Teacher Accessed Grades - what a joke

[Zpegleg]

I have just found out that my daughters school is doing full A level exams for A levels - that is nine 2 hour exams in May She has three weeks to sit them with no knowledge of content. The mental health at the school is terrible. Other schools are doing one hour mini exams and giving the predicted grades to the students. Their head teacher told the teachers make sure you give them A* -As . So they are telling the students what is in the tests. This is so unfair. Some students just get As for one mini exam , my daughter has to sit 3 x 2 hour exams for the same A level. How can this system be right. There is no standardised method across schools.

I cannot understand how this government has palmed this off and ‘ trusted the teachers’ . That is rubbish.

It wasn't a competition. DD sat some GCSEs early in Nov last year, so has had two lots of this. Although tbf whilst stressful at the time, she is now glad of getting to actually sit those exams. Sitting the exam, despite missing so much lesson time was far better than what they have to do this time.

@UserTwice

I don't want to play top trumps about who has it worse either. It's shit for this year's exam students. But it was also shit for last year's exam students and they have just had to get through it. Stressing about it does not help anyone (which was meant to be the point of my original post). And remember that some of last year's exam students are also this year's exam students (do they win the "who has it worst" poll?)

If it were a competition, then yes, definitely. It's a dreadful situation for those who were got their grades last year and chose to retake A levels this summer. Anyone in that situation especially has my sympathy.

Good grief, this year is so much worse!

Last year, dd, y13. Did almost the whole course normally, then school closed shortly before they'd have started revision at Easter. Exams cancelled and grades will be awarded by teachers somehow - but the kids don't have to do anything other than put it out of their minds and go get a job to occupy themselves for 6 months. Results week is a farce.

This year, ds1, y11. What with the curriculum being suspended last year and a load of SI fortnights and another lockdown, he's missed half the teaching time for his entire GCSE course. He hasn't had any extra revision sessions at school cos they're still finishing the content. He knows he's got to sit exams but has no idea when, how long, where, or what will be included. He has had no experience of exams. He's heading into this exams period at absolute rock bottom, exhausted, demotivated, utterly bored. And yeah, I expect Results Day to be a farce, again.

I would also argue this year is horrible. Last year, everything just stopped. No exams. No more work. But they had covered the content. They went home and dealt with the stress of what was to come on results day.

This year they have missed content. Exams on, exams off, exams on again. Constantly tested since September with the understanding that every bit of work they do may count, whether they're prepared enough or not. And with the disparity going on in schools - even between classes - results days is going to be yet another shambles.

Agree total shambles
The lack of clarity is astounding It was obvious from last September that exams were not going to take place. I really don’t know why this incompetent government left it to the very last minute to cancel exams
My year 11 son missed out on much of last year because of lockdown and numerous self isolation periods .
The school haven’t told us how they are going to assess the students
My ds has little motivation

I had a DS in year 11 last year who had an extended holiday on X Box peppered with a tiny bit of an EPQ project work, knowing full well his sixth form place was secure etc etc.

I also have a DD in this year 11 and their is absolutely no comparison she has now had 12 months of worry, rubbish online provision, rushed lessons and the worry and stress are still ongoing.

Our school are doing 2 rounds of testing for y13. Dd has exams this week and another set after the Easter holidays.

Scary that they aren't considering next summer's exams too.

I have a year 11 and year 13 and honestly don't know whose got it worse.
My poor Year 13 will have done most of his A level study remotely over the whole two years. Still not back in full time and unlikely to be now.
My year 11 has only been in school for about ten weeks in the whole of the last twelve months due to lockdown and self isolations. He has seven class tests next week.
Still not finished the syllabus for subjects he's chosen for A level.
Bonkers.

It's awful isn't it.
Different schools doing different things.
Children don't know what they are being tested on and when. So how can they revise efficiently?
Teachers taking on the extra work of possibly arranging the assessments and having to mark them.
Grade boundaries which are normally spread across the whole country - who even knows what's happening with them now!
Little motivation here too after staring at a screen for months.

It's an absolute travesty how these students are being treated (and it's not much fun being a teacher either). I think it should be all over the news. Exams were cancelled but with the constant references to evidence and QA but without any detail or clarity about what what form this would actually take, some schools have gone into overdrive and piled on even more pressure than there would be in a normal year. Meanwhile, others have backed off or are putting in lots of support telling students topics and even answers- before they sit so-called assessments. The unfairness is staggering.

I agree it should be all over the news. When they have focused on students in the news it has been more about their mental health or difficulties of learning during lockdown. It would be nice to see the MSM actually understand the issue and probe the government. Gavin Williamson is going to get away with this and keep his job.

Aside from the atypical stress, this year's Y13 have also lost out on many of the softer parts of 6th form that help with future study or careers. Careers fairs, field trips, curriculum connected trips, science practicals, competitions, work experience, volunteering, being student ambassadors.

