Member Since: 25 Aug 2013
Location: Teesdale
Posts: 1418
A-level results
Am I the only one who thinks that the fuss over A-level results is totally overblown ?
It was always going to be chaotic once the actual exams were cancelled due to Covid. It seems to me that the authorities have, in the end, bent over backwards to be fair and err on the side of letting substandard markings through. There'll be a lot of teenagers doing the courses they wanted this year that wouldn't have got through ordinarily. Those that did fail will, in most cases, be those that would have failed anyway.
Are these teenagers are just working the system for all it's worth ?
Or have they not yet come to realise that 'life is and then you die' ?
13th Aug 2020 5:43 pm
Dave T
Member Since: 03 Jul 2009
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 6910
No you’re not.........unless this years lot are the cleverest going, Scottish passes up by around 10 to 15% across the board, seems realistic??? Joined the BMWX5 45e group
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13th Aug 2020 5:56 pm
Moo D3 Decade
Member Since: 13 Aug 2010
Location: UK
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I agree. It was always going to be an imperfect process. I also think there will be many milking the system to see what they can get out of it.
Sadly it seems to be that life is about shouting loudly these days when you don't get what you want, rather than getting on with things and making the best of it.D4 HSE EU6 (Known as Jeeves)
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13th Aug 2020 6:10 pm
Pelyma
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Patching, Sussex
Posts: 15496
We are waiting for GCSE results, it was never going to be a perfect solution, if they had gone ahead with exams then teaching unions would have kicked up, relying on teacher assessment seems that you get 20% improvement in one year which is clearly unrealistic, trying to moderate the teacher assessment to match previous year scores will penalise the outlier child who is gifted but goes to a school that has had a history of low achievement. There is no answer except that Nicola caved in when she had no need to except to win an election.
So we now have one group of kids that have got vastly inflated grades and another group of kids that don’t that definitely isn’t fair. Maybe the universities could have accepted the teacher predictions (after all that would have been what their offers were based on) but still award the original moderated grades as after all in a few weeks time they are irrelevant anyway. This still doesn’t help those kids that were predicted lower grades but overachieved, my son was predicted BBC but got 3 As and didn’t do well in mocks but reacted to that fact. Unfortunately life isn’t fair, happens and you move on.DS3 TDV6 HSE - Silver with Alpaca (old one) Gone
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13th Aug 2020 6:14 pm
Dave T
Member Since: 03 Jul 2009
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 6910
The worst bit was the poor areas got downgraded more than the affluent......how on earth is that right? Another problem is human nature, how many had over estimated knowing tha5 some down grading would happen.
Whatever happens someone won’t be happyJoined the BMWX5 45e group
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13th Aug 2020 6:30 pm
Farmer Chalk
Member Since: 06 Mar 2013
Location: Independent Republic of Kentishshire.
Posts: 4195
The Universities are a business....with the lack of foreign students applying I’m sure they will be accepting everyone who applies this year... they have to survive financially....
Even I could get in!!
Now what to study?.. I fancy three years dossing around in the same clothes, drinking lots and partying...
13th Aug 2020 7:22 pm
RRSTDV8
Member Since: 07 Apr 2014
Location: Here
Posts: 13553
As someone that thinks the modern system is too easy etc., I feel sorry for the kids that have been grade-A pupils for the last two years and then have been given Bs and Cs. If you're wanting to do things like medicine, you'll still need the grades. For the usual media studies and butterfly-counting stuff then they'll be fine.
The apparent post code variability also leaves a bad taste.Visiting from rrsport.co.uk
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13th Aug 2020 8:15 pm
Famousfive
Member Since: 12 Aug 2014
Location: Southampton
Posts: 1832
With a daughter that’s been marked two grades down in a couple of subjects and a friends’ daughter straight A student being given a C in biology which means another year to retake and or appeal before she can go to medical school. Another friend (yes I have two ) has had 70% of her private school politics pupils marked down 1 or 2 grades then I’ll have to respectfully disagree with Ops commentary. Feels like a very boomer view about entitled teenagers tbh.
It feels like it’s gone the way of the Scottish results earlier in the week .... be interesting to see what happens for the bigger picture as seems like a lot of issues.
