Religion and Ethics Forum
General Category => Politics & Current Affairs => Topic started by: Nearly Sane on August 05, 2020, 06:31:50 PM
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This is a hugely difficult place for the govt
https://news.sky.com/story/scottish-exam-results-deep-concerns-as-pass-rate-cut-hits-poorest-pupils-hardest-12042473
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/devolution/2020/08/scottish-government-has-got-it-badly-wrong-over-its-exam-results
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This is a hugely difficult place for the govt
https://news.sky.com/story/scottish-exam-results-deep-concerns-as-pass-rate-cut-hits-poorest-pupils-hardest-12042473
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/devolution/2020/08/scottish-government-has-got-it-badly-wrong-over-its-exam-results
I suspect there will be the same issues when the English A level results come out next week.
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I think that the sense of injustice won't go away: that in the absence of exams it is the previous performance of schools that is being assessed and that bright kids in less historically 'achieving' schools are being disadvantaged. As things stand it can look like any individual excellence from pupils in some schools will get lost in the algorithm, leading to reduced post-school options for these pupils. It's fine if you went to a high achieving school, like my oldest grandson, but less fine if you went to the school that is just 2/3 miles away from his.
It isn't a good look no matter what happens now, and you'd have thought that someone would have realised the interpretations that would be made when the consequences of the approach used became apparent, in implying either criticism of the assessment skills of teachers, or that those attending certain schools would be disadvantaged irrespective of their individual performance. I can't see that the appeals process will help rectify this, since if any substantial number of appeals succeed it will not only confirm that the model used was inherently wrong, and that the assessment of teachers was more correct that was allowed for by the SQA, but will result in an outcome that is atypical compared to previous years, and of course the concern then is that the top graded passes (the 'A's' and 'B's') could be seen to be devalued.
It's a mess, and it seems to me that the 2020 exam season in Scotland is now compromised no matter what.
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According to this, which mentions the situation in Scotland, it may be an even greater issue in England.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/07/a-level-result-predictions-to-be-downgraded-england
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Nicola Sturgeon concedes that they got it wrong and apologises, and we will find out tomorrow how this will be resolved. Since she says it won't involve dependence on appeals process as the 'fix' I'd imagine that it will involve reversion to the lower of either the prelim results or teacher assessments - or something like that.
Since reports suggest that the results in England, to be announced later this week, have been calculated on a similar basis to how Scotland approached this, where this approach s now being backed away from, it seems likely that similar concerns will be raised in England - so and it will be interesting to see how that plays out and if the about-turn by the Scottish Government adds pressure to do the same in England.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/aug/10/nicola-sturgeon-promises-urgent-review-of-124000-downgraded-exam-results-scotland
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I'm going to post the BBC link to the same story.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-53719477
It's got a lovely photograph of a person with a protest sign that says "my postcode should not effect my results".
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According to this, which mentions the situation in Scotland, it may be an even greater issue in England.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/07/a-level-result-predictions-to-be-downgraded-england
Yes I think the issue will be just as bad, if not worse, in England.
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Complete u turn
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-53740588
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I should think a similar about turn is likely to take place when the A level and GCSE predicted grades are announced this week and next.
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This was probably the only way to resolve this: you'd have thought that the SQA would have realised early on that trying to handle results based on professional judgement, to try and make them comparable with previous years that were based on exams, was a square peg/round hole risk and, mixing metaphors, was a classic example of trying to treat oranges as if they were apples.
It is a U-turn, but those affected won't care about that once the revised grades are released, and I'd imagine the since the SNP were prepared to say they 'got it wrong', rather than keep on trying to defend the indefensible, voters might not hold it against them for too long - whether Swinney can survive is another matter.
I'm watching the debate in Holyrood just now and thought some of the Tory questions were less robust than I'd have expected - but of course the A level results due in England this week will, it has been reported, produce an even greater incidence of teacher-estimated grades being revised downwards and, if so, I wonder if the events here in Scotland will influence the reaction in England.
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This was probably the only way to resolve this: you'd have thought that the SQA would have realised early on that trying to handle results based on professional judgement, to try and make them comparable with previous years that were based on exams, was a square peg/round hole risk and, mixing metaphors, was a classic example of trying to treat oranges as if they were apples.
It is a U-turn, but those affected won't care about that once the revised grades are released, and I'd imagine the since the SNP were prepared to say they 'got it wrong', rather than keep on trying to defend the indefensible, voters might not hold it against them for too long - whether Swinney can survive is another matter.
