Exam Results

[maggiebee]

Considering the debacle surrounding the Scottish exam results, you would gave thought that England would have learned from it. Apparently not.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/11/pressure-grows-on-government-over-england-a-level-results-mess-coronavirus

[andy-hughes]

diddlydo - // Andy Hughes - it is naive of you to think that all teachers are beyond reproach. //

It would be, if that is what I said, but since it's not what I said, I'm not too worried about your assessment of me on this thread (and probably any other thread come to that!).

Any profession has its share of individuals who do not perform to the professional standards expected of them.

That does not excuse the government asking teachers to predict grades, and then effectively telling them that their predications are worthless, but overruling them with a computer programme.

I believe that should such a situation arise again, the vast majority of teachers who have worked hard to assess and predict fairly, and had their professional integrity maligned on one fell swoop should tell the future Education Secretary where to stick his predictions request.

I say 'future Education Secretary' because I think its a done deal that the current numpty will not remain in post past the next reshuffle - assuming he doesn't have the moral courage and good grace to resign first, as he absolutely should.

[New Judge]

//As for the comments about -better get a job than go to Uni -good luck with that one!//

The issue is, AuntPolly, that no more than about 15% (tops) of jobs in the UK require a University education. Encouraging 50% of children to go to university means that 70% of them will end up in jobs which do not need a degree. They will have wasted their time and money and will be disappointed (or more usually "devastated"). More and more employers are realising this and have tailored their recruitment processes accordingly. The days when young people spent three years of their lives studying for a useless qualification, only to find themselves stacking shelves or flipping burgers are hopefully coming to an end. There are plenty of careers (well at least there were, prior to the government trashing the economy) where a person with some decent 'A' levels can make their way.

[Deskdiary]

Give me an 18 year old with 3 decent A Levels over a 21 year old with a Desmond in Media Studies every day of the week.

[Boto]

Listening to the Vanessa Feltz show on R2 in the car this afternoon, no I couldn’t be bothered to change stations, most of those interviewed seemed to think that if they worked hard they would get good grades. Not necessarily true as they may just not be good enough. One girl in tears was asked how did her grades compare with those attained in the mocks - she didn’t know! Good university material.

[jno]

///They will have wasted their time and money and will be disappointed (or more usually "devastated").///


fiddlesticks. My job never required a degree but I've never regretted a minute or a penny of the studying, or of the time spent not studying.

[jim360]

Leaving aside the fact that few people are "just not good enough", I think they'd probably have felt much less aggrieved if the grades they were awarded were based on an exam rather than an algorithm.

[Togo]

Why is the UK going into a paroxysm of angst about "quallyfickations" that have become almost meaningless? Just give all the dahlings A* plus with distinctions and safe space lurrv, with rainbow coloured knobs on. Take them all off to Youkneeversity immediately to fill the empty spaces left by the Chinese spies and agents and the job's good un. Trebles all round. They are going to need top quality degreeeees and quallyfickations anyway to compete with the highly headyoucatered immigrant Doctors, Engineers, Nuclear Physicists, and Physical Trainers(haha made myself laugh with that) who are currently swimming across the oceans and blagging across Continents to shower us with gifts of innovation and cultural wisdom. The job market is gonna be a bit pinched. Millions of certified geniuses chasing a few hundred jobs, and all needing somewhere to live. We don't need a golden goose to lay....we need a few million bricklayers.

[grumpy01]

Theresa May sacked him as an incompetent defence secretary now he seems in over his head in education.I’m no Labour supporter but every fiasco this government is involved with leads me to think Boris is a one term Prime Minister.

[fiction-factory]

If he goes then so should the education ministers in the devolved governments. They all signed up to a very similar approach of standardising/moderating predictions and leaving it to the exam experts to organise the algorithm and gradings

[fiction-factory]

Togo- PP makes more sense than you sometimes. I wonder if you both talk this when your at home or in the pub

[Togo]

//Togo- PP makes more sense than you sometimes.//

Thank You. He makes more sense than you all of the time, Fff Fff.

[jim360]

Poor ff, he will never recover.

[Old_Geezer]

In a perfect world the grade would be based on an exam, but we are in the midst of a global crisis. (Man made or virus made.) As it is, grades needs to be estimated if one wants to be graded pre-exam.

I'm sure teachers are no more or less trustworthy as anyone else, and with the usual human failings. When it's clear the teachers have predicted a grade inflation this year, it's only reasonable that society uses the best method it knows to correct the excess optimism. But it is bound to mean some are disappointed and claim foul, even though that's probably wishful thinking on the part of most of them. Any unhappy can "retake" the missed exam at a future time. And the life lesson here is to cope with apparent setbacks and make the very most of what is.

[jim360]

I'm sure it's character-building to be told that an algorithm has judged you to have failed exams you never took when you were predicted a C.

[AuntPollyGrey]

// The issue is, AuntPolly, that no more than about 15% (tops) of jobs in the UK require a University education//

What a load of outdated rubbish. I suggest you go look at the requirements for jobs these days. Some jobs available may not require a degree per say, but will go to young people who have gone through further education as it shows a commitment to learn and grow.

[fiction-factory]

Ahh- you're not your. Blame mi phone.

jim- thanks for the data (or should I say dayyytaaa for Togo) on the proportion (3%) of predictions that were down graded by 2 or more grades. That reaffirms my belief that it should have raised alarm bells some time ago and something should have been done (telling heads to reconsider predictions/discussions with heads/ plain and simple rechecking of the data/ consideration of a triple lock/or a simple commitment not to downgrade by more than 1 or 2).

I suspect the vast majority of these were 2 grades rather than 3, but do you have any data on those downgraded 3 grades (which is the situation andyhughes said applied to 'many many' students).

[fiction-factory]

I would also be interested to see the overall national grade distribution of the predictions compared with the average in recent years, particularly for those schools which are claiming to have been most hard done to. If the figures for England are like Scotland it will show a significant drift upwards in gradings- so either we have a significantly more able cohort, or the usual situation has occurred where teachers over predict grades- understandably because if a student has say a 50/50 chance between A and B it is very unlikely the teacher will plump for B

[DTCwordfan]

Easy - let the students have their assessed grades and let them take up all the empty places that have been abandoned by Johnny and Joanna Foreigners......beef up the Year 1 exam cut-offs and filter numbers then so as to maintain quality standards in our Unis.

[fiction-factory]

I can see a case for that DTC, but if there are then too many people with top grades for the number of course places they may have to find some way of choosing between them. I think that if they are faced with an A student from a constantly top performing school like Eton or Manchester Grammar or an inner city comp which usually has very few A students, they well plump for the Eton one

[THECORBYLOON]

FF, one report I found says, "Students were also left angry when 35.6% of marks were adjusted down by one grade, 3.3% were brought down by two, and 0.2% came down by three."