Daughter keeping pretty positive and will either go to first choice through clearing or accept her second choice confirmed offer but tonight she is out in Winchester with the rest of the great unwashed Stolen - D4 Loire Blue
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13th Aug 2020 8:36 pm
Pelyma
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Patching, Sussex
Posts: 15496
Dave T wrote:
The worst bit was the poor areas got downgraded more than the affluent......how on earth is that right? Another problem is human nature, how many had over estimated knowing tha5 some down grading would happen.
Whatever happens someone won’t be happy
They didn’t get downgraded more as such, the school’s previous performance was looked at so if you had a school that historically most kids got Cs and Ds with one or 2 Bs then if a teacher submitted a prediction that a pupil was straight A*s then that was statistically unlikely. The fact that teacher predictions would have created a 20% improvement means these predictions were pretty unlikely. But whatever were to occur would be wrong. Even in a normal year you only have to follow the social media posts of inaccurate questions or some other drama.DS3 TDV6 HSE - Silver with Alpaca (old one) Gone
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13th Aug 2020 8:40 pm
Paul J.
Member Since: 09 Dec 2005
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13th Aug 2020 9:35 pm
Duncster
Member Since: 25 Nov 2006
Location: Midlands
Posts: 755
Having a son that was predicted to get AAB also did real mock's from previous years last year and got AAB, even before they had finished course work. I know he had pulled out all the stops as a lot of boys do, so he thought he would get a A*AA (if he completed the exams) to be given a BCC is shocking.
he is rightly gutted and feels he has been robbed - he missed out on his first choice of Leeds. This is somebody who pretty much got straight A's (7,8 snd 9's) in GCSE's.
He has also missed out on Lads holiday, DofE Gold, Prom etc etc. Also just found out he can't go on his rescheduled lads holiday to Holland. I think we should be a little bit more forgiving, these are life changing decisions that are being made for these kids, they are not all moaners with chips on their shoulders.15 3.0 RRS HSE - Silver
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Last edited by Duncster on 13th Aug 2020 10:05 pm. Edited 1 time in total
13th Aug 2020 9:42 pm
RRSTDV8
Member Since: 07 Apr 2014
Location: Here
Posts: 13553
Paul J. wrote:
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"When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know who's children are going to scream and burn. How many hearts will be broken. How many lives shattered. How much blood will spill, until everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning: SIT DOWN AND TALK!"
13th Aug 2020 9:46 pm
RRSTDV8
Member Since: 07 Apr 2014
Location: Here
Posts: 13553
Pelyma wrote:
Dave T wrote:
The worst bit was the poor areas got downgraded more than the affluent......how on earth is that right? Another problem is human nature, how many had over estimated knowing tha5 some down grading would happen.
Whatever happens someone won’t be happy
They didn’t get downgraded more as such, the school’s previous performance was looked at so if you had a school that historically most kids got Cs and Ds with one or 2 Bs then if a teacher submitted a prediction that a pupil was straight A*s then that was statistically unlikely.
So bright kids in poor areas (generally the schools that do badly) are effectively knee-capped on the basis of the past performance of others. Kids that doss around in "good" schools get the benefit of the doubt.
What a great way to show kids that hard work can pay off, that the old school tie is dead, etc.Visiting from rrsport.co.uk
2012 RRS SDV6
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"When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know who's children are going to scream and burn. How many hearts will be broken. How many lives shattered. How much blood will spill, until everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning: SIT DOWN AND TALK!"
13th Aug 2020 9:49 pm
Pelyma
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Patching, Sussex
Posts: 15496
As usual full of opinion and criticism but never any solution except to scorn those that do subjects you don’t hold in high regard and of course it was much harder in your day. There is no way out of this, my daughter is still waiting for her results is yours? I feel desperately sorry for any of the kids caught up in this but I feel even more sorry for those coming next year but I don’t think giving everybody the teacher’s predicted grade is the answer and I totally get how gutted these kids feel. Even the whole process of exams is unfair and a poor way of assessing ability but it is accepted method. To come up with any answer in such a short period of time is always a compromise but the country had to do something.DS3 TDV6 HSE - Silver with Alpaca (old one) Gone
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13th Aug 2020 10:01 pm
DG Site Moderator
Member Since: 12 Dec 2005
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Quote:
but the country had to do something.
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and then you die' ?
) has had 70% of her private school politics pupils marked down 1 or 2 grades then I’ll have to respectfully disagree with Ops commentary. Feels like a very boomer view about entitled teenagers tbh.
but tonight she is out in Winchester with the rest of the great unwashed 