I'm watching the debate in Holyrood just now and thought some of the Tory questions were less robust than I'd have expected - but of course the A level results due in England this week will, it has been reported, produce an even greater incidence of teacher-estimated grades being revised downwards and, if so, I wonder if the events here in Scotland will influence the reaction in England.
It looks like the Hapless Williamsons days are numbered then. Perhaps Johnson will keep him until he needs a sacrifice then he will sack him in short order.
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I should think a similar about turn is likely to take place when the A level and GCSE predicted grades are announced this week and next.
I think you'll find that the English results will be superficially fine but there will be odd little anomalies and errors that point to a lot of people working very long stressful hours over the last couple of days.
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I think you'll find that the English results will be superficially fine but there will be odd little anomalies and errors that point to a lot of people working very long stressful hours over the last couple of days.
System looks like a guddle
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53746140
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I think you'll find that the English results will be superficially fine ...
Why do you think that - any results that markedly deviate from teacher assessment using a very crude school-level based algorithm will not be superficially fine - they will be fundamentally flawed.
The problem is that it is way too late for these issues to become apparent and for there to be attempts at redress. Universities across the UK will already have received A-level results (under strict embargo) and will have made decisions on who is, and is not, offered a place on the basis of those results. How will applicants and universities unravel that process if (at some point) official 'mock' exam results might over-ride the current grades. By that point the place not offered may no longer be available.
It is a mess.
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I took a Scottish exam once ,
I concluded it's a speach defect , not an accent !
Btw I think you mean results of exams in Scotland.
I'm not a pedant and I don't wear a necklace anymore x
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Why do you think that - any results that markedly deviate from teacher assessment using a very crude school-level based algorithm will not be superficially fine - they will be fundamentally flawed.
"superficially fine" and "fundamentally flawed" are not mutually exclusive.
The English authorities have seen the fiasco that happened in Scotland and have attempted to work out something that doesn't look quite as bad.
Universities across the UK will already have received A-level results (under strict embargo) and will have made decisions on who is, and is not, offered a place on the basis of those results.
They will be told to look again. I think it's quite quaint the way you think pre-pandemic rules still apply. These are unprecedented times. You shouldn't rule out unprecedented actions.
It is a mess.
Yes it is, but standing around saying "it's a mess" won't get it sorted out. In retrospect, I think they should have held the exams, but that's water under the bridge now. Instead, I suspect the admissions staff of universities and exam board staff are having an exceptionally bad summer.
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They will be told to look again. I think it's quite quaint the way you think pre-pandemic rules still apply. These are unprecedented times. You shouldn't rule out unprecedented actions.
And how exactly will that work.
Tomorrow morning universities will confirm that many students have been accepted onto courses on the basis that they've met their offer grades. They won't be able to revoke those places, and in many cases these students will be on courses with only a finite number of places available, for all sorts of resourcing reasons. It is all very well to say they will need to 'look again', but if thousands of students, whose mock results are better than their grade announced tomorrow appeal and have their higher mark confirmed - what can universities do. They can't revise a place already confirmed, they may not have space for these students who have appealed successfully. At best they can offer them a place starting in 2021, but that is hardly helping those students is it.
The government and Ofqual must have recognised the issue ages ago - that was the time for action, allowing the revised approach to feed through to both students and universities in time for the final release of grades tomorrow. Making an 11th hour announcement the day before the results are released to students and after they have been released to universities is chaotic incompetence and knee-jerk politics.
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Tomorrow morning universities will confirm that many students have been accepted onto courses on the basis that they've met their offer grades. They won't be able to revoke those places, and in many cases these students will be on courses with only a finite number of places available, for all sorts of resourcing reasons. It is all very well to say they will need to 'look again', but if thousands of students, whose mock results are better than their grade announced tomorrow appeal and have their higher mark confirmed - what can universities do. They can't revise a place already confirmed, they may not have space for these students who have appealed successfully. At best they can offer them a place starting in 2021, but that is hardly helping those students is it.
They will have spaces for all the students that want to attend University this autumn. For one thing, all the spaces reserved for foreign students will remain unfilled. For another, I expect an unprecedented number of students to try to defer until next year.
The government and Ofqual must have recognised the issue ages ago
If they did, they have more foresight than the Scottish government.
that was the time for action
You can say that until you are blue in the face. It won't alter the facts as they stand.
allowing the revised approach to feed through to both students and universities in time for the final release of grades tomorrow. Making an 11th hour announcement the day before the results are released to students and after they have been released to universities is chaotic incompetence and knee-jerk politics.
What else could they do in light of the fiasco that occurred in Scotland? They could have done lots of things differently in the past, but they didn't and we can't change that. So tell me what they could do now to make things better.
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They will have spaces for all the students that want to attend University this autumn.
Which many universities will have filled tomorrow for the most attractive courses and universities. Where does that leave students who may be able to appeal on the basis that their final grade was worse than their mocks. Usually this is small numbers (and therefore likely manageable by universities), but this year it is likely to be huge numbers.
For one thing, all the spaces reserved for foreign students will remain unfilled.
Don't count on it - most universities are moving to a blended approach for next year, which means it may be even more attractive for foreign students who will be able to study from home next year and then attend in person in their 2nd year.
For another, I expect an unprecedented number of students to try to defer until next year.
True, although universities may not allow then to. Firstly, on the basis that it would be unfair to next year's students if huge numbers of places have already been mopped up by deferring students. Secondly on the basis of finance.
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For one thing, all the spaces reserved for foreign students will remain unfilled.
But universities cannot do that as the Government has introduced a temporary student number control system for this year.
This means that each university is capped in the numbers of home students it can take. This was brought in to prevent some universities filling their boots with home students to fill a potential gap in overseas students, resulting in other universities bring unable to fill places and going bust.
But the upshot of this policy is that universities won't have additional places available, as they are capped. Actually in previous years a university could take as many home students as it wanted. The cap will exacerbate the grades issue as once a university has reached its cap (for the most popular this will be first thing tomorrow) there can be no more places available for students who might have their grades improved on appeal. In previous years a university would have discretion over whether to take that student - this year the cap means that discretion is removed - once they are full, they are full.
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What else could they do in light of the fiasco that occurred in Scotland? They could have done lots of things differently in the past, but they didn't and we can't change that. So tell me what they could do now to make things better.
Not introduce an even more confused approach opposed by students, teachers, and unions.
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Don't count on it - most universities are moving to a blended approach for next year, which means it may be even more attractive for foreign students who will be able to study from home next year and then attend in person in their 2nd year.
I would have thought that one of the attractions to studying abroad is the abroad part.
True, although universities may not allow then to. Firstly, on the basis that it would be unfair to next year's students if huge numbers of places have already been mopped up by deferring students. Secondly on the basis of finance.
"Oh no. We've promised places to too many students. What can we we do? I know, let's not allow all the students who want to defer a year to do that."
However unfair it is to next year's students, it is as nothing compared to what is happening now. You need to get it into your head that these are not normal times. Perfect fairness is not achievable.
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Not introduce an even more confused approach opposed by students, teachers, and unions.
What should they have done in the light of the Scottish results? Left things as they were?
Come on. I'm seeing lots of whining about about what is a very difficult situation. I'm not seeing any better alternative being proposed.
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I would have thought that one of the attractions to studying abroad is the abroad part.
Actually for the countries that provide the greatest numbers of overseas students gaining a degree from a leading UK university is the primary consideration, studying abroad a secondary one. And of course living in the UK is expensive if you are from China or India. This is one of the reasons why many UK universities have off-shoots in those countries - allowing students to gain a degree from a UK university without the cost of travelling.
So I don't think the notion of studying for your first year at home, and then moving to the UK for further years will be particularly unattractive.
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You need to get it into your head that these are not normal times. Perfect fairness is not achievable.
Indeed they are - which is why today universities across the country will be trying to limit uncertainty and risk, and they will do that by filling their available places to as close to the government imposed cap as they can. If you understand how universities work (I do let's not forget) the notion of holding open places that you could fill today on the basis that they might or might not be filled in mid Sept when appeal results come out is bonkers.
Universities have never been under any obligation to hold an offer open until an exam results appeal is heard, even when they had no cap on numbers. With a cap on numbers (go over your cap and you lose up to 15% of your funding) and the priority will be to get to the cap, and with it financial certainty, as soon as possible and not under any circumstances to go over the cap.
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"Oh no. We've promised places to too many students. What can we we do? I know, let's not allow all the students who want to defer a year to do that."
Universities will, of course, allow students to defer if otherwise it risks going over the cap. But until they've filled their places I think they'll be pretty tough on deferring - in my experience many are effectively saying that a student is welcome to take their chances by applying next year along with next year's cohort of students.
But I'm not convinced a deferring is quite as attraction as some people are suggesting - what exactly are deferring students going to do next year - the traditional gap year travel option is effectively out. And also it will be very difficult for a deferring 18 year old to get work experience or other volunteering work as the pandemic means that opportunities are much more limited.
My experience of 18 year olds currently receiving their results (anecdotal I know) is that most have considered deferring, but have ultimately decided they will go in Sept after all.
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Universities will, of course, allow students to defer if otherwise it risks going over the cap. But until they've filled their places I think they'll be pretty tough on deferring - in my experience many are effectively saying that a student is welcome to take their chances by applying next year along with next year's cohort of students.
But I'm not convinced a deferring is quite as attraction as some people are suggesting - what exactly are deferring students going to do next year - the traditional gap year travel option is effectively out. And also it will be very difficult for a deferring 18 year old to get work experience or other volunteering work as the pandemic means that opportunities are much more limited.
My experience of 18 year olds currently receiving their results (anecdotal I know) is that most have considered deferring, but have ultimately decided they will go in Sept after all.
It seems my anecdotal evidence is correct - there are no greater numbers of students planning to defer this year than in previous years. In fact the numbers are slightly down.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/student-deferrals-dip-uk-despite-coronavirus-fears
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There is another massive element of unfairness in the system that I'd not recognised until yesterday.
The algorithmic moderation (almost always downwards) wasn't applied to schools where the cohort taking a subject was very small - in those cases the teacher assessment applied unmoderated. And guess where schools with small classes taking exams typically exist - in the private, independent sector.
So state schools (and state school kids) have been disproportionately and negatively affected.
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There is another massive element of unfairness in the system that I'd not recognised until yesterday.
The algorithmic moderation (almost always downwards) wasn't applied to schools where the cohort taking a subject was very small - in those cases the teacher assessment applied unmoderated. And guess where schools with small classes taking exams typically exist - in the private, independent sector.
So state schools (and state school kids) have been disproportionately and negatively affected.
Tell us how you'd fix it.
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Tell us how you'd fix it.
It shouldn't have happened in the first place.
The mess is the result of a catalogue of errors and failures over the past nigh on 10 years. Had the A level system not been reformed (by Gove and Cummings) to scrap the AS component, remove virtually all assessed coursework and rely pretty well exclusively on end of course exams, then schools and the exam system would have a wealth of independently assessed and moderated marks already in place. The teacher assessment for the final component would have been less significant and the moderation would be individualised - in other words against that student's marks to date. Not perfect but much better than the mess we are in.
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It shouldn't have happened in the first place.
But it has happened.
The mess is the result of a catalogue of errors and failures over the past nigh on 10 years. Had the A level system not been reformed (by Gove and Cummings) to scrap the AS component, remove virtually all assessed coursework and rely pretty well exclusively on end of course exams, then schools and the exam system would have a wealth of independently assessed and moderated marks already in place. The teacher assessment for the final component would have been less significant and the moderation would be individualised - in other words against that student's marks to date. Not perfect but much better than the mess we are in.
Or they could have actually held the exams.
But this is all in the past and can't be changed. How would you fix it now?
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But it has happened.
Or they could have actually held the exams.
But this is all in the past and can't be changed. How would you fix it now?
I don't think you can simply hand-wave, shrug your shoulders and say 'it's all in the past' - all sorts of people have been pointing out that the proposals from the government and Ofqual would produce the effect we've seen. Why did the government and Ofqual not listen, reflect and alter their approach. They had plenty of time to do so.
The easiest change would have been to ensure that an individual student is compared to their individual past record/prior attainment, not to a cohort (either previous years of their entire year'r prior attainment). Had this been done it would have remedied both major flaws - namely that a super-bright student who is brighter than any student in the past 3 years (in some cases just one year) cannot be given an A*. Secondly by doing this there is no need for a minimum cohort size, so small cohort in private schools would have been treated the same as state schools.
From where we are now there are no particularly satisfactory ways forward - the point is that had government listened over the past couple of months we wouldn't have been here.
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How would you fix it now?
The other key thing the government needs to do is to remove the cap on university places specifically to allow students whose grades are increased on appeal to be awarded a place even if this results in the cap being breached.
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But it has happened.
Or they could have actually held the exams.
But this is all in the past and can't be changed. How would you fix it now?
The British way....those not of Noble stock or private education in the fields harvesting beautiful
British crops.
