Are A levels meaningless in 2021?
Discussion
APontus said:
Results day...
Huge growth in A and A* grades.
37% have 3 As.
How can you distinguish between pupils?
Only 6% up on last year in England, which surprises me slightly given the methods that schools were allowed to use to determine grades. Huge growth in A and A* grades.
37% have 3 As.
How can you distinguish between pupils?
(The exams had to be done in school in exam conditions, but the students were allowed to know which parts of the syllabus the questions would be about).
The exam boards did do random sampling which involved seeing the physical exam papers, as well.
Totally meaningless. A and A* grades now at over 44%. Universities and employers will soon have to set entrance exams (some already do).
We really need to rethink the reasons why we set exams. Are they a pat on the back for making through your A levels or a means of determining ability between students?
We really need to rethink the reasons why we set exams. Are they a pat on the back for making through your A levels or a means of determining ability between students?
otolith said:
Not meaningless. But not great.
The biggest losers in this will be the exceptional kids from disadvantaged backgrounds who will now come out with the same grades as a lot of mediocre students who will have other advantages.
"70% of entries at private schools received A grades or higher, compared with 39% at comprehensives and 42% at academies. The biggest losers in this will be the exceptional kids from disadvantaged backgrounds who will now come out with the same grades as a lot of mediocre students who will have other advantages.
There were also wide disparities in regional results. While more than 47% of entries in London and the south of England received A* or A, 39% of those in the north-east of England did so."
when I did my exams in the early eighties I remember being told by the Head that 10% of grades would be at A and that this was moderated to always be so to maintain the validity of the grade system.
on this mornings news they said last year 25% were As or above and this year 50% will be A or above grades.
So although A levels aren't meaningless, I recent did most of the science questions in the last couple of years papers and I would say they are harder now than they used to be.
Giving 50% A means it is effectively now a single pass mark examination rather than an effective grading system for children
on this mornings news they said last year 25% were As or above and this year 50% will be A or above grades.
So although A levels aren't meaningless, I recent did most of the science questions in the last couple of years papers and I would say they are harder now than they used to be.
Giving 50% A means it is effectively now a single pass mark examination rather than an effective grading system for children
sim72 said:
Only 6% up on last year, which surprises me slightly given the methods that schools were allowed to use to determine grades.
I'm guessing you are forgetting the farce of how the grades were assigned last year?It will be interesting to see if these grades become normalised or if there is a reset year.
sim72 said:
otolith said:
Not meaningless. But not great.
The biggest losers in this will be the exceptional kids from disadvantaged backgrounds who will now come out with the same grades as a lot of mediocre students who will have other advantages.
"70% of entries at private schools received A grades or higher, compared with 39% at comprehensives and 42% at academies. The biggest losers in this will be the exceptional kids from disadvantaged backgrounds who will now come out with the same grades as a lot of mediocre students who will have other advantages.
There were also wide disparities in regional results. While more than 47% of entries in London and the south of England received A* or A, 39% of those in the north-east of England did so."
I was just looking for last year's thread on the same....
75% more getting top grades than pre-pandemic. All prophesied when the debacle last year happened.
This is very, very bad news for everyone in this country IMO.
The chances that our exam takers suddenly became significantly better during the pandemic will be near zero. And as a country we need to be measuring ourselves on a global basis.
From here on in there will be huge pressure for the grade inflation to continue based on the "it's not fair" bulls
t we see increasingly.
This won't end well.
Williamson is incompetent and govt at large needed more backbone last year. We as the citizens of the country shouldn't have whined to the high heavens last year too - that's what drove a weak willed govt.
I see two outcomes (OK three) :
1) exams go back to normal for the next cohort, grades drop off and the last two cohorts get seen as a massive anomaly in the market. (I'd see that disadvantagimg them far more than the issues with the original approach last year, but who knows).
2) exams go back to normal but grade inflation pressure is brought to bear. The country gets a huge amount of internal academic super heroes but we continue to slide down international rankings.
