Will the Government U-turn on A Level results like the Scots?

The Scottish predicted grades algorithm downgraded results in poorer areas by 16% vs 7% in richer areas. They U-turned and decided to trust the teachers' predicted grades.

Days later England and Wales downgrade the teachers' predicted grades for 40% of the results. Why? Good students have been given C and D grades that they had never got before. It is screwing with young people's lives, who are already getting the shitty end of the stick for many reasons.

Anger over 'unfair' A-level results

 

Because the scumbag 'nasty party' want to revert to education being an 'eliteist' privilege that only the rich will be allowed access to.

 

Well well well.

U-turn on A-levels and GCSEs as teacher grades used

I'm very glad they've done it. Makes a change for a Tory government to listen to the people for once.

 

Masks, No masks, masks / WFH, go back to work, WFH / One family, two families, one family bubbles / Keep in scholl, stay away from school, go back to school /....
Methinks we'll have more u-turns and twists like that junction in Birmingham the longer that the management of the current covid goes on

 

Only because the bastards were being pushed into it by their 'red wall' members who are now seriously in danger of losing their seats next time round.

 

Who are the 'red wall' members? I haven't heard of that expression.

I like David Lammy's view:

 

Yes, the Government has made an incredible number of mistakes, cock-ups and cover-ups on Covid. It amazes me the Tories are on 43% support vs 35% for Labour. Makes me think there's nothing they can't do, the electorate will still support them, and Johnson has a free hand to implement whatever policies he wants. It boggles the mind really.

 

'Red wall' members are scumbag 'nasty party' MPs who were elected only last December in what were previously Labour seats.

This scumbag 'nasty party' government have madeyet more 'u' turms !!!


Gavin Williamson apologises after U-turn over A-level results

PA
Aug 17th 2020 12:10PM
A major U-turn by the Government will see tens of thousands of A-level students in England receive increased grades, with Education Secretary Gavin Williamson apologising for the distress caused by the debacle.

Following criticism from students and headteachers and complaints from dozens of Tory MPs, grades will now be based on teachers' assessments rather than a controversial algorithm devised by regulator Ofqual.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Mr Williamson had previously defended the "robust" system, which saw almost 40% of grades reduced from teachers' predictions.





The change will also apply to GCSE results in England, which are due to be released on Thursday.

Mr Williamson apologised for the handling of the process, which followed the cancellation of exams due to coronavirus.

Ofqual's chairman Roger Taylor admitted the regulator had gone down the "wrong road".

A Level, AS Level and GCSE results will now be based on teacher-assessed grades.

Students will receive the higher of their teacher-assessed grade or their moderated grade. pic.twitter.com/9PNz166VyO

— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) August 17, 2020

The algorithm was meant to moderate the process of awarding grades, preventing teachers awarding what the exams watchdog described as "implausibly high" marks to pupils.

But it came under fire over its perceived unfairness and the way it particularly appeared to penalise bright children from disadvantaged schools.

Mr Williamson accepted it had produced more "significant inconsistencies" than could be rectified through an appeals process.

We now believe it is better to offer young people and parents certainty by moving to teacher-assessed grades for both A and AS-level and GCSE results. I am sorry for the distress this has caused young people and their parents

Gavin Williamson
Mr Johnson, who is on holiday in Scotland, held crisis talks with Mr Williamson and senior officials on Monday morning to discuss the policy shift.

Students who were awarded a higher grade by the moderation process will be allowed to keep it, but for many pupils the shift to teachers' predictions will see their grades improve.

Mr Williamson said: "This has been an extraordinarily difficult year for young people who were unable to take their exams.

"We worked with Ofqual to construct the fairest possible model, but it is clear that the process of allocating grades has resulted in more significant inconsistencies than can be resolved through an appeals process.

"We now believe it is better to offer young people and parents certainty by moving to teacher-assessed grades for both A and AS-level and GCSE results.

"I am sorry for the distress this has caused young people and their parents but hope this announcement will now provide the certainty and reassurance they deserve."

The Government has had months to sort out exams and has now been forced into a screeching U-turn after days of confusion. This is a victory for the thousands of young people who have powerfully made their voices heard this past week.

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 17, 2020

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: "The Government has had months to sort out exams and has now been forced into a screeching U-turn after days of confusion.

"This is a victory for the thousands of young people who have powerfully made their voices heard this past week."

Ofqual apologised for the "uncertainty and anxiety" suffered by pupils.

Mr Taylor said: "What changed was seeing the experience of young people receiving grades and being distressed at the need to then go and appeal grades where they felt they were wrong.

"This was causing anxiety for young people, it was putting an administrative burden on teachers at a time when they needed to be preparing for a new school term.

"Seeing this we realised we had taken the wrong road here and we needed to change course."


(PA Graphics)
The devolved administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland also announced they were moving to teacher-assessed grades.

The Scottish Government was forced into a U-turn last week after a backlash about the moderation system used there, giving advance notice of the chaos elsewhere in the UK, but UK Government ministers had previously insisted they would not follow the example set in Holyrood.

Mr Williamson had claimed there would be "no U-turn, no change" and a shift like Scotland would lead to "rampant grade inflation".

Last week Mr Johnson said the system was "robust" and "dependable".

In the end, this is the right decision from @ofqual and I hope that it gives reassurance to the thousands of pupils who have done their A Levels and those waiting for GCSE results. Chair of Ofqual confirmed that BTECs will be unaffected.

— Robert Halfon MP -Working Hard for Harlow- (@halfon4harlowMP) August 17, 2020
Robert Halfon, chairman of the Commons Education Select Committee and a Tory MP, said there would be lessons to be learned but "in the end, this is the right decision from Ofqual".

The move could cause further uncertainty for A-level students hoping to go to university, as an increase in the number of people achieving the required entry grades could cause trouble in the admissions process.

For others the change may already be too late if they have missed out on courses as a result of the lower grades awarded last week.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: "The big question remains as to why this decision has taken so long to come, as it may already be too late for some A-level students who have already missed out on their first choice of university and course."

 

Williamson 'incredibly sorry' for exam distress

So the education secretary is 'incredibly sorry' for the fuck-up. Why hasn't he resigned then? So far he's refused to comment on whether he will or not. Surely it's a no-brainer if he has any sense of decency about him.

 

Ever since John Major's scumbag 'nasty party' government, scumbags caught out by their incompetence or other peccadillos have refused to resign and have had to be officially sacked. Boris doesn't have the cojones to do that !!!

 

Something that should be dealt with at the polls - and they way things are going, that may be sooner than later

 

Which just goes to show what unprincipled scumbags all of the members of the 'nasty party' truly are !!!