Thread 8 Carry on Corona Cohort: GAV give us the CAG?

[OrangeCinnamon1]

Welcome all to the 8th Thread for this year's GCSE cohort the Corona Cohort!

Some of us have been here since I started first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. It is hoped this will continue. Going forward we intend to stay in secondary so any new threads should have 'GCSE Summer 2020 Thread # : Carry on Corona Cohort' in title just to make it easier to find.

From now on our DS/DD may go down various paths so we decided not to be exclusionary and stay right here in Secondary until HQ chuck us
At this precise moment in time we are awaiting GCSE results that seem to have been produced by an algorithm that also takes very little account of Teacher Centre Assessed Grades. There is an appeal process but it was changed yesterday to include mock results and coursework, then taken down again for review.
Trying to protect our young people's mental health.during this shit show , which the government claims is their priority...when they talk about wanting students back in schools/college in September...

first ever thread

previous thread

@sandybayley awww that's annoying. Though presumably subject to change. I can't believe they won't change to be in line with all the other grades, especially faced with the wrath of those fearsome private heads.

Anyone else irrationally annoyed that the media are now referring to grades as estimates.

Why can't they just say centre assessed.

You know - a grade given by a teacher who is best placed to know what a student was acheiving.

Just had an email from the school which includes this:

"For Years 10 and 11 pupils, please note that CAGs cannot be requested or given prior to the GCSE results being published on Thursday 20 August."

Hmm helpful. But does at least confirm that we get to see the moderated grades.

I think there are too many terms flying around!

Yes @itsgettingweird and in the case of A Levels someone then conflates it with predicted grades.

I went out for the day and look what happened!
English teacher so no NEA at GCSE. I looked at everything I had for Lang for every student:

• both papers done as a mock (one year 10 and one y11)
• formal assessments of bits of papers
• assessed class and homework, marked with exam board criteria that I know I applied accurately because I mark exams

I gave them the grade I would expect of based on all of that and what I know of them as individuals. Then I ranked them within those grades. This then went into the dept data so everything I had done slotted into the rest of the cohort of 150. HoD made adjustments and sent them to SLT who made further adjustments to ensure that we didn't go above the trend line. I know that some of my more able in a mixed set got moved down in favour of students in the top set. And my lowest student was deemed the lowest in the cohort. What I don't know is what was submitted as "my" CAG. Rinse and repeat for Lit and A Level.

What’s annoying is DD’s school made sure to mark down rather than up to avoid being downgraded by the algorithm.

Looks like private schools will benefit again as they usually over predict.

Just to echo thanks of all the support & ranting over the past few days. It’s really helped fuel my fury! 😬

As mentioned a few threads back, DS won’t get his results until 1140 on Thurs! I shall be here in the morning to hear your news!

I really couldn’t give a flying where DC school. Just want them to get the CAG they deserve. And know that their teachers fought bloody hard to get for them, putting in so much graft in the process.

I know I may be generalising and we already know there will have been some grade inflation, but to state what sector that is is not relevant (in my opinion), especially given certain schools (not sectors) will have more robust assessment materials than others.

In the same way some schools were better at lock down provision than others. Irrespective of sector. And that comparing 2021 cohort IS NOT going to be comparable with 2020.

Good luck to all our DC for Thurs.

Parents on facebook worried about competition of 'inflated GCSEs' to the current year 12...if the year 12s defer ...or doing competitive courses like medicine.....

I’ve just read that iGCSEs aren’t included in this u-turn! I know some got their results last week but dd was doing 5 iGCSEs and 4 GCSEs and will get all the results on Thursday. Now I’m worried again! Although, thankfully 3 of the 4 subjects I was most worried about are GCSEs so that’s good!

I think we just have to trust that the teachers in our DC schools will have done their very best for the students, regardless of whether they are state schools or fee paying. I don’t think it’s helpful to start thinking too deeply about grade inflation in certain sectors - I’m just remembering where we all were this time yesterday and feeling utterly relieved and thankful for what we’ve got. My DD is in a large state comprehensive - I just want her grades to be a realistic reward for her efforts, and now there is hope of that.

@Northumberlandlass omg how on earth are you going to wait until then?!

8am email here, 36 hrs 8 mins to go

We’ve got to go into school for ours - any time from 9am that morning. But I suspect there will be a bit of a queue.

@OrangeCinnamon1

Parents on facebook worried about competition of 'inflated GCSEs' to the current year 12...if the year 12s defer ...or doing competitive courses like medicine.....

This is the crazy thing - the government tried the ridiculous target of virtually no grade inflation - now it's going to be pretty high.

If they'd set a realistic target in the first place (maybe 5%) they might have been able to manage it all better.

I think year 12s will be given similar leeway in their A levels, which will trump GCSEs.

I’ve come out of my ‘Don’t go looking for trouble- it will find you if it wants you’ mode in regard to DD and Thursday’s ‘results’ day to say @ealingwestmum ‘I couldn’t agreed more!

On another thread, it mentions that this may lead to sixth forms having too many pupils who meet the conditional offers? Do you think that's case. If grade increases this year were only 9% that doesn't seem like the case to me, at least not significantly.
But the poster on the other thread seemed to think a sixth form might be able force a pupil who met the conditional offer to take up an other offer if they were full. That seems to disadvantage pupils who made proper back-up plans for if they didn't meet the conditional offer. It surely can't be used against them even if they do meet the conditional offer? If so, I will reject any unwanted sixth forms now, before Thursday. Those back-ups were for DS protection so he wouldn't be without a place on Thursday, not for the school's benefit, who provided zero guidance how to navigate the transition to sixth form.

@singingstones I know 😫 they’ve arranged for the kids to go in in time slots & his surname is rather far down the alphabet! They’re emailing the results directly to DS at 2pm!

Do many sixth forms have hard limits on the number of places? Or, if they do, presumably they already have a "rule" in place to decide who gets in? I can't imagine that the grade inflation is likely to have a major difference in terms of hard numbers at any one sixth form - it's not like there will be 100s extra.

Been at work all day.
Sorry, I'm a bit confused.

So on Thursday, Ds1 can queue from 10 am at school? He opens an envelope? What does it contain? Actual results? Or CAG or what?

And then he gets an email, at in unspecified time, The afternoon, saying the same?

What a day! Happy to see that it turned out the way it did.
Now to wait until just before midday on Thursday.
Thank you to everyone on here, it’s been very interesting

Guess space in labs etc is a limiting factor.
But the sixth forms don't know why you applied to each one. E.g. DS has applied to one that looks good on paper mainly to get away from a really vile girl who has bullied him for over a year. But if she goes there, he won't want to go. But the sixth form might say, "well look you could go to that perfectly good, perhaps better, sixth form over there. We've spoken to them already and it's all good to go."

Well said, ealingwest.
I’m getting a bit fed up with generalisations about private schools that seem to be made without any actual evidence.

Hats off to all teachers that care passionately for their students and have probably spent sleepless nights since March over this whole debacle.

They can't arrange things like that between themselves can they? Surely they only do that to help out pupils who have met none of their offers and are without a place anywhere?