Exams cancelled 2

[Orangeblossom1977]

Started a new thread as last one is full.

It was hard enough having to CAG kids failing grades last year without them knowing about it. And it was supposed to be moderated by the algorithm so they wouldn't know whether that's what we really gave them. It was awful when that was the grade they got and they knew, particularly 3/4 kids in core subjects who then had to resit.

It’s simply not in a teacher’s remit to be passing and failing their students. It goes against everything they stand for. Especially those borderline 3/4 students. I anticipate a high number of 4’s.

Perhaps they’ll have 2 columns on the results sheet: 1. Grade Bob was aspiring to 2. Grade Bob actually achieved based on current work.....

@lollipop1234
I Don’t think there’ll be 2 grades. How would that help universities accept students? Bob having 3x aspirational Bs in his A levels but 3x C’s due to the work he did. Errr, that’ll be CCC then. Won’t help anyone whatsoever.

I don’t think it’s been decided yet if students are to be graded on what they’d likely achieve in the real exams in June (if teachers had a crystal ball) or what grade they’re at now. CAGs were the former, I believe, but there’s been a lot of talk about it being the latter this year.

I thought it was the grade they are at now, not what they 'might' get, was how it was to be marked this year. Our school tends to keep the 'working towards' grade on the low side, for some bizarre reason. I needed predicted grades for sixth form application and had a panic seeing so may 6s, then the teachers said 'oh thats if she sat the exam today (year 10)', which I still don't understand.
Anyway at our school the kids are working super hard as they now think everything they do - homework, tests, class participation - will count towards their grade, and are taking mocks after Easter break (A level mocks in March). So they are at peak stress levels all the time now.

Oh we had that ‘sat the test today’ for DD1 in yr10 but just for maths. It can be quite de-motivating. If they’ve covered the syllabus, which it seems quite a few schools seem to have managed, there may not be much difference between now & future grades.

The other thing I’ve not heard mention for a while, which is concerning my Yr13, is if there’ll be ‘ranking’ this year and doing the ‘last 3 years’ comparison thing. There was a lot of chatter about this last year but I’m not sure what actually happened.

There has previously been reassurance that the grades this year will fit a similar profile to the "generous" grade distribution of 2020. How is this going to be possible if teachers are judging on a "working at" basis rather than aspirational?

@goldendog I agree!!

Plus am worried if there are optional exams, am not sure this is fair...since all schools should either do it or not, especially since these are their GCSE results and these kids have had the worse couple of years.

It doesn’t make sense does it? I thought the whole point was to offer some sort of levelling up for those students who have missed big chunks of education, compared to previous years but also within this years cohort. If grades are given as ‘working at’ then this years cohort won’t do as well as previous years and some of those students who’ve had reasonable education (in whatever form) are likely to do better than those students whose education has suffered compared to others within this year group. I’m seeing no ‘levelling’ at all. Cancelling exams was about work being missed, thus making exams unfair - I’m not seeing how this is being addressed. Giving grades they ‘would/could’ have got without a pandemic may redress the imbalance.

I agree Notdonna but even those students who have had a good level of education won't do even better at the expense of those who don't do well as there are no exams there isn't the normal competition for grades. Unless the schools apply this themselves?
I can't see how the people in charge can let this whole year group do badly - which surely most of them will if they use working at grades. The full results would surely be shocking when compared to previous years - it would stick out like a sore thumb and their prospects for college, uni and jobs would be ruined.

I thought the whole point was to offer some sort of levelling up for those students who have missed big chunks of education

The proposal seemed to suggest that the assessments that teachers made could be based on only part of the curriculum, so could dodge bits that hadn't been taught. But then it also specified that the assessments should be broad and allow for depth (but how broad was unspecified).

The whole proposal was a bit of a mess. Looked like it had been tossed together in a couple of weeks...

Can someone please explain the difference between predicted grades and working at grades?

For example, a friend’s dc is A level year and is predicted 4 A*. I wondered if these were aspirational grades to get uni offers, but friend is convinced dc will get these grades.

Friend was dead against taking the exams in case her dc did not match up to these grades due to teaching missed.