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The French approach
https://amp.rfi.fr/en/france/20200722-french-university-covid-19-nurses-social-workers-health-professionals-students?__twitter_impression=true
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The French approach
https://amp.rfi.fr/en/france/20200722-french-university-covid-19-nurses-social-workers-health-professionals-students?__twitter_impression=true
Seems to be a sensible approach.
Firstly shores up university finances with the uncertainty of overseas students. But also reduces the number of school leavers not in further study, who will really struggle to find a job under the current economic climate. Surely much better for these young people to be gaining more education, training and skills than sat around unemployed.
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Looks like some other exam results in England that are due for release next week are going to add to the unease.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/14/gcses-2-million-grades-set-to-be-downgraded-researchers-warn
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The other key thing the government needs to do is to remove the cap on university places specifically to allow students whose grades are increased on appeal to be awarded a place even if this results in the cap being breached.
How do you magically increase the number of places on a course? I guess it would work for some subjects e.g. maths or literature, but there will be courses with lab work and other resource limited activities.
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Messier than Messi, messier than Messalina, messier than Eton Mess
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53795831
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Messier than Messi, messier than Messalina, messier than Eton Mess
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53795831
Too true!!! :o Two of our grandsons get their predicted GCSE grades on Thursday.
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How do you magically increase the number of places on a course? I guess it would work for some subjects e.g. maths or literature, but there will be courses with lab work and other resource limited activities.
Universities previously had no cap so could take as many students as they chose and resources allowed. For many courses resources aren't particularly important in terms of maximum numbers of students. But even for those that are the total number of student is the sum of home and overseas students. With the latter likely to be lower this year there is likely capacity to increase how students, for example to guarantee places to those appealing their results. But unless the government scraps the cap this cannot happen.
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Universities previously had no cap so could take as many students as they chose and resources allowed.
It's one thing to be allowed to take more students. It's another to be ready for them with just over a month's notice. Still, it's good that you now agree with my earlier assertion that there will be enough places. Compare and contrast with your reply number 18.
For many courses resources aren't particularly important in terms of maximum numbers of students. But even for those that are the total number of student is the sum of home and overseas students. With the latter likely to be lower this year there is likely capacity to increase how students, for example to guarantee places to those appealing their results. But unless the government scraps the cap this cannot happen.
Turns out the cap is "forecast growth plus 5% (https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/details-english-student-number-controls-unveiled)". That doesn't strike me as being hugely onerous.
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Turns out the cap is "forecast growth plus 5% (https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/details-english-student-number-controls-unveiled)". That doesn't strike me as being hugely onerous.
Guess what - I work in a senior position in a university - I am well aware of the details of the cap. Many universities will already have reached their cap and will have planned to do so over the past few months to mitigate agains the risks of a dip in overseas student numbers (remember as a rule of thumb you need two additional home students to make up for the financial loss of one overseas student.
So unless the government scraps the cap many universities simply won't be in a position to accept students whose grades have been increased on appeal in early/mid September. Sure those students may be able to find places at other universities (they may already have done so, but potentially not where they wanted to go and where they would have gone had they not been marked down by the algorithm).
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Looks like there might be an announcement this afternoon.
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Looks like there might be an announcement this afternoon.
Yup - that's what I'm hearing - what do you reckon:
1. Double down, tough it out
2. Full blown U-turn, going with teacher assessments as per Scotland
3. Some half way house, muddle
4. Announcement of delay to GCSE results?
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Yup - that's what I'm hearing - what do you reckon:
1. Double down, tough it out
2. Full blown U-turn, going with teacher assessments as per Scotland
3. Some half way house, muddle
4. Announcement of delay to GCSE results?
Twitter-sphere suggests it is 2.
In which case the government needs to scrap the cap on universities or many will be clobbered financially as they breach the cap through no fault of their own, but through the retrospective action of the government.
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Twitter-sphere suggests it is 2.
In which case the government needs to scrap the cap on universities or many will be clobbered financially as they breach the cap through no fault of their own, but through the retrospective action of the government.
I think 2 as well. Certainly that's what the rebel Tories seem to want.
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I think 2 as well. Certainly that's what the rebel Tories seem to want.
My worry is that the government won't be joined up enough to recognise that they need to address the university-side issue as well.
Currently universities made offers back in the Autumn in good faith on an assumption that A-level grades would broadly be the same as in previous years.
On Thursday last week when the results came out many universities will have firstly confirmed places to students who met the offer and then dropped a grade and worked via clearing to fill their additional available places. They will have planned to do this to come close to, but not breach the cap. A breach of the cap can mean a universities loses up to 15% of its tuition fee funding.
