A level results day looming

[ChoppyGirl]

This is just getting worse. They should have just used the CAGs after Scotland announced they would.

We feel like we are doing the oaky coaky (sp?) here. CAG and mocks means DD hopefully goes to Surrey - as it is she goes to Bristol. We are in limbo and feel like we can’t really plan anything.

[WhereIBelong]

Just becoming a farce now. One of dds mocks was higher than cag, one of her cag higher than mocks. She is pretty much decided on taking a year out now as even following all the updated guidance is causing so much stress.

They think covid affected the mental health of the nation... this is just piling up stress unnecessarily in such an unorganised mean manner.

[Ds4ljs]

Originally Posted by WhereIBelong

Just becoming a farce now. One of dds mocks was higher than cag, one of her cag higher than mocks. She is pretty much decided on taking a year out now as even following all the updated guidance is causing so much stress.

They think covid affected the mental health of the nation... this is just piling up stress unnecessarily in such an unorganised mean manner.

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This is our situation too. I’m not allowed to type the rude words I want to type. It’s a shambles!

[WhereIBelong]

Originally Posted by Ds4ljs

This is our situation too. I’m not allowed to type the rude words I want to type. It’s a shambles!

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I had to think carefully about the words before typing, they bore precious little resemblance to the feelings inside!

[Vanillapod]

One of my friend’s daughters still doesn’t even have her results...
She’s not alone it seems. Not sure if it’s just her college or not?

*This is for BTec but they were due the same day and surely puts them at a massive disadvantage when it comes to clearing?

[Ds4ljs]

Originally Posted by Vanillapod

One of my friend’s daughters still doesn’t even have her results...
She’s not alone it seems. Not sure if it’s just her college or not?

*This is for BTec but they were due the same day and surely puts them at a massive disadvantage when it comes to clearing?

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Yes apparently there was all glitch in the system and some schools/ colleges had all their BTecs graded as Us. My friend’s son has to wait until Monday and there are no guarantees they will get their results then...poor kids.

[Guest]

I am sorry for so many young people who have been so disappointed by their results. My older two have both been off to uni, and I also volunteer as a mentor.

I appreciate that for some university may feel like a long way off and others may be upset because they cannot get to their first choice. For the latter considering putting it off and taking a year out I would suggest thinking this through really carefully. Jobs are in very short supply and world travelling for a year has its pitfalls at the moment too. I have had one at home twiddling thumbs for a year - it would have been better in the circumstances to have been at uni. So just think super carefully about what a year off in this context actually means. May be better to take a second choice place. Not ideal I appreciate.

My DD is now going off to somewhere she hadn't intended to go with lower grades than she would have wished. I suspect within a week or two that other unis won't even get a thought. I also think exam grades for this year will forever be tainted in a way, so not sure the lower grades will have such a spectacular impact either on future job prospects other than complete disenchantment with the system.

Good luck all.

[123]

Originally Posted by FamilyGWales

I am sorry for so many young people who have been so disappointed by their results. My older two have both been off to uni, and I also volunteer as a mentor.

I appreciate that for some university may feel like a long way off and others may be upset because they cannot get to their first choice. For the latter considering putting it off and taking a year out I would suggest thinking this through really carefully. Jobs are in very short supply and world travelling for a year has its pitfalls at the moment too. I have had one at home twiddling thumbs for a year - it would have been better in the circumstances to have been at uni. So just think super carefully about what a year off in this context actually means. May be better to take a second choice place. Not ideal I appreciate.

My DD is now going off to somewhere she hadn't intended to go with lower grades than she would have wished. I suspect within a week or two that other unis won't even get a thought. I also think exam grades for this year will forever be tainted in a way, so not sure the lower grades will have such a spectacular impact either on future job prospects other than complete disenchantment with the system.

Good luck all.

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See I disagree, I think good grades from this exam series will be seen as a great result. If you can go through what the kids have been through, and through an unfair standardisation process and still be sitting with As in your sticky fingers then you just be good and that will be recognised by employers in the future

[Mary A]

I have no personal interest in school exam results as DS has graduated from university this year, but just wanted to say how sad I feel for all the young people who have received their A level results and those to receive GCSE results on Thursday.

I hope for those who's results weren't as expected that their mental health isn't suffering from what appears to be such a badly handled situation!

[Nimbus]

All this is not new. This "problem" - the discrepancy between predicted grades and actual grades, plus the "standardisation" of results - has been around for years. It's merely become news this year.

Here's a research paper from 2016 stating that "the vast majority (75% of applicants) were over-predicted – ie. their grades were predicted to be higher than they actually achieved".

In comparison, the 39% that were over-predicted this year is actually a much better result than in the past.

It also goes on to say, "Students from disadvantaged backgrounds and state schools are more likely to be over-predicted, whilst those at independent schools receive more accurate predictions". So it's no surprise that, again, this year the grades of those from disadvantaged backgrounds are affected more than others.

Teacher assessed grades being higher than they should be is not a new thing. Although it's worth pointing out that this year the majority (around 60%) actually correctly estimated the grade the student would get.