Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Will the GCSE students also receive the results they would have been awarded by the algorithm?

31 replies

Dorisdaydream2 · 19/08/2020 17:27

I’m slightly confused and am hoping someone can clarify this for me. I know that my year 11 dd will receive her CAG results tomorrow for her GCSEs. However, a friend told me that next week they will also receive the grades they would have been awarded by the algorithm. Is that right?

I am curious to know what grades she would have received using the algorithm, but I have looked online and can’t work out whether they will receive these as well or not.

I’m so confused Blush

OP posts:
BillywilliamV · 19/08/2020 17:32

God knows! The thing is a bloody scandal, my 16yo has been asleep all day just trying to escape the stress!

W00t · 19/08/2020 17:34

Yes! They will get whichever is highest (CAG or Calculated) on their results slips.
All the best.

Holidayz · 19/08/2020 17:35

My daughter's school confirmed tomorrow's results will be a combination of either CAGs or standardised results, whichever is higher.

Punxsutawney · 19/08/2020 17:36

Ds's school have not told us anything about what grade is being given tomorrow, complete silence from them.

Redlocks28 · 19/08/2020 17:36

@W00t

Yes! They will get whichever is highest (CAG or Calculated) on their results slips. All the best.
So, they won’t get two sets of scores but will just get one set containing the highest grade between CAGs/Ofqual for each subject?

I suppose that saves any sort of obvious comparison.

W00t · 19/08/2020 17:38

The exam boards haven't sent through Calculated grades that were lower than CAGs, so schools can't actually give you two grades.

Original poster
Dorisdaydream2 · 19/08/2020 17:39

I’ve had an email from our school to say that tomorrow dd will receive her CAG grades, no mention of the grades the algorithm would have awarded! But some here are saying tomorrow they will receive the higher of the two. What a mess!!!!

OP posts:
W00t · 19/08/2020 17:45

To be fair to schools they have had to deal with a rapidly changing situation with next to no info from the boards at a time when staff are on holiday!
And to be fair to boards, they've had to deal with this very rapidly, once Gav changed his mind and Uturned Hmm
Exam boards provided files today with the grades (as they usually would) and those grades are the higher of CAG or Calculated.
Boards were AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas.
BTECs and Cambridge Nationals, and Entry Level qualifications have to wait until 25th August when they'll be released.

dappledsky · 19/08/2020 18:07

No, your friend has misunderstood.

Tomorrow your DC will receive their GCSE results from school. These will be the Centre Assessed Grades (or if the algorithm gave them a higher grade than the CAG they will be given this higher grade tomorrow).

Next week your DC will receive their official GCSE results. This means the official certificate. It will have the same grades on as the bit of paper you get from school tomorrow, they just don't have time to redo everyone's official one in time for tomorrow). Some people initially misunderstood that by 'official' it meant the algorithm grade but this has since been clarified as above.

My understanding is that DC will never know what their GCSE algorithm grades would have been.

LittleLebowski · 19/08/2020 18:14

Well I'm confused - my school says "we do not expect to receive calculated GCSE grades until Thursday 27th August, our understanding is that if the calculated Exam Board grade is higher than the CAG, then you will receive the higher of the two" This suggests to me they don't even know? So there is a small chance (if the grading follows A levels) that a grade could go up? Not sure why the school doesn't know??

TheFallenMadonna · 19/08/2020 18:17

The download done today definitely contains the higher of the two grades only. Apart from BTECs which we have been told not to issue at all, and Cambridge Nationals where the highest grade will be available on Tuesday, but we can issue the CAG tomorrow.

TheFallenMadonna · 19/08/2020 18:18

I am certain because I did it for my school today.

LittleLebowski · 19/08/2020 18:20

Right, so schools definitely know then fallen? The wording suggests they don't know!

TheFallenMadonna · 19/08/2020 18:22

Yes. I mean, if they have no upgrades then they will just look like CAGs, but upgrades are definitely included in the GCSE results download.

TheFallenMadonna · 19/08/2020 18:23

Only one result is given.

TheFallenMadonna · 19/08/2020 18:25

To be fair to schools, the guidance is all over the place. Pearson told schools not to issue BTEC results at 4.30pm today. Pretty sure most results envelopes were prepared by then!

LittleLebowski · 19/08/2020 18:26

Thanks fallen - just when I think I understand what's going on, I feel back at square one again! Tomorrow can't come soon enough!

Punxsutawney · 19/08/2020 18:29

TheFallen that's really useful information. Ds has chosen to get his results emailed, so he won't be in school to get any information.

Original poster
Dorisdaydream2 · 19/08/2020 19:11

Thank you Fallen, that’s really helpful.

OP posts:
SerenityNowwwww · 19/08/2020 19:15

We have been told that the CAGs will be our tomorrow but not all of the exam grades have done their algorithms so there may be some marks out by the end of the week.

Ethelswith · 19/08/2020 19:19

It's as clear as mud.

Will the pupils (or parents) see both the teacher-assessed and thebcentrally calucuisted grades, so we can see which are higher/lower and the correct final award is made? If so, how much of that happens tomorrow

*calling it teacher assessed because it's much clearer that those are the school/college recommended grades, and even if it goes through other teachers in the school to produce standardised results across classes/sets it's still all done by teachers

TheFallenMadonna · 19/08/2020 19:36

What you will see tomorrow is the highest grade out of the CAG and calculated grade. You will not see both. That is because only the highest grade is in the results file downloaded from the exam boards. Schools know the CAG of course, so they will know if there have been upgrades, but otherwise we do not know the calculated grades.

Ethelswith · 19/08/2020 19:48

Thanks

The HT emailed about it, but and what she said makes considerably more sense now MNetters have explained it!

SerenityNowwwww · 19/08/2020 20:25

It took me a minute to figure out who the hell the CAG was!

2020 can’t get worse can it?

Holidayz · 19/08/2020 22:51

calling it teacher assessed because it's much clearer that those are the school/college recommended grades, and even if it goes through other teachers in the school to produce standardised results across classes/sets it's still all done by teachers

See, I'm not calling in teacher assessed as my English teacher friend definitely had her grades lowered by the SLT.
I think by calling them teacher assessed it puts the final grade at the teachers feet and that's really unfair for a lot of teachers as they had little to no say if their school or centre downgraded the teacher assessment grades.
We need to understand this as parents so our kids realise that their teachers didn't throw them under the bus if the grades end up not what they were hoping for.

Swipe left for the next trending thread