English GCSE Results E-Petition

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Bewildered
Posts: 1806
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 2:29 pm
Location: Berkshire

English GCSE Results E-Petition

Post by Bewildered »

Could I ask for your support in signing the e-petition following the link below? 100,000 signatures will trigger a full enquiry. I believe this is a question of the integrity of the system, and thus extremely important to future generations taking GCSEs.

The Department for Education now have an English GCSE Results E-Petition you can sign to set up a full enquiry to investigate the fall in GCSE English results and to justify the differences between winter and summer awards in 2012.

English GCSE Results E-Petition

Please sign the e-petition using the link above and encourage others to do the same.

Thank You

:D

Bw
scary mum
Posts: 8840
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: English GCSE Results E-Petition

Post by scary mum »

Done
scary mum
Kesteven
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:02 pm

Re: English GCSE Results E-Petition

Post by Kesteven »

Why is this a sticky? To me this looks like partisan and political (small 'p') lobbying.

For what it's worth (and others are perfectly entitled to their opposite views) I welcome the stand being taken against the long term trend of continuous dumbing down of national educational qualifications. A line has been drawn. And credit to this government for doing so.
scary mum
Posts: 8840
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: English GCSE Results E-Petition

Post by scary mum »

I would think everyone supports the halt to "dumbing down" - although dumbing down is a bit of a partisan and political statement. Having seen DD sit GCSEs this summer I would say that they have not been dumbed down (with, perhaps, the exception of science). The rise in grades is largely due to constant re-sitting, and teaching to the test, as well as better teaching. The point about this summer's exams is that students were given lower grades for the same piece of work, of the same quality, marked at a different times. I feel strongly about this, in spite of the fact that DD achieved a high grade for the particular piece of work in question (and not so high in other parts of the GCSE :roll: ).

Let the debate begin (sorry Bewildered)...
scary mum
SteveDH
Posts: 464
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:30 pm
Location: Harrow

Re: English GCSE Results E-Petition

Post by SteveDH »

Kesteven wrote:Why is this a sticky? To me this looks like partisan and political (small 'p') lobbying.

For what it's worth (and others are perfectly entitled to their opposite views) I welcome the stand being taken against the long term trend of continuous dumbing down of national educational qualifications. A line has been drawn. And credit to this government for doing so.
A line was drawn
teachers and pupils were told if they reached the line they would get a grade C
the quality of work required to cross the line was clearly defined and documented.
everyone was happy, pupils and teachers all knew their goals.
some pupils crossed the line early in December.
pupils teachers and exam boards were happy.. some statisticians at Ofqual were not..

some letters were sent and secretly because of some statistics the line was moved....
Looking for help
Posts: 3767
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 11:12 am
Location: Berkshire

Re: English GCSE Results E-Petition

Post by Looking for help »

There may or may not be a case to answer about raising the level of difficulty of GCSEs or A Levels but what this shower did was to change the goal posts mid course affecting some students and not others. It was nonsensical.

Off to sign, hesitates slightly because no-one in this house did GCSEs this year, but oh whatever, it is signed :D
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: English GCSE Results E-Petition

Post by yoyo123 »

I have signed because of teh fact that it was not a level playing field..

taking exam in January or summer is a whole different agenda, but the goalposts should be the same...change it next year, but not half way through the academic year. That, for me, is the clincher
stevew61
Posts: 1786
Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:54 pm
Location: caversham

Re: English GCSE Results E-Petition

Post by stevew61 »

My DS1 did fine this year but I will sign to support those that became political sacrificial lambs. What price a vote or a headline?

When you start a two year GCSE course you enter a contract and both sides should keep to the deal.
Looking for help
Posts: 3767
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 11:12 am
Location: Berkshire

Re: English GCSE Results E-Petition

Post by Looking for help »

Come on mods - where is the like button :D
bromley mum
Posts: 1061
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2009 5:04 pm

Re: English GCSE Results E-Petition

Post by bromley mum »

No one here did GCSEs this year but I will sign because what happened wasn't fair. How can it be, if the marks you get depended on when you sat the exam. Those doing it in Jan scored better than those who sat in June. Would you, for example, say that as the times in the first heat of the 100 m race were better than ever so now when the second heat has started lets increase the distance they have to run to 200 m! If it isn't fair to increase the distance they have to run in the second heat of the race, then how can it be fair to change the grade boundary in June? I don't buy the dumbing down of exams either. If the reason DC are scoring better marks every year is because exams get easier every year, then someone please explain to me why the pass mark in 11plus exams keeps getting higher year after year. Are these being dumbed down too?

Ok, rant over!
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