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The staffroom

Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

The Fifteenth Republic - A Level and GCSE Results storm coming!

999 replies

StaffAssociationRepresentative · 10/08/2020 23:41

You are most welcome to this school staff support thread to get us through stressful times. It is meant for school staff. Baiters and bashers can jog on somewhere else.

If you are NOT staff and just have a general education query please start your own thread.

You can play here only if you are a member of one the following groups-

-ABBA - anti bashers and baiting association
-SWAB - school workers against bashers
-SWOT - school workers opposing teacherbashers
-STARS - schoolworkers together against ranting + slurs

Other requirements for staff room entry include the ability to find the staff room, the ability to find a clean mug in the staff room, knowledge of the photocopier codes, and the ability to sniff out where the toffee vodka is hidden.

If you are fed up with cakes and biscuits there is now a cheeseboard on offer

If you come with a stick to beat us with then please do so elsewhere and not in the staffroom

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Appuskidu · 13/08/2020 10:06

@noblegiraffe

His school didn’t do mocks-they do AS levels instead

Oh god, that’s one for Ofqual to wrangle over.

I know!!

It would seem unfair that because they didn’t do mocks (because of the AS), he doesn’t have the option that others might have to choose a ‘valid’ grade to fall back on, but then again nothing about this appears to be fair!

Appuskidu · 13/08/2020 10:10

What’s annoyed me the most, is that we all know as teachers, and the parents of y13s are aware as it affects them, that the grades seem to have been pushed down. Yet people like my DP, read the Daily Mail which prints headlines suggesting kids can just pick any grade they fancy and A levels aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on!

Makes you wonder if employers in the future will be sympathetic about the Corona grades being marked down, or just think they were over-inflated rubbish?!

HipTightOnions · 13/08/2020 10:13

We were downgraded less than most schools, but then we were very strict with ourselves. Big variation between departments though.

HipTightOnions · 13/08/2020 10:18

Makes you wonder if employers in the future will be sympathetic about the Corona grades being marked down

I thought that overall, despite everything, there has been a slight increase?

noblegiraffe · 13/08/2020 10:20

It feels like this year it’s the teacher’s work that is being marked and graded instead of the kid’s.

It must feel very odd for the students.

HipTightOnions · 13/08/2020 10:22

I’m wondering why we bothered with CAGs in the first place. Surely just submitting ranking would have produced the same result?

Danglingmod · 13/08/2020 10:30

Yes, there's a 2-3% increase for each grade. So, for every single lower (than teachers believe accurate) grade there's someone with a higher grade.

Piggywaspushed · 13/08/2020 10:48

Not in my school! The classics have been capped at B because stats. 4 classics students downgraded by two grades including one A* to a B.

Some subjects came out unscathed but none did better than expected!

noblegiraffe · 13/08/2020 10:50

It’S a 2-3% increase on last year, not a 2-3% increase on CAGs (unless I’m misunderstanding what you’re saying, Dangling. Very few students will have been moderated up.

Rosieposy4 · 13/08/2020 10:54

My school were super strict On what we sent in, still 1/3 downgraded. My largish subject has lost all its A*s. Apart from last year we always get a reasonable number so no idea why.

Piggywaspushed · 13/08/2020 10:55

Anyone seen an A -E pass rate yet? Seems odd they have released A to C.

I feel so sorry for those teachers who felt back in Sept to March that this year 13 they had finally cracked it and this would be their turnaround year. Or ( like my current year 12, God help them) had eventually recruited the brightest and best.

I feel like the prior attainment bit doesn't make sense?

On a really irrational level, I am cross with the class if 2017 who were always flaky having such an impact in my class of 2020.

Danglingmod · 13/08/2020 11:03

Yes, I meant on last year.

So, what I mean is (similar to you've been arguing on other threads, Noble), the CAGs were inflated at a cohort level. So if some teachers are reporting massively unfair downgrading, there must be winners elsewhere because the overall results are still up (and they shouldn't have gone up by the amount letting CAGs stand would have given.)