The Dc has uni offers based on these grades.

So I wonder in this scenario what will happen?

You're in my class. The most recent bit of work I have for you is at the top of level 5 of the mark scheme. That's not a grade - they don't match grades.
Your working at grade is a 6 because that's what you're getting now.
Your predicted grade is a 7 because I can see how much you will improve between now and the exam.
But different schools do things differently.

So no exams now? Unless voluntary? Just so so ridiculous! Surely schools will only volunteer their most able and capable to sit these voluntary mini exams?

I just think whatever decision made, it needs to be consistent across the board, nationally!!

The idea of some schools in and others out...is not the same level playing fields.

I am so annoyed with Gavin Williams...after last year's disaster, he had a whole year to come up with a plan if it happened again...it is called planning!!

Thank you all for letting me vent on the this forum...I really appreciate it.

To my ds, I tell him everyone is in the same boat and don't worry but inside I am thinking wth!!!

I keep telling my y11 and 13 students not to worry and that I've got things as under control as they can be.
Shame the people above me have no fucking clue.

@nancypineapple

So no exams now? Unless voluntary? Just so so ridiculous! Surely schools will only volunteer their most able and capable to sit these voluntary mini exams?

No a school either opts in or opts out. They can't pick and choose which pupils.

If those that opt out suddenly put in al A* or 9s when they usually get Bs or 6s then they will be moderated byt he boards. The advantage of opting in will be the pupils will earn their grades and the parents will not be able to argue they would have done better.

teachers will hold one-to-one meetings to students about the grades they should be aspiring to in order to avert last year’s grades fiasco.

This filled me with dread. It reminds me of the yearly UCAS predictions which turn into a negotiation - 'but I'll work hard and get an A Miss', when they've only ever evidenced a D and been predicted a C.

@MrsHamlet

Lol!! Totally!

@Blubell46

I just think whatever decision made, it needs to be consistent across the board, nationally!!

The idea of some schools in and others out...is not the same level playing fields.

I am so annoyed with Gavin Williams...after last year's disaster, he had a whole year to come up with a plan if it happened again...it is called planning!!

Thank you all for letting me vent on the this forum...I really appreciate it.

To my ds, I tell him everyone is in the same boat and don't worry but inside I am thinking wth!!!

Me too! I present calm to my DD and tell her she will be fine. More than likely to get where she wants to go and if not, she has a good insurance.

I think my DD is less bothered by the potential unfairness of it all, and more stressed about the uncertainty of how she will be assessed and whether she is studying the correct things at the moment. She's be less stressed if she's been told exams like normal. At heart she'd know what she was being assessed on. Instead she's had a month of stress not knowing what is going to count towards her final grade.

The whole proposal was a bit of a mess. Looked like it had been tossed together in a couple of weeks...hmm perhaps because it had noble

Interesting that you say this woodlands This filled me with dread. It reminds me of the yearly UCAS predictions which turn into a negotiation - 'but I'll work hard and get an A Miss', when they've only ever evidenced a D and been predicted a C. OK so that student was predicted C for uni (benefit of doubt, aspirational and all that) but would you give a C or D in reality? In the tags?
And that what happens if that same student does work their backside off and whilst 50% of the work is still D, the other 50% is C. You’ve given them D+/C- all year, but what tag do you give? So many students will be borderline and I’m not sure how teachers will manage this. Even with or without the mini assessments. Such a tough call.

You’ve given them D+/C- all year, but what tag do you give?

It really depends on what form the moderation will take and how rigorous it will be. Teachers in that scenario will of course go for the C as there is evidence to support it.

Because DD is Y11 my colleagues don't understand why I insist on going home for lunch, because after travelling time I'm only there for 5 mins. But I need to make sure the curtains are open and DD has eaten the breakfast I've left her. She sitting in her bedroom panicking that she has to keep answering every answer in every lesson or she's going to get a really blow grade. (I appreciate she's really lucky to be getting any live lessons at all!)

Has a date for exams results been announced, or is it still going to be end of August?

Details should be released next week. They'd better bloody be, we can't fanny around in a holding pattern for much longer.