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Eldest is in the middle of 6 weeks of assessments for his A levels. Grumpy as **** at the moment, especially after an apparently simple error cost him many marks in a Further Maths assessment last week. Not sure if it was cockiness or carelessness, but he needs 2 As and an A* for his first choice uni and he's suddenly very nervous.
Poor lad's got his driving test next week as well.
Anyone else walking on eggshells at the moment?
*cough*
I thought exams were cancelled.....
He says currently drowning under the work load of marking all these extra "exams"...
Mine's been pretty much constant exams ( or exam Heightened Awareness) for 5 months now.
He seems to be holding up ok so far, but TBH I'm a bit peeved for him they didn't just run the normal exams anyway ( though I appreciate that it wouldn't be as favourable for lots of other people)
Aye, teachers at the other end of the pressure of course.
Thanks for all you are doing
As expected, total chaos reigns, with the promised exam materials from the boards never turning up (WTF have the exam boards been doing with their time since January with no prospect of formal exams this year?), and teachers having discretion to set their own tests. In my daughter's school, this translates to bastard hard tests on barely-taught topics in some subjects, while others are just given the nod that required grades will be provided and not to worry.
Ofqual, as usual, have managed to screw up the landing with nearly a year's run-up, and the result will be massive variations between schools and even within schools.
Probably not as tetchy as yours as he has an unconditional for the course/Uni he wants. Of course that’s removed the little concern there was, to do any serious work for several months, and now he’s struck that some of these assessments are quite hard! I’m not a big fan of exams but I’m also not a huge fan of vesting all that responsibility in their own class teacher. However if they are going to go and follow any kind of “professional career” then understanding how to cope with stress, deadlines for things you aren’t properly prepared for, decisions being made on opaque assessment criteria etc is probably all good for them in the long term. