Exams ruling sparks outrage (From Darlington and Stockton Times)
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Exams ruling sparks outrage
8:00am Saturday 1st September 2012 in News
By Barry Nelson, Health Editor
SCHOOLS in the region last night reacted angrily after exams watchdog Ofqual rejected claims that GCSE English papers were marked too harshly this summer.
The regulator said January’s English papers were graded generously, but found that the June grade boundaries were properly set and pupils’ work properly graded.
Ofqual offered early resits to students, but headteachers immediately criticised the findings, with some warning they could still mount a legal challenge over the results, which saw thousands of youngsters narrowly miss out on a C grade pass.
Jackie Gent, headteacher at Bishop Barrington School, in Bishop Auckland , where 12 pupils missed a C grade by small margins, described Ofqual’s report as “utterly appalling”.
She said: “These children had worked so hard, with some facing particularly challenging personal circumstances, and they deserved so much better.
“As Bishop Barrington is an 11 to 16 school, they were very worried about their acceptance onto further education courses.
“Ofqual’s offer of an opportunity for resit does not address the inequality of the same cohort of year 11 pupils being treated differently, simply because of the timing of the submission of a controlled assessment.”
She said that resits were impractical in many 11-16 schools because young people had now left.
The Reverend Canon Sheila Bamber, chairwoman of the governors of St Aidan’s Church of England Academy in Darlington, where about 50 youngsters unexpectedly received D rather than C grades in English, said: “This does little to reconcile the injustice experienced by those students affected.
“We continue to be very concerned about the lack of transparency in a system where such variance can occur from one exam sitting to another.
“The only hopeful news in the Ofqual statement is that they wish to engage with the education community at large to see how this can be avoided in future.
“It is just a shame that this was not done before this summer and then maybe we could have avoided having thousands of young people’s hopes for the future dashed.”
Ofqual came under fire from schools last week when heads and senior staff accused exam boards of “moving the goalposts” and marking this summer’s GCSE English exam more harshly than in January.
Teaching unions claimed that up to 65,000 young people who had been predicted to achieve C grade passes were given D grade fails.
In a statement last night, Ofqual concluded that the overall grades for this summer’s GCSE English exam were correct – but conceded that the same exam papers marked in January this year were “graded generously”.
Ofqual insisted that when exam boards came to set grade boundaries in June they were “better equipped”
to make judgements as there was more information available due to the larger group of students taking the assessment.
Chief regulator Glenys Stacy said: “The issue is not the June, but the January boundaries.
“Again, examiners used their best judgement in setting these boundaries, but they had less data and information to work with.
“Most candidates were not sitting at the time, they were waiting for June, and because they were new qualifications, examiners could not rely so much on direct comparisons with the past.
“As a result, those grade boundaries were set generously.”
The Association of School and College Leaders warned it could still begin a legal challenge against grade boundary changes on the grounds that it had disadvantaged certain groups of students.
General secretary Brian Lightman said: “We are actively considering what legal challenge would be a way of dealing with this, although we would much prefer to solve this through other means.
“What we are seeking to do here is get justice for young people who have been badly affected by systemic failures that are not of their making.”
Comments(38)
David Lacey
says...
12:02pm Sat 1 Sep 12
miketually
says...
12:28pm Sat 1 Sep 12
Traser
says...
1:19pm Sat 1 Sep 12
What is the solution? Improve GCSE grades so that the governing bodies can then vote the headteachers their annual pay rise (even more if it is an academy!)
Meanwhile more and more kids who cannot read, write or add up!
David Lacey
says...
2:33pm Sat 1 Sep 12
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There is more to this than the issue of the June results, such as the teacher bonuses to which you refer. The results aren't going to be altered. Fact.
freelance
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2:37pm Sat 1 Sep 12
Traser
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2:37pm Sat 1 Sep 12
Gove is counting on headteachers to deliver his agenda in schools and so needs to keep them sweet!
As soon as the headteacher unions: NAHT; ASCL wade into the fray then Gove will announce a 'review' and another U-turn!
Mod
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3:05pm Sat 1 Sep 12
Kevin.
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3:17pm Sat 1 Sep 12
This is not about teachers or the government but children's future prospects being affected by inconsistencies.
My daughter came out with good grades in everything but missed her english C grade by 2 marks, less than 1%. She is not as one comment suggests someone who can not read as she has been an avid reader since a young age, reading several books a week, but, the affect of a D grade means she now looks as though she will be unable to attend college, which means she will not be able to continue to university.