The problem is teachers don't really know what they're assessing. We've got a plan but it all hinges on the exam boards.

Who haven't released material and guidance yet.

Any school or child telling you otherwise is not being accurate.

We have a plan involving mocks and other tests on the material we have taught. Plus some other assessed course material. But we haven't had full guidance yet.

It's a shambles. The government should have had plan B in place and they didn't and it's turned into an almighty mess.

DC is being made to sit 2 sets of exams in April and into June. At least 10 days of exams EACH time. But apparently these aren’t the proper GCSEs - er no they’re worse. On top of that after next week they’re on holiday the next after it’s pretty much a straight run of study leave at home except for a short week of exam feedback mid way. I’m fucking furious, months at home and now that they can go back the school don’t want them there.

@noblegiraffe

A school that gives all its kids A*s will be picked up and moderated so don’t assume that is what will actually happen, it’s not a complete free-for-all.

I have no hope that will actually happen for final marks after last year. I know of schools who did this (or GCSE equivalent) last year and the students got grades that they themselves admit they were nowhere near.

telling students topics and even answers- before they sit so-called assessments.

You know that the exam boards are going to do this, right? All the mini assessments they are producing will be fully released to the students before they sit them including the mark schemes.

You know that the exam boards are going to do this, right? All the mini assessments they are producing will be fully released to the students before they sit them including the mark schemes.

I know, I saw that shocker yesterday. The thing is, in my subject (English) the mark scheme doesn't really help them as it's just vague descriptors. We give them student friendly versions anyway and it doesn't really help them as if they can't think of anything perceptive then that's it, even if they know the mark scheme says perception is needed for a grade 8. Or they think they've said something perceptive when they really haven't. If they give example answers out and we get regurgitated versions back, well...

On the other hand, part of me thinks why shouldn't they have this support? They've had a shit deal and in some cases are under more pressure now they would have been with normal exams. It's like the exam period has been brought forward and extended in some schools. How is that a concession to acknowledge the impact of the pandemic?

It just renders the whole thing useless in maths, giving the kids the answers beforehand. Not all subjects have vague mark schemes.

They’re doing it after Easter so that kids don’t spend Easter constructing the perfect answers. So they’ll just have to do it quicker. Paid tutors will help I’m sure.

@noblegiraffe

It just renders the whole thing useless in maths, giving the kids the answers beforehand. Not all subjects have vague mark schemes.

They’re doing it after Easter so that kids don’t spend Easter constructing the perfect answers. So they’ll just have to do it quicker. Paid tutors will help I’m sure.

I'll bet Tte perfect answers will be all over the internet by the evening on the day they're put out for maths. The marks scheme (guessed) for GCSE/A-levels are normally fairly thoroughly out the same evening anyway.

You know that the exam boards are going to do this, right? All the mini assessments they are producing will be fully released to the students before they sit them including the mark schemes.

This doesn't apply to most of DD's GCSEs as they are not Ofqual. But tbh I can see why they have done it. Our mocks and assessments have been appallingly unfair because teachers in some classes have given their students all the answers and other teachers haven't, so some kids have worked really hard, but received lower grades, yet these grades may be used in determining their final grade.

My DD had GCSEs last year so went through that farce. She has an extra curricular GCSE she's taking this year and we were hopeful she could actually sit one. Now, the school have said they don't know if she can get an assessed grade for it this year as it's extra curricular and they need lots of evidence. It's not her fault she can't sit the exams and she might not end up getting a grade at all after years of work. She can't take it next year due to her a-levels. Just hope they are putting thought into next years exams otherwise she will be screwed over by the government for a third time!

@starlilly88

My DD had GCSEs last year so went through that farce. She has an extra curricular GCSE she's taking this year and we were hopeful she could actually sit one. Now, the school have said they don't know if she can get an assessed grade for it this year as it's extra curricular and they need lots of evidence. It's not her fault she can't sit the exams and she might not end up getting a grade at all after years of work. She can't take it next year due to her a-levels. Just hope they are putting thought into next years exams otherwise she will be screwed over by the government for a third time!

We are entering all our extra curricular gcse students as there will still be time to set exercises/assessments/work to collect evidence evidence between 31 March (guidance due) and 8 June (internal deadline) before submission by 18 June.

Could she sit the exam in the Autumn series?

Taking in the Autumn would be difficult due to A-level mocks, and university applications. Keeping everything crossed they will get enough evidence but the school isn't committing to anything right now

The weird thing is I had an email from AQA yesterday definitively stating that they were keeping some past papers locked on their site (Nov 2020 and May 2019). And the "guidance" comes out after my school breaks up. I have absolutely no idea what to advise my students!

I read a tweet from someone a couple of days ago saying they’d talked to AQA after the DfE webinar where it came out about the papers and AQA themselves were unaware that this was expected and thought it a stupid idea.

So it sounds like they’re going against Ofqual.