Exams cancelled 2

[Orangeblossom1977]

Started a new thread as last one is full.

MrsHamlet Re Poetry- thanks

Gavin is going to make a statement in Parliament now

@poppycat10 I don’t know the aibu thread you mention. But therein lies the rub. Kids with issues because of covid may not have the evidence. That’s why this system is far from ideal too.

[quote NotDonna]@poppycat10 I have very little sympathy for lazy kids. They’ve known all along how likely this has been. EVERYONE has been telling them to work. If they’ve chosen not to then unlucky. It’s very very different if they’ve not been able to get the work done because they’re disadvantaged.[/quote]
I don't have a lazy kid, so skin in the game. But some of these kids are 15 . Dealing with living in a pandemic. Not all will have the maturity and perspective to make the right decisions, which is while we make 15 years old attend school and be under supervision.

I think it would be very understandable to be 'lazy' at 15 with no face to face school, and while this needs to be addressed, I am not sure given the times we are living in that this is a fair criticism of all kids in that position.

From that Times article:

Nick Gibb, the schools minister, said that exams remain the fairest way to evaluate grades, but warned that they would not be possible this year due to the “different levels of disruption” faced throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

“It wouldn’t be fair to hold exams this year and we trust the professionals,” he told Sky News.

He also insisted that the new system would be “quality assured”. He told Times Radio: “There will be detailed guidance from the exam boards and training

OK, like there is plenty of time for that.

On 'lazy kids' some people think that of DS, he has a processing speed problem and slow writing speed, gets extra time in exams. He's struggled more with the online schooling than in school. He's bright but can seem 'lazy'

Sometimes it is easy to judge but there may be underlying issues. Sometimes not, but sometimes.

My DS2 was lazy and did poorly in his Y11 mocks (in Nov). He has since worked diligently and constantly - so I hope he does get some EOY or end of course assessments to shine.

Y13 is a consistently diligent worker,a nd will sit mocks next month.

I wish my son's school to commicate the CAGs process clearly to all.

I am unsure whether any of you are currently watching Gavin Williamson on Parliamnet TV right now. The exams board will not be issuing their guidance until closer to the end of Spring Term ie. by Easter so do not expect schools to be able to say much more than the announcement until that time.

I notice how he didn't respond to the question why this guidance couldn't be available this week.

The exams board will not be issuing their guidance until closer to the end of Spring Term ie. by Easter

Oh for goodness sake. More waiting and stress

@ineedaholidaynow

I notice how he didn't respond to the question why this guidance couldn't be available this week.

I suspect they wait to see what everyone throws up as issues and then they will write it to fit!!!

I'm sorry but throwing out labels like "lazy kids" is just unacceptable. There's usually a myriad of reasons why a child has struggled to work especially in today's circumstances. It saddens me that children can be lumped together under such terms in 2021 and harks back to the time children with dyslexia were labelled lazy.

[quote ineedaholidaynow]@poppycat10 after the nightmare of last year I am hoping the crammers realised that would be a very risky strategy this year.[/quote]
That's what I thought. Teachers were reporting more engagement from their Y11s from September because they realised no external exams could be a posdibility.

@Neversaygoodbye

I'm sorry but throwing out labels like "lazy kids" is just unacceptable. There's usually a myriad of reasons why a child has struggled to work especially in today's circumstances. It saddens me that children can be lumped together under such terms in 2021 and harks back to the time children with dyslexia were labelled lazy.

There are many reasons why children struggle to work. However, some people ARE simply lazy. This includes kids.

I agree that some people are lazy. But kids who haven't engaged well in recent months may have a myriad of reasons why, so a broad brush of 'lazy kids' isn't really helpful.

They may look like they are being lazy, but it may not be that.

@Orangeblossom1977

The exams board will not be issuing their guidance until closer to the end of Spring Term ie. by Easter

Oh for goodness sake. More waiting and stress

If the guidance isn't going to be issued to schools until end of Spring term, then assessment season will be first half term of Summer term. Schools won't know if they can use any existing evidence they may have, or be able to carry out assessment in the current half term if they don't know if it will count.

So the pressure on kids continues. Not knowing how they will be assessed, but knowing that the time for this will be late April/May. Poor buggers.

An email has just arrived from DS's school. He's in Year 11. They have said that they will mainly base their grades on assessments carried out from 8th March. So, all the hard work he has put in won't count?

He has really tried his best, but is very close to burn out now. It feels very unfair they will now judge him on a few weeks worth of tests now when he is exhausted, rather than use all the work he has put in over the last difficult year.

It sounds like his school will jump at the chance of sitting mini exams. I get this is more straightforward for teachers, but for kids like my son, this is the worst of all worlds. He has given his all but is now spent.

Ours have said they will be doing formal mocks when they get back under exam conditions, in term 4..

AllAboveAverage
Wow, your school acted quickly.
Is it private or state?

So, all the hard work he has put in won't count?

It will count in that he will be in far better position to do well in these assessments than students who didn't put the hard work in.

Practice and acting on feedback leads to improvement in performance.

The exams board will not be issuing their guidance until closer to the end of Spring Term ie. by Easter

FFS. I do feel for the boards to some extent because I get the feeling they find out at the same time we do. But this is not on. At all.

Many schools will have no choice but not to use these assessments now as we will have no idea what they involve until a month before they are sat. Insane!

@portico

AllAboveAverage Wow, your school acted quickly. Is it private or state?

State school. Very keen on data. They talk a lot about mental health but it doesn't feel they practice what they preach.

They said they had been planning for various scenarios.

I am not sure what they can do if the exam boards haven't given them the guidance yet? It feels like they just want to remind the kids they can't relax just yet, which in one way I understand. But I look at my DS and really feel for him, and I'm not sure if he has anything left to give.

It's important to let your kids have a time out to collect thier thoughts, have fun and be kids, too.

@noblegiraffe

So, all the hard work he has put in won't count?

It will count in that he will be in far better position to do well in these assessments than students who didn't put the hard work in.

Practice and acting on feedback leads to improvement in performance.

Except he isn't in a far better place. He is emotionally exhausted. It's like it's been exam season for months, not just six weeks in summer. So he is now going INTO exam season with no resources left.

It is the govt at fault ultimately, but school's failure to acknowledge the pressure the kids have been under really rankles.

AllAboveAverage
It's important to let your kids have a time out to collect thier thoughts, have fun and be kids, too.

Btw, how we use the quotes functionality on here - it's new