The result is that her whole future is affected and her aims and ambitions for life
This is the impact of inconsistent marking and results, not teachers bonuses, and the reason why, so many are angered by the grade changes
David Lacey
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4:12pm Sat 1 Sep 12
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You aren't going to like what I've said, but sometimes the truth is painful.
oliviaden6
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4:51pm Sat 1 Sep 12
Kevin.
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5:11pm Sat 1 Sep 12
Rather comments from someone who likes to simply winge about what's in the media or about the government
There are thousands of children who have tried hard to achieve the highest grades they could and who have been let down by inconsistencies
It is this that's angered many and yes a grade C is not all she was hoping for and her other grades are high but it is the English that makes all the difference to future prospects for many of this years school leavers
Very few people are strong in every single subject again as shown in her high grades in other subjects, but the one they changed which makes the difference to being able to continue expanding her knowledge and abilities in those she is strongest at.
This is why there are so many 16 year olds disappointed to find that ths years marking was changed
Your probably not going to like my comments either but you sound a bitter, twisted, sad individual who likes to comment about things you know nothing about and that don't even affect you
There will be thousands of children and parents around he country who are now having to reevaluate their future oportunities
Education is about trying to give our young the best start in life they can have so that they can continue to prosper in their chosen route in life
miketually
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6:24pm Sat 1 Sep 12
Kevin, I'm surprised your daughter's prospective college isn't still taking her, even without the C grade. Has she contacted them directly?
Jolly Roger
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6:44pm Sat 1 Sep 12
NO calculators, computers etc etc and then we would see how good these kids of today really are.
When you go into shops they have calculators to do there sums, but the best calculator in the world is our brian which very few kids of today seem to use.
So come on down graade these kids more until they can do sums like in our day and the spelling is perfect or the ENglish be marked down.
Then just Then we might mke progress.
Traser
says...
7:12pm Sat 1 Sep 12
Also, as headteachers are treated more like football managers these days, their jobs will be under pressure if results fall. Strange that results did not drop across all schools.......only in some.............
As the government is idealogically driven to prove that their academies programme is a great success, wait and see if results for academies (especially those owned by the academy chains) are adjusted upwards!!!!
Homshaw1
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7:55pm Sat 1 Sep 12
Are GCSE's fit for purpose and giving a true indication of what employers and further education estabilishments can expect? No
Is the way it has been handled fair and reasonable? No
It needs revamping but Gove's and Ofqual proformance is worse than that of the pupils.
Without any warning they have raised the bar. If January's results were marked too leniently the same is probably true of results prior to January. Kids don't suddenly get thicker.
So some people are not so good at writing and reading. What do you want to do? Throw them on the scrap heap or give them a good beating? It won't do any good honestly.
simmo3578
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8:36pm Sat 1 Sep 12
freelance
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9:26pm Sat 1 Sep 12
For me ( not directly involved) it would be informative if those that refer to subjects were to name them all.
Maybe then we would all have a better idea of what standard of schooling is expected of todays children.
RobAycliffe
says...
10:57am Sun 2 Sep 12
Jolly Roger wrote:There are at least a dozen errors in your post. Let's hope it never returns to how it was in 'your day'.
You know what I would like the exams go back to how thy were in my day.
NO calculators, computers etc etc and then we would see how good these kids of today really are.
When you go into shops they have calculators to do there sums, but the best calculator in the world is our brian which very few kids of today seem to use.
So come on down graade these kids more until they can do sums like in our day and the spelling is perfect or the ENglish be marked down.
Then just Then we might mke progress.
David Lacey
says...
11:00am Sun 2 Sep 12
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With regard to the rest of your shallow comments, I too have a family and I am proud to say that my grandson is off to Nottingham Trent University in 3 weeks time to read history. He wants to continue and take up TEACHING. So - yes - I do know what I'm talking about, I AM involved and I feel sad that you are unable to take my perfectly legitimate observations on the chin.
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By the way, there are two "p's" in opportunities, so perhaps your daughter's poor English is hereditary.
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Fossildog
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5:12pm Sun 2 Sep 12
David Lacey wrote:Teachers do not get bonuses. Pay rises have been capped until 2015 at the earliest to 1.5% I think which is actually a pay cut when you take into account inflation.
Sensible comment at last Traser. Grade inflation has resulted in youngsters unable to read, write or do basic maths leaving school with GCSEs that flatter them. When employers find out that they have numpties on their hands time and money has to be spent on re-educating them. But it is no coincidence that the rise in youth unemployment matches the way that GCSE grades have inflated.
