Exams cancelled 2

[Orangeblossom1977]

Started a new thread as last one is full.

I’m concerned that despite being a grade 7/8 student in all the work they have done so far, what happens if they completely bomb at these mocks/tests and get a low grade? Will the consistently high grades over rule the low exam grade or will they assume that’s all they are capable and give a low grade.

If we're taking into account all the work done over the two year course, then one rogue paper shouldn't tank the grade awarded.

I wonder if these announcments are good or bad news for my poor Ds?
He is Y11 at the most appalling Academy 'school'.
There has been no live teaching for a year. He got a few weeks back last term but the equipment is broken and the standard of teaching is awful (Special measures). He is ASD and Dyslexic and the School had not bothered to apply for any exam concessions. During lockdown the work provided has been over 4 different platforms and mostly they don't work / school changes the passwords and they still don't work. He is predicted grade D's atm and I am SO worried for him.

taczilla they have missed so much ‘normal’ teaching, it’s no surprise that they have no idea how to cope. DS is lucky that he has taken formal/written exams every summer since he was in year 4, and breezes through exams with very little stress. He will breeze through his mocks but with huge gaps in formal learning I think his school will struggle to use the results effectively. I just hope he picks up again in time for September and the start of Alevels.

@MrsHamlet

Thank you! His school haven’t even managed to do any mocks (and they didn’t do them in Y10) so he has zero exam experience. I’m just worried he will completely mess up and it will really matter.

We've done no mocks either for y11 or y13 so it isn't unusual - we normally do summer exams in y10/12 and January exams in 11/13.
I do lots (LOTS!) of timed questions with my students so that might be worth exploring with him.

Thank you that’s really helpful. All of the other local schools seem to have already done mocks in November.

Micks aren't scheduled until after Easter at DDs school - normally would have been done after Feb half term. The cancellation of the final exams been the pressure is constant - she feels every piece of homework, test and class participation counts towards her grade, and the mocks might as well be the actual exam!

@Midlifephoenix

I know, DS is exactly the same. Every grade given is analysed as well. He knows what he can do and is capable of, in fact I could probably predict his grades myself from teacher assessments (that’s not anything against teachers but they number grade every single piece of work in his school so I’ve got some idea from what he is getting) but I just don’t want the exam to affect it badly.

@MrsKeats

We have been doing mocks and practice questions all along for this eventuality. All students will have a portfolio of work as evidence-essays/homework/mock papers. I think it's the only thing we can do. When these assessment papers come out we will incorporate those as well. I don't understand why people are moaning. Have you a better solution?

It is the only solution & I would be very surprised at schools who did not foresee this from September & collect data on their exams years from the get-go.

All students will have a portfolio of work as evidence-essays/homework/mock papers

Would this hold true for all those disadvantaged in lockdown? Some perhaps, less for others.

All students will surely have evidence of some kind from terms 1 and 2 in year 10 at the least.

Year 10?

To see where they were at in terms of grades before covid you mean?

Yes. We formally assess our students every term, and I mark their books at least once a fortnight. All of that is evidence.

The issue I have with looking back to year 10 work (and even early year 11 work) is that most students improve over the course. My DD was given GCSE standard questions from the start and has obviously improved her skills in answering these over the last few months. Isn’t it usually expected that students improve as the course progresses, particularly after the final push of intense revision. With that in mind is it in any way fair to base their grades on topic tests sat 18 months ago?

I didn't say "base their grades" on year 10 work though. But it's part of the picture.

Sorry, wasn’t clear. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t think it’s fair that they are part of picture at all.

I think it’s also important to not lose sight of the fact that this course was not supposed to be one judged on continuous assessment. The students started the course on a final exams basis and that has now fundamentally changed.

Believe me: I know!
But if you don't want us to take work from y10 into account and some students have been disadvantaged by lockdown, how should we work out these grades?

Our school today
A huge flurry of emails demanding that they complete all work set from March 20!!???

So for my son that's 123 assignments, I cried

I think the school are going to award GCSEs on that basis?

This week has been tough, constant phone calls from school, emails etc

Last year: nothing just do what you can sort of thing

My son is year 11

I think it's fair to take year 10 work into account, as long as there is a recognition that kids would usually make progress before the final exams. There is no perfectly fair solution, but I think teachers should be able to refer to a broad range of evidence.

I’m not saying there’s any perfect solution. Most students (probably all) have been disadvantaged to some extent in year 11. If it were up to me I would ask students to revise topics from year 10 (alongside specified year 11 topics) and assess them as late as possible in May. I would hope that this would give students a better opportunity to show skills gained over the duration of the course.

@goldendog

I think it’s also important to not lose sight of the fact that this course was not supposed to be one judged on continuous assessment. The students started the course on a final exams basis and that has now fundamentally changed.

Yes this! He's a perfectly capable student just terrible in lockdown and has actually given up this week... what the hell? How are they even going to grade them

I’m not saying there’s any perfect solution. Most students (probably all) have been disadvantaged to some extent in year 11. If it were up to me I would ask students to revise topics from year 10 (alongside specified year 11 topics) and assess them as late as possible in May. I would hope that this would give students a better opportunity to show skills gained over the duration of the course.

On that basis, we might as well have just gone ahead with exams as usual. I thought the whole point was that this wouldn't be fair, because kids have been affected by covid in very different ways.