(3) exams go back to normal and either way grades keep going through the roof and we rise meteorically up international rankings.......)
OK, maybe a 4th.Williamson the genius decides we no longer need exams as they're old fashioned.
This topic will ultimately prove one of the worst outcomes of the pandemic. It will have massive impacts in all sorts of areas for decades.
75% more getting top grades than pre-pandemic. All prophesied when the debacle last year happened.
This is very, very bad news for everyone in this country IMO.
The chances that our exam takers suddenly became significantly better during the pandemic will be near zero. And as a country we need to be measuring ourselves on a global basis.
From here on in there will be huge pressure for the grade inflation to continue based on the "it's not fair" bulls
t we see increasingly. This won't end well.
Williamson is incompetent and govt at large needed more backbone last year. We as the citizens of the country shouldn't have whined to the high heavens last year too - that's what drove a weak willed govt.
I see two outcomes (OK three) :
1) exams go back to normal for the next cohort, grades drop off and the last two cohorts get seen as a massive anomaly in the market. (I'd see that disadvantagimg them far more than the issues with the original approach last year, but who knows).
2) exams go back to normal but grade inflation pressure is brought to bear. The country gets a huge amount of internal academic super heroes but we continue to slide down international rankings.
(3) exams go back to normal and either way grades keep going through the roof and we rise meteorically up international rankings.......)
OK, maybe a 4th.Williamson the genius decides we no longer need exams as they're old fashioned.
This topic will ultimately prove one of the worst outcomes of the pandemic. It will have massive impacts in all sorts of areas for decades.
Ashfordian said:
sim72 said:
Only 6% up on last year, which surprises me slightly given the methods that schools were allowed to use to determine grades.
I'm guessing you are forgetting the farce of how the grades were assigned last year?It will be interesting to see if these grades become normalised or if there is a reset year.
This year's cohort have had two major advantages - *knowing* that the mocks would directly affect their grade, and being given directions as to the subects that would arise in those mocks.
Also, in many cases, the "mocks" were on a restricted subject set because schools did not have time to teach the entire syllabus (that was certainly the case for my subject).
Murph7355 said:
I was just looking for last year's thread on the same....
75% more getting top grades than pre-pandemic. All prophesied when the debacle last year happened.
This is very, very bad news for everyone in this country IMO.
The chances that our exam takers suddenly became significantly better during the pandemic will be near zero. And as a country we need to be measuring ourselves on a global basis.
From here on in there will be huge pressure for the grade inflation to continue based on the "it's not fair" bullst we see increasingly.
This won't end well.
Williamson is incompetent and govt at large needed more backbone last year. We as the citizens of the country shouldn't have whined to the high heavens last year too - that's what drove a weak willed govt.
I see two outcomes (OK three) :
1) exams go back to normal for the next cohort, grades drop off and the last two cohorts get seen as a massive anomaly in the market. (I'd see that disadvantagimg them far more than the issues with the original approach last year, but who knows).
2) exams go back to normal but grade inflation pressure is brought to bear. The country gets a huge amount of internal academic super heroes but we continue to slide down international rankings.
(3) exams go back to normal and either way grades keep going through the roof and we rise meteorically up international rankings.......)
OK, maybe a 4th.Williamson the genius decides we no longer need exams as they're old fashioned.
This topic will ultimately prove one of the worst outcomes of the pandemic. It will have massive impacts in all sorts of areas for decades.
Agree with this post, except the last sentence. 75% more getting top grades than pre-pandemic. All prophesied when the debacle last year happened.
This is very, very bad news for everyone in this country IMO.
The chances that our exam takers suddenly became significantly better during the pandemic will be near zero. And as a country we need to be measuring ourselves on a global basis.
From here on in there will be huge pressure for the grade inflation to continue based on the "it's not fair" bulls
t we see increasingly. This won't end well.
