GCSE English Results Controvesy

SwingsitlikeHogan

SwingsitlikeHogan

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And so with the GCSE in English being made harder - and/or marked more strictly - this years cohorts find that they are not as smart as they thought. Well actually they are as smart as they are - they just don't like finding out that that isn't A or A* smart.

Lots of noise - lots of upset - '...it should not have been done in one fell swoop' complains one not so smart as he thought student. But I'm not sure how he might suggest it could otherwise be done. Quoting a well know English playwright...

If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well
It were done quickly:

At least then potential employers are clear...the results of the class of 2012-13 will look worse than those of previous years - but they may be just as smart.

And for doing A-levels. Well should make no difference as it will be known by all that the GCSE grade will be lower and that will be accomodated.

So where is the problem - other than the 'not so smart as I thought I was' students; the teachers and governors of schools whose A*-C results are not quite as shiny as they were; and the parents who discover that they can't go on endlessly about how brilliant their A/A* offspring is and how they go to such a high achieving school.

It's a resetting of a standard - it's not a personal slight on anyone. Just accept it; get over it; and get on with your education
 
SwingsitlikeHogan said:
other than the 'not so smart as I thought I was' students; the teachers and governors of schools whose A*-C results are not quite as shiny as they were; and the parents who discover that they can't go on endlessly about how brilliant their A/A* offspring is and how they go to such a high achieving school.
Click to expand...

My daughter goes to a school where the parents go on endlessly about how brilliant their A/A* offspring is
She is there on a scholarship. She got an A* and many did not. She worked hard, whereas half her class would rather be presented A*s on a silver platter, served up by downtrodden teachers who spend 50% more time working/teaching than they should because the customer comes first and pays the fees.
I hate the system. I find the whole thing depressing. To those that got a grade lower - too bad. Tell Daddy you were too lazy and too spoiled to put in the effort, but you still expect to sail through life and earn stupid amounts of money in another 5 or 6 years because you are special. Meanwhile, normal kids who work hard are still getting a bucket load of A*s because they have put in the effort.
I salute them. :)
 
My youngest daughter has just had her GCSE results, she lives in the "Buckinghamshire bubble", passed the11+ and goes to the local Girls High School. She is clever, self motivated and worked hard to get 4 A*, 3 A, & 3 B grades and will go on to do A levels there.

Her school has a rule that to get into 6th form, you need a minimum B in both English Language and Maths. Fair enough, but I have heard that a couple of her friends only got high C grades in English and have been told they cannot enter 6 th form , despite other grades at A and A*. Either they are unaware of the controversy regarding the harsher marking or are refusing to acknowledge or make allowances for it.

One of the girls failed by 1 ums mark which is less than a gnats doo dar.

It's been reported in the papers that employers etc will make allowances for the new marking scheme. Clearly this is not the case and some very promising hard working kids are having to totally rehash their further education plans as a result
 
Obviously I would not comment on any individual's performance but this new, harsher regime was long overdue.

Each year the overall grades were increasing at an implausible rate. I accept that teaching standards have improved but refuse to believe that the improvement in grades was commensurate with better practices.

Increased emphasis on coursework and resultant devaluing of the exams has previously given rise to pupils achieving results that they, previously, might not have expected.

In itself there is nothing wrong with this but it has further fueled the surge in numbers of pupils wishing to enter higher education. Again that may not seem a problem but it is, in my opinion, the cruelest trick played on our young people in the post WW II period.

The line that they have been consistently fed is that a degree is, in itself, the gateway to a great career in whatever field they choose but in many cases this has proved to not be the case.

A graduate entering the job-market at 21 or 22 is still going to require the same "basic" training as a school-leaver aged 16 or 18. True that graduate may be able to pass more quickly through that initial period than otherwise and may halve other attributes that he or she can bring to the task, conversely, however, the graduate lacks "on the job" experience.

Obviously the professions and certain other areas will generally continue to seek graduate entrants, particularly if their degree has some relevance to the career but for many others at 16 or 18 it might be better to consider vocational training and work experience.
 
So have exams got harder ? And now people are getting lower results because its harder ?

Have no issues with making the exams harder

But 6th forms need to understand with exams being harder then grades will be lower

If someone passes a GCSE ( is C still a pass ? ) then surely they should be able to continue in further education - as long they have the required passes

S
 
I took my English O level (that ages me) a year early and got a grade A. As a result got put forward for an A/O English Literature(advanced O level - an intermediate one year course between the O and A's) and got a B in that too. On the downside, being in express English the school put me in express maths. That was like Russian and I failed the O level in grand fashion. Got put in a CSE class with a teacher use to teaching the real trouble makers and don't want to be here's and he clicked a light bulb in my head. CSE grade 1 with a 98% score

Personally I'd like to get back to the level of difficulty I had when I did my exams, when a pass meant something and more importantly the qualifications held some weight with prospective employers.
 
