - if someone is a very secure grade 7, they should be awarded a 7, whereas if someone is a 6, could get a 7 on a good day and the teacher puts them at a 7 with a low rank, if the schools results are moderates down, it should be the insecurely graded ones that move down.

Don't forget being the bottom ranked in a grade band would only mean they're moved down if the whole cohort is moderated. If the exam board is happy that the assessments look secure no one will be moderated down.

Effectively it's the same process as grade boundaries which move each year. The kid who gets 56% which was enough for a grade 6 last year, might well find the grade boundary changes to 57% the following year so they just miss out.

@titchy but what if the dc in the lower rank is also a secure grade 7? Who gets ranked down that’s more my question? My comment about grades dipping was actually something that had happened in past so I’m not talking about a student who is up and down all over the place sorry if I’ve given that impression.. I’m talking about someone who is a top grade student and has been consistent for the last 2yrs but in lower sets because of SEN in order that he access the curriculum effectively.

@Noble Yes I’m assuming sets will come into play here. How else can they rank students?

How else can they rank students

By the masses of data that we hold on them. I teach a setted subject. We know that there’s overlap between the sets in terms of ability. If there is someone in set 3 who has outperformed someone in set 1 in mocks and tests, then they will be ranked higher than them if they are predicted the same grade.

The teachers will know the reason for the setting and will rank according to evidence of attainment, surely?