Exam Grades

TheBigBean

johngti

As before, meaningless to compare to 2019, we’ve done our best under awful circumstances, not standardised so can’t even compare between schools. Oh, and the kids have been amazing.

First.Aspect

johngti said:

As before, meaningless to compare to 2019, we’ve done our best under awful circumstances, not standardised so can’t even compare between schools. Oh, and the kids have been amazing.

Why hasn't it been possible to compare between schools?

I accept this may be a daft question.

johngti

First.Aspect said:

johngti said:

As before, meaningless to compare to 2019, we’ve done our best under awful circumstances, not standardised so can’t even compare between schools. Oh, and the kids have been amazing.

Why hasn't it been possible to compare between schools?

I accept this may be a daft question.

School 1 - maintained 93% attendance, small numbers of pupils self isolating, syllabus 95% completed, tests in each subject every week for the last six weeks of term.

School 2 - COVID hotspot, attendance at 80%, last term of the syllabus not covered, outbreak in school leading to regular high levels of absence. Fewer opportunities to assess formally.

How would you compare those two schools? Or how do you fairly make allowances for the kid who’s had four 10-day long absences and who’s dad and Nan died because of it three weeks before the tests?

What about standardised resources provided by the exam boards? Great idea. Except the stuff they provided was nothing more than past paper questions and, even if they were useful, there’s tons of evidence that many tutors downloaded them and used them with tutees (not to mention private schools). And then who marks them? And was it even possible to ensure that all students sat them under strictly controlled conditions?

Like I say, teachers and students did their best under horrid circumstances so let’s celebrate their resilience and recognise the fact that they’ve persevered through some of the most challenging times we’ve seen.

wallace_and_gromit

johngti said:

As before, meaningless to compare to 2019, we’ve done our best under awful circumstances, not standardised so can’t even compare between schools. Oh, and the kids have been amazing.

Yup. My eldest has just done her A-levels and her dedication during lockdowns, particularly during the summer term last year, when giving up as everything seemed utterly pointless would have been entirely understandable, has been amazing. And it's not just her. Such dedication dedication has been the norm rather than the exception in my experience of the world, which I guess might have something of a middle-class skewing applied to it. There might be some snowflakes amongst the so-called "snowflake generation" but the reality is that underneath their dippy exteriors, there are a lot of hard nuts entering the adult world.

wallace_and_gromit

johngti said:

First.Aspect said:

johngti said:

As before, meaningless to compare to 2019, we’ve done our best under awful circumstances, not standardised so can’t even compare between schools. Oh, and the kids have been amazing.

Why hasn't it been possible to compare between schools?

I accept this may be a daft question.

School 1 - maintained 93% attendance, small numbers of pupils self isolating, syllabus 95% completed, tests in each subject every week for the last six weeks of term.

I'd say it was even harder than that. In my daughter's Chemistry class, one lad went down with Covid, and half the class had to isolate because they were classed as sitting close to him, whereas the other half didn't. And this sort of situation was happening all the time.

Stevo_666

wallace_and_gromit said:

johngti said:

First.Aspect said:

johngti said:

As before, meaningless to compare to 2019, we’ve done our best under awful circumstances, not standardised so can’t even compare between schools. Oh, and the kids have been amazing.

Why hasn't it been possible to compare between schools?

I accept this may be a daft question.

School 1 - maintained 93% attendance, small numbers of pupils self isolating, syllabus 95% completed, tests in each subject every week for the last six weeks of term.

I'd say it was even harder than that. In my daughter's Chemistry class, one lad went down with Covid, and half the class had to isolate because they were classed as sitting close to him, whereas the other half didn't. And this sort of situation was happening all the time.

BTW welcome back W&G !

wallace_and_gromit

Stevo_666 said:

wallace_and_gromit said:

johngti said:

First.Aspect said:

johngti said:

As before, meaningless to compare to 2019, we’ve done our best under awful circumstances, not standardised so can’t even compare between schools. Oh, and the kids have been amazing.

Why hasn't it been possible to compare between schools?

I accept this may be a daft question.

School 1 - maintained 93% attendance, small numbers of pupils self isolating, syllabus 95% completed, tests in each subject every week for the last six weeks of term.

I'd say it was even harder than that. In my daughter's Chemistry class, one lad went down with Covid, and half the class had to isolate because they were classed as sitting close to him, whereas the other half didn't. And this sort of situation was happening all the time.

BTW welcome back W&G !

Thanks! My access disappeared many months ago, but I've kept lurking to enjoy the show in the mean time. Then I got offered the chance to log on via Facebook, and here I am again, though at who knows what cost to my privacy given the FB angle.