And at the end of the day most employers unfortunately don't give a rats arse about your qualifications and would rather see what you have achieved in the workplace. So hope for all still.
 
jp5 said:
And at the end of the day most employers unfortunately don't give a rats arse about your qualifications and would rather see what you have achieved in the workplace. So hope for all still.
Click to expand...

Nope, not with GCSEs anyway.
 
I know one young man who has just taken 'Double PE' A Level for the second re-sit and another that has re-sat Media Studies and Geography. These people want to get into Uni. WHY! for Pete's sake, they will probably drop out or end up with a 2.2 subject that will be of no practical use and carry a shed load of debt that they will never pay off.

Are we lowering the youth unemployment stats or are we encouraging Graduate minimum wage fodder!
 
PhilTheFragger said:
My youngest daughter has just had her GCSE results, she lives in the "Buckinghamshire bubble", passed the11+ and goes to the local Girls High School. She is clever, self motivated and worked hard to get 4 A*, 3 A, & 3 B grades and will go on to do A levels there.

Her school has a rule that to get into 6th form, you need a minimum B in both English Language and Maths. Fair enough, but I have heard that a couple of her friends only got high C grades in English and have been told they cannot enter 6 th form , despite other grades at A and A*. Either they are unaware of the controversy regarding the harsher marking or are refusing to acknowledge or make allowances for it.

One of the girls failed by 1 ums mark which is less than a gnats doo dar.

It's been reported in the papers that employers etc will make allowances for the new marking scheme. Clearly this is not the case and some very promising hard working kids are having to totally rehash their further education plans as a result
Click to expand...

Well maybe they are not quite as good at English as they thought - and maybe their school could have adjusted their requirements - so why blame the messenger (the grade).
 
Liverpoolphil said:
So have exams got harder ? And now people are getting lower results because its harder ?

Have no issues with making the exams harder

But 6th forms need to understand with exams being harder then grades will be lower

If someone passes a GCSE ( is C still a pass ? ) then surely they should be able to continue in further education - as long they have the required passes

S
Click to expand...

Quite - 6 form 'entry' is completely in the gift of the school. I suspect that any school/6F college requiring a B in English may find the number of students with that below their expected numbers - and so they will relax their entry requirement. And if they don't have a fall off then clearly the B was attainable for sufficient numbers of students.
 
Further to the above, The School decided to get all the English Language GCSE papers remarked and guess what?

2/3 of them have gone up a grade or more, including my daughter from a B to an A.

Obviously I'm pleased, But part of me is fuming that the system is so obviously full of holes. Kids that had to move on to other educational establishments because they didnt get the required English grades are now 3 or 4 weeks into their new courses, they wont be coming back,

The exam system effects peoples lives and is therefore something that needs to be got right, first time, every time

action replay isnt any good.
 
jp5 said:
And at the end of the day most employers unfortunately don't give a rats arse about your qualifications and would rather see what you have achieved in the workplace. So hope for all still.
Click to expand...

agreed, these school quals are mostly for further/higher education. To get entry level to basic jobs basic three R's will suffice, and once you start in one job the school qualifications are totally irrelevant over experience
 
PhilTheFragger said:
Further to the above, The School decided to get all the English Language GCSE papers remarked and guess what?

2/3 of them have gone up a grade or more, including my daughter from a B to an A.

Obviously I'm pleased, But part of me is fuming that the system is so obviously full of holes. Kids that had to move on to other educational establishments because they didnt get the required English grades are now 3 or 4 weeks into their new courses, they wont be coming back,

The exam system effects peoples lives and is therefore something that needs to be got right, first time, every time

action replay isnt any good.
Click to expand...

Good news that your daughters result has been sorted

I hope the issue hasn't effected Her further education
 
Liverpoolphil said:
Good news that your daughters result has been sorted

I hope the issue hasn't effected Her further education
Click to expand...

Fortunately she just needed a B in English to get into 6th form, but a couple of her chums were originally marked as C in English and failed to get in, they have now been remarked as B's , but it is too late, they have started other courses at other schools/colleges

This is what i mean about these results effecting peoples lives
 
HomerJSimpson said:
I took my English O level (that ages me) a year early and got a grade A. As a result got put forward for an A/O English Literature(advanced O level - an intermediate one year course between the O and A's) and got a B in that too. On the downside, being in express English the school put me in express maths. That was like Russian and I failed the O level in grand fashion. Got put in a CSE class with a teacher use to teaching the real trouble makers and don't want to be here's and he clicked a light bulb in my head. CSE grade 1 with a 98% score


Personally I'd like to get back to the level of difficulty I had when I did my exams, when a pass meant something and more importantly the qualifications held some weight with prospective employers.
Click to expand...

I'm fairly sure that when I took 'O' levels you only achieve a pass or fail. I dont think there were grades.
 
There were grades when i took them ( last year of O Levels )
 
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