ChloeCrocodile · 13/08/2020 11:07

Most of our results are as expected, but we’ve got three we are looking in to appeals for - one was B/C borderline so I’d have been fine if they’d been given a C, but I’m not happy at her being given a D. All three scored higher in AS and mocks than they’ve been awarded for A level by the exam board.

Some downgrades in other subjects don’t make sense tho - quite a few being given lower grades in maths than further maths, which I’m assured (by our maths dept) rarely happens. And two Us in AS Chem, despite the department having a 100% pass rate for the past 5 or so years at both AS and A level.

On a really irrational level, I am cross with the class if 2017 who were always flaky having such an impact in my class of 2020.

In my case, I’m annoyed at the class of 2017 and I didn’t teach them!

Appuskidu · 13/08/2020 11:09

@AugustBreeze

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/5923897/coronavirus-scotland-peterhead-school-outbreak/amp/

So, closed for today only, at the moment, but for just one case!

That’s interesting-I wonder what will happen when schools in England (where cases are much higher) start identifying cases. Will they shut whole schools?

When word gets out there’s a case in the school, I can imagine anxiety within the school community (particularly parents, teens and older more aware primary) will be high and people will not want to be in that environment knowing the virus is floating around there?

Piggywaspushed · 13/08/2020 11:38

DH's private school results lowest ever....

Piggywaspushed · 13/08/2020 11:41

That doesn't work school by school though dangling because the grades are awarded by exam boards so there was no whole school overview. It's not like classics being downgraded in our school has led to -say- maths getting better than expected. Literally the only 'accepted' grades were in one or tow subject entries and in those subjects (MFL) which had been promised their uplift.

Appuskidu · 13/08/2020 11:43

Maths seem to have been particularly badly hit at my DS’s school-lots of downgrades from solid A*/A students.

Piggywaspushed · 13/08/2020 11:47

A little digging tells met hat schools that haven't been changed don't fit a pattern of type of schools. At least in terms of my subject, the 'winners' are those with similar sized cohorts for the last three years, with similar ability profiles and consistent results.

I am guessing that benefits grammar schools, but I have heard tell of some livid grammar school heads.

Useruseruserusee · 13/08/2020 11:51

My husband’s devastated. He teaches at a rapidly improving secondary school, gone from RI to good in the past 18 months. Big changes in the sixth form and they were genuinely expecting very strong results.

He has 12 A-Level students and 9 were downgraded. One from an A to C - this student has never produced any work below A grade and quite a lot at A*.

Fedup21 · 13/08/2020 11:55

@Piggywaspushed

A little digging tells met hat schools that haven't been changed don't fit a pattern of type of schools. At least in terms of my subject, the 'winners' are those with similar sized cohorts for the last three years, with similar ability profiles and consistent results.

I am guessing that benefits grammar schools, but I have heard tell of some livid grammar school heads.

Name changed for this, but DC’s grammar seems to have been really screwed by this. The head is furious.
starrynight19 · 13/08/2020 12:13

Ds is in grammar school , parents emailing our mp.

HipTightOnions · 13/08/2020 12:18

I must say the moderation seems to have worked exactly as expected for my subject/school and individual results look very reasonable. It is a large cohort.

There’s enormous variation in CAGs and Mocks from subject to subject though. It would be a travesty to allow either of these in appeals.

Piggywaspushed · 13/08/2020 12:31

Can anyone explain the prior attainment column!?

Anyone? Anyone?

Cracklefraggle · 13/08/2020 12:31

Worst thing for me has been how the kids have received their results; online or a quick collection of envelope and out. The support that is usually there on results day isn't this year because of covid guidelines.
I've been able to call my class at least. Some really needed to talk things through - gutted for those who have been left to fend for themselves Sad

Piggywaspushed · 13/08/2020 12:32

Just in from Ofqual : improved A Level top grades largely in private schools....