If the government now accepts teacher assessments retrospectively this will mean that many students who had previously failed attain the grades to get place will now have down so. If universities are expected to take these students, which seems fair, then it is completely unreasonable to clobber them financially for helping to sort out the government's mess.
Another knock on is that the very thing the cap was supposed to prevent will happen inadvertently - in other words the more popular universities taking in more students than in previous years (if they can), leaving those less popular universities struggling for students and therefore income. What will the government do - bail them out with transitional funding or let them fail? It may be, of course, that we will simply have more school leavers going off to university overall. Probably not an issue as there aren't going to be many other opportunities for these people with few jobs around. Better to allow them to gain higher levels of education/skills.
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Twitter-sphere suggests it is 2.
In which case the government needs to scrap the cap on universities or many will be clobbered financially as they breach the cap through no fault of their own, but through the retrospective action of the government.
Obviously 2. is the only workable solution. The "algorithm" is farcical and a complete misapplication of statistics.
Actually, IMV. the whole A-level system is .. er .. crap, and really has only gone backwards since Gove's stampdown on coursework.
Maybe they need Cummings' sign-off before any action can be taken?
https://www.thecanary.co/opinion/2020/08/16/dominic-cummings-blog-reveals-hes-behind-the-a-level-class-war/
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Seen elsewhere
Boris Johnson finally doing his A-Levels U-turn today but because he went to Eton it will be upgraded to an A-turn
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Wales switches to teacher assessments
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And the inevitable u-turn for England.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53810655
In the absence initially of any appeal process, and then no appeal process agreed,or viable , this really has been a mess. Not sure when looking at what had happened in Scotland that this was not done almost immediately. Not seen any answer to the question of caps yet.
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University cap to be lifted
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University cap to be lifted
Good news if true - where are you seeing this NS?
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Good news if true - where are you seeing this NS?
From The Guardian live blog (at around 5pm.)
University admissions cap to be lifted, government confirms
Kevin Rawlinson
The recently announced plan to cap the number of students English universities can recruit is to be removed, the Department for Education has just confirmed.
A spokesman said those pupils who missed out on places at their first choice institutions will be asked to go back and speak to them about reversing that decision if their new grades are good enough – and ministers will expect universities to be flexible.
In order to create extra capacity, the planned cap will not apply. This refers also to a limit on the number of students from England who can enrol at universities in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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Good news if true - where are you seeing this NS?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2020/aug/17/uk-coronavirus-calls-boris-johnson-intervene-exams-gcse-a-levels-crisis-live-news
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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2020/aug/17/uk-coronavirus-calls-boris-johnson-intervene-exams-gcse-a-levels-crisis-live-news
Thanks
Good news, although I'm not sure university admissions staff will be thinking this right now. They'll have worked long hours from the weekend before the A levels were officially released (that's when universities get the embargoed results) to confirm places and then fill any remaining places in clearing. Now that will all need to be revisited, as students who they thought they'd confirmed a place for jump ship as they've now got better results. The flip side being that other students come into play for a place as they've now got the grades for your university.
It will take quite a few days to unpick all this - not least because I'm not sure how and when the teacher assessed results will be formally confirmed if different to the moderated results. Also the UCAS system will be in completely uncharted territory.
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Looks like Williamson's credibility (not that he had much) is undermined from out of his own mouth.
Again from The Guardian - he claims that 'We don’t get any detailed data before schools but when we started to see concerning outliers... that’s why I felt action had to be taken.” and it has been noted this means that he announced his 'triple lock' before seeing any data outcomes: so either he is utterly useless in not checking before announcing, or he is lying (or, of course, both).
I'd imagine, as the say in these parts, that his coat is on a shoogly peg.
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Meanwhile if you were doing BTec....
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-49279219
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Looks like another anomaly of the algorithm used in England is the allocation of grades well in excess of what teachers assessed, and in some cases higher than would have been possible if the examination had been taken.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/20/schools-consider-appeals-against-gcse-grades-that-are-too-high
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Our two grandsons predicted GCSE predicted grades have worked out well for them. :)
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It's probably been mentioned and i'm too lazy to look back but how bojo missed this own goal after poor Nic-Nak got hammered for it I don't know. ::)
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53909487
The exams regulator has resigned. It is about time Williamson did too.
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Meanwhile Johnson talks rubbish
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53923279