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There is more to this than the issue of the June results, such as the teacher bonuses to which you refer. The results aren't going to be altered. Fact.
Bob Bob
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5:33pm Sun 2 Sep 12
Pupils finding themselves in such situations may have failed to get onto their originally chosen course, and at the same time find themselves unable to find an alternative.
I dare say that had students in question been given ample warning of the change, they would have made different career choices. Possibly including which GCSEs they chose to take at 14.
There may or may not be a problem with “grade inflation” that requires action. However, making such decisions without understanding the full picture will potentially make a matters worse. I think the issue deserves a greater degree of root cause analysis and changes should only be implemented with plenty of notice after a thorough debate.
Longbowman666
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6:59pm Sun 2 Sep 12
For a long time the basics of English have been degraded by the 'just write it as you say it' brigade, an approach which I think has brought us to this point.
This brigade are also closely allied with the 'oh, you can't say 'fail' anymore, that will harm their self-esteem - better to say its simply deferred success' way of thinking, which in turn has led to the dumbing down of standards, not just in education but right across the board.
As the old line says, 'there's something rotten at the core'
I wonder how many kids of today would be able to pass an English 'O' level? Would be very interesting to see, wouldn't it? When all is said and done, the basics need to be mastered, as these are your foundations. Without such foundations what are you left with?
Oh yes, 'defered success'!
David Lacey
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7:37pm Sun 2 Sep 12
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Ofqual is an independent body. That means it is independent of Government.
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Get it?
marilyn49
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9:24pm Sun 2 Sep 12
Bob Bob
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9:25pm Sun 2 Sep 12
David Lacey wrote:Actually OfQual is a non-ministerial government department.
Excellent letter Longbowman. As for Bob - THE RESPONSIBLE BODY IS OFQUAL - GOVE IS NOT INVOLVED.
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Ofqual is an independent body. That means it is independent of Government.
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Get it?
Thus, it isn't just NOT independent of the HM Government, it is actually PART of the government.
What you actually mean is that, in theory, it is independent of political interference by government ministers.
I say in theory, because it still has to go to HM Treasury for its budget and it merely implements legislation passed by parliament. Parliament, as MPs bemoan, is dominated by HM Government. One might see here that there are plenty of sticks that an "interested" minister might wield.
It may or may not be the case in this case that OfQual independently decided to change grade boundaries. However, in my opinion it smells bad and, let’s face it, Gove has form (see English Baccalaureate).
However, I don't think that changes my substantive point that the changes were handled badly. It appears a large number of school-leavers have unnecessarily been caught out by last-minute tinkering.
Furthermore, I believe any issues with our exam system go much deeper than something that can be solved by changing grade boundaries. The whole league table system leads to schools “gaming the system” in various ways to inflate their position.
Besides teaching kids to pass exams above actually teaching real skills, other problems appear to include not entering pupils for exams if there is a risk they might fail and pushing pupils to take qualifications that aren’t necessarily suitable for them.
bingbong
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9:38pm Sun 2 Sep 12
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You don't think his constant sniping and biting at the education system in general (and at GCSE's and A levels in particular) had absolutely no bearing whatsoever on this situation.
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I actually don't think you are that naive, I think it's because it happens to be a Tory minister. I would like to wager a large sum of money that had this been the other way around and it had been a Labour minister you would have been calling for blood.
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For what it's worth,, I actually agree with Gove. It's just the whole thing has been handed in a completely cack-handed manner.....a bit like most of the Tory policies really.
Bob Bob
says...
10:01pm Sun 2 Sep 12
Sorry, but times change you know?
These days, the concept of not teaching a child how to use a computer, is as ridiculous as suggesting we don’t teach English or Maths at all.
By the way, you should learn about computers.
For example, you can’t beat a computer for number crunching ability. A computer can do more “sums”, of a level of difficulty that would make you cry every night, in the time you can blink than you could manage if you dedicated your life to it.
Where computers fall down is intelligence – the ability to turn piles of data into information, interpret it and make a decision. That’s were humans excel ;)
Longbowman666
says...
12:01am Mon 3 Sep 12
When I was younger I used to be amazed that my grandmother, as with most of her generation, used to be able to walk around a shop and tot everything up in her head, and have the right money even before the till was rung. Was this some kind of magic? No, it was basic maths, remembered by the repitition of times tables etc until you could do it in your head with ease, using the way that memory actually works in your brain to achieve it.
As with maths, so with English - basics first, then the rest.