Williamson is incompetent and govt at large needed more backbone last year. We as the citizens of the country shouldn't have whined to the high heavens last year too - that's what drove a weak willed govt.
I see two outcomes (OK three) :
1) exams go back to normal for the next cohort, grades drop off and the last two cohorts get seen as a massive anomaly in the market. (I'd see that disadvantagimg them far more than the issues with the original approach last year, but who knows).
2) exams go back to normal but grade inflation pressure is brought to bear. The country gets a huge amount of internal academic super heroes but we continue to slide down international rankings.
(3) exams go back to normal and either way grades keep going through the roof and we rise meteorically up international rankings.......)
OK, maybe a 4th.Williamson the genius decides we no longer need exams as they're old fashioned.
This topic will ultimately prove one of the worst outcomes of the pandemic. It will have massive impacts in all sorts of areas for decades.
If we have an Education Secretary with some backbone then exams will be restored to pre-pandemic rigour within a couple of years.
The outcome then will be a few years with inflated grades, which is manageable. Employers will probably just apply a discount to the pandemic years' grades.
Murph7355 said:
1) exams go back to normal for the next cohort, grades drop off and the last two cohorts get seen as a massive anomaly in the market. (I'd see that disadvantagimg them far more than the issues with the original approach last year, but who knows).
2) exams go back to normal but grade inflation pressure is brought to bear. The country gets a huge amount of internal academic super heroes but we continue to slide down international rankings.
(3) exams go back to normal and either way grades keep going through the roof and we rise meteorically up international rankings.......)
They aren't going back to normal next year as the cohort taking the exams have also been badly hit in terms of loss of face-to-face teaching time (9 weeks in Year 10/12, plus however many weeks they'd been sent home for bubble self-isolation)2) exams go back to normal but grade inflation pressure is brought to bear. The country gets a huge amount of internal academic super heroes but we continue to slide down international rankings.
(3) exams go back to normal and either way grades keep going through the roof and we rise meteorically up international rankings.......)
It appears the plan at the moment is that the exams will be taken as "normal", but the students are given prior notice of the specific topics which the exams will cover.
Sn1ckers said:
Totally meaningless. A and A* grades now at over 44%. Universities and employers will soon have to set entrance exams (some already do).
We really need to rethink the reasons why we set exams. Are they a pat on the back for making through your A levels or a means of determining ability between students?
It goes on at Universities too - "The government has called repeatedly for a crackdown on university grade inflation, but, according to new data, the proportion of students with firsts has risen from 16% in 2010-11 to 30% in 2018-19, while the proportion of those gaining either a first or a 2:1 has climbed from 67% to 79%." ( link) and who can blame them when the students are paying £30k in tuition fees for their degree. No Uni will be the one to start being harsher on exam results.We really need to rethink the reasons why we set exams. Are they a pat on the back for making through your A levels or a means of determining ability between students?
As for the A-Levels, I think we'll have 'pandemic grades' and 'pre-pandemic grades' where a 2019 A will be worth more than a 2020/21 A in the eyes of employers, universities, etc.
It's not fair on the kids who worked hard, the under 25s really have been screwed over the hardest throughout lockdown.
2020-2021 will be remembered as the time we completely messed up the education system not to mention our economic and monetary policy.
All because loads of cowrds and wimp had to hide under their beds because of a not so nasty bug. I think we should all give ourselves a pat on the back and maybe a A+ because why not it seems everyone else is being given one.
All because loads of cowrds and wimp had to hide under their beds because of a not so nasty bug. I think we should all give ourselves a pat on the back and maybe a A+ because why not it seems everyone else is being given one.
Byker28i said:
As meaningless as last year?
When I went to school, only the top 5% or so went to Uni, others did Poly's or apprentices, but nearly every job now asks for a degree...
Degrees are becoming much like the ‘A’ level problem. Too common to hold the value that was once recognised.?When I went to school, only the top 5% or so went to Uni, others did Poly's or apprentices, but nearly every job now asks for a degree...
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