Exams cancelled 2

[Orangeblossom1977]

Started a new thread as last one is full.

Lol. Everywhere.
The fact that this country don't think we should be vaccinated tells you all you need to know.

I take HUGE offence at your teacher bashing accusations. You’ve obviously not read the thread. Find me ONE post that’s against a teacher.

This isn’t a teacher bashing thread, I am using this thread to get the thoughts of teachers not to bash them.

@MrsKeats just one post on this thread!

@MrsKeats

Lol. Everywhere. The fact that this country don't think we should be vaccinated tells you all you need to know.

Not one poster on this thread has said teachers shouldn’t be vaccinated. Maybe read the thread before you start hurling accusations!

I am an experienced marking leader and will apply the criteria so that my students get the most accurate grade I can give

There aren’t any criteria. Grades are awarded according to national exams with the boundaries adjusted to fit a required profile.

there aren't any criteria
There are mark schemes.
And yet this isn't a teacher bashing thread.
Thanks for proving my point.

I am a teacher, MrsKeats. A mark scheme doesn’t tell you what grade a pupil would have got if they had sat a national exam.

@noblegiraffe is a teacher, and someone whose opinion I have respected throughout this last year

So maybe we will be told to use previous years' grade boundaries?
Your tone is so awful nobelgiraffe
I am a senior marker and have been for many years.
So patronising.

The Daily Telegraph reports Sir Jon Coles - who sat on a committee advising the government on exams - has resigned, unhappy that children will be tested under different conditions across the country.

noble is a teacher.
Mark schemes aren't graded in my subject. Perhaps they are in yours.

I just get the feeling that this is just a veiled teacher bashing thread

No, it's not. Please can we stick to the topic of the exams cancelled? There are many schools threads to argue randomly on.

As an aside I feel this is very unfair on teachers, adding this stress and extra responsibility, the vagueness etc on top of everything else, whereas usually exams would be taken and marked externally.

Agree with what you have said @Orangeblossom1977 lets keep this thread on the subject of exams.

I've had several worried students in contact this morning wondering what it all means. It's not fair on any of us.

@Bee0808

Ds1s 6th form have been doing continuous assessments which will be used to calculate the end grade He had one more in April then that's that

That's interesting. Do you mean he won't sit any final exams which test on all content? Will that be allowed? I hadn't thought of that.

I assume detailed guidance will be provided at some point but as usual will be delayed. Why can’t they provide it at the same time as the announcement

@Orangeblossom1977

The Daily Telegraph reports Sir Jon Coles - who sat on a committee advising the government on exams - has resigned, unhappy that children will be tested under different conditions across the country.

Oh. That’s not a ringing vote of confidence.

Will many schools do final exams? DS’s school did one set of mocks before Christmas but obviously that couldn’t be on the whole course subject as hadn’t finished teaching. They were going to do a second set after half term but they are on hold, but I think these were going to be focussed on some of the remaining topics/papers. Be interesting to see if they just opt to do the assessment papers instead of mocks or vice versa

Will schools also cherry pick which students do which questions/assessment papers depending on that particular student’s strengths?

We were having such a calm discussion.

@MrsKeats - lots of the posters on this thread are teachers. I personally really don’t mind explaining things to parents. The calculations for grades and marks is so arcane and confusing. It’s taken me about 15 years to understand it!

And it doesn’t help that every board and every subject is done a bit differently.

And that every SLT on the country will have a slightly different approach to this!

@ineedaholidaynow

That would be enormously complex and would leave schools open to accusations of unfairness if parents challenged grades.

Our head is taking the route that consistency is key. All exam years are doing mocks the week after we return and then we’ll do the exam board set papers in May. It is the fairest and most rigorous way.

@Orangeblossom1977

As an aside I feel this is very unfair on teachers, adding this stress and extra responsibility, the vagueness etc on top of everything else, whereas usually exams would be taken and marked externally.

Yes agreed. And the tone the media take is instantly to discredit all grades given because they're being given by teachers. As if every classroom teacher will just pop a letter on a post it note, hand it to the child and say 'there you go'

It would be more accurate to say exam grades will be decided on by schools. Hats off to schools senior leadership teams who I doubt have had a chance to relax during any of their school holidays since March last year.

Schools will be able to pick which questions to use from the assessment papers based on what their students have been taught.