GSCE 2021?

Discussion and advice on GCSEs

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ToadMum
Posts: 11944
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: GSCE 2021?

Post by ToadMum »

PerpetualStudent wrote:I hadn’t realised there was an expectation that year 11 students would have some work for June. DD had her leavers’ assembly yesterday and that’s it. There is no provision of anything in June at all. The school must have thought of it at least briefly because they talked for a while of doing a couple of weeks of bridging classes but that got ditched when they suddenly announced the new set of exams.

Meanwhile we’re trying to come to terms with the ‘basket of evidence’ being used to calculate DD’s GCSE grades: it includes pieces of work they were told were for feedback only, and test results from year 9. It’s one thing to know that anything from year 11 might count and another to find random stuff from 3 years ago is part of your final grade.
If it's any comfort, I think I need to sit down with a pen, a large piece of paper and a strong cup of tea in order to hazard a guess at the likely outcome of DS2's A level Maths. And even then, I'm not sure that it will help much, since one of the elements is something that neither he nor I can remember him actually doing :shock:.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
PerpetualStudent
Posts: 527
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2016 10:52 am

Re: GSCE 2021?

Post by PerpetualStudent »

I think I might need something stronger than a cup of tea Toadmum :lol:

Would you like to hazard a guess as to how the 6 pieces of evidence will be weighted?

I quite understand the dilemma of the mystery piece of evidence. I confess I don’t have a file kept with every piece of DD’s work and records of her marks for each piece - and of course, there’s the problem of the work missed out on. DD missed a chunk of years 8 and 9 so having grades partially based on tests taken early in year 9 makes me very nervous. And of course, over lockdown sometimes things didn’t get done :roll:

It is hard to know, when evidence is likely selected because the class as a whole did well, how to find out if the item exists for your DC and/or if the marks were any good. Even once you know that, any challenge has to comply with JCQ guidelines…which are a complete mystery unto themselves. It’s a real shame since DD worked her socks off over last summer and did really well in the delayed year 10 mocks - none of which are being counted because of widespread issues with remote learning over lockdown.

I accept that these GCSEs (and A Levels) will always be surrounded with a haze of uncertainty. Once onto the next level, 6th form or university, will they still carry any weight long term?
ToadMum
Posts: 11944
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: GSCE 2021?

Post by ToadMum »

We've got the 'plan', so everyone knows what pieces of work / internal exams will be used for each subject - it's just the Maths one seems to include so many more things, so not just '50% assessment X, 25%Y, 25%Z', if you see what I mean. DS2 has just suggested that he must have got 100% for the particular piece of evidence of which he has no recollection, because it didn't actually exist and so he will have got '0/0', i.e. full marks...

One thing, though, the one mark I do remember 38% :roll: - was apparently just a piece of homework, not anything to be taken into account now. Which is a bit of a relief.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
PerpetualStudent
Posts: 527
Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2016 10:52 am

Re: GSCE 2021?

Post by PerpetualStudent »

ToadMum wrote:We've got the 'plan', so everyone knows what pieces of work / internal exams will be used for each subject - it's just the Maths one seems to include so many more things, so not just '50% assessment X, 25%Y, 25%Z', if you see what I mean. DS2 has just suggested that he must have got 100% for the particular piece of evidence of which he has no recollection, because it didn't actually exist and so he will have got '0/0', i.e. full marks...

One thing, though, the one mark I do remember 38% :roll: - was apparently just a piece of homework, not anything to be taken into account now. Which is a bit of a relief.
I admire your DS2’s logic :lol:

Good luck,
PS
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