The trouble is that we have suffered under decades of 'trendy wendies' who all thought that, in their 'brave new world', that they all knew so much more than those who'd gone before, and then inflicted those ideas on the generations that they taught. One such system that was brought in was the ITA, under which I was a sufferer. This was, at the time, heralded as THE system, the one to ensure all kids did well in English etc etc..
Did it work? Well, after approx 5 years and lots of money wasted in school budgets on textbooks for it, it was dropped...so patently it did not!
Progress? Of course we should strive to ensure that each succesive generation has better opportunities and teaching methods than the one before it - but these should build on what has been succesful in the past, not just simply drop it in favour of a new one just because it is 'trendy' at the time!
Maybe...just maybe, all those 'old fashioned' ways of teaching actually did work, and those who taught with them both knew and understood them far better than those who came after. All that is required is for those ideas to be adapted to the world around you.
Or, as the old saying goes :'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'
miketually
says...
9:24am Mon 3 Sep 12
My kids are currently both in primary school. There is still a huge emphasis on mental arithmetic, spelling, etc.
Perhaps the people talking about "in their day" don't really know what's happening today?
Longbowman666
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10:29am Mon 3 Sep 12
This then of course leads to futher problems.To illustrate- a colleague of mine recently took on two graduates at his firm. The company being quite small they handle most of their own paperwork etc as well as the engineering projects that they carry out. He was amazed to find that, whilst the graduates were skilled workers, they had not a clue as to how to write a half-decent business letter or how to spell! Now you could say 'well, what does it matter, there is spell checker after all' but this then relies upon the programme having the correct terms / words inputted in the first place, which as we all know, isn't always the case! (and yes, both had passed their GCSE english at C grade and above!)
Getting the basics right is like building a house - get the foundations right and the structure will stand. Get them wrong and the whole thing collapses!
David Lacey
says...
10:45am Mon 3 Sep 12
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By the way Bob, OFQUAL itself states "We’re not directly controlled by the government but report to parliament."
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As far as I'm concerned, OFQUAL is concerned and Gove is concerned that means they are independent.
marilyn49
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7:25pm Mon 3 Sep 12
David Lacey wrote:The salient word here is' directly'. No-one here is independent.
Letter writing is crucial to success in business. Those kids whose ambitions don't reach that far do not need to be skilled in this art. But then they should not be pushed into taking exams that have no relevance to their futures.
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By the way Bob, OFQUAL itself states "We’re not directly controlled by the government but report to parliament."
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As far as I'm concerned, OFQUAL is concerned and Gove is concerned that means they are independent.
Bob Bob
says...
8:49pm Mon 3 Sep 12
David Lacey wrote:Of course you expect the average man on the street to understand the subtle differences between an non-departmental public body (aka Quango), an executive agency or a non-ministerial government department?
Letter writing is crucial to success in business. Those kids whose ambitions don't reach that far do not need to be skilled in this art. But then they should not be pushed into taking exams that have no relevance to their futures.
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By the way Bob, OFQUAL itself states "We’re not directly controlled by the government but report to parliament."
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As far as I'm concerned, OFQUAL is concerned and Gove is concerned that means they are independent.
Far easier to just say it is "independent of government".
Tell you what? That's something I bet they don’t teach in school? ;)
David Lacey
says...
9:58am Tue 4 Sep 12
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I didn't learn that at school. I learned it from first hand experience.
RobAycliffe
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10:32am Tue 4 Sep 12
Though some Quangos became registered charities as a result of the 'bonfire' I don't think they can be both at the same time, though I'm willing to be proved wrong on that one. Can you think of an example?
Nomatterwhat
says...
1:08pm Tue 4 Sep 12
It is also my understanding that this happened only with Foundation assessment on which the highest grade allowed is a C.
Having said that, I marked Foundation papers this summer and not many were anywhere near a C grade. The standard of written English has declined over recent years and my solution would be to go back to basics at Primary school. Children study too much too early in less important subjects.. My daughter, when in Year 5, had to learn how an electrical circuit works. Why?
Year 6 children have to know what a subordinate clause is. Why?
I didn't know until I started teaching. There is so much unnecessary information forced on children that they cannot cope with the basics of maths and English.
I don't know if previous posters are aware but spelling marks on GCSE papers are a very small proportion of the final mark.
dawn patrol
says...
4:52pm Wed 5 Sep 12
Homshaw1 says...
8:45am Sat 1 Sep 12
Yes there is a problem with the image and standard of qualifications but it needs sorting in a more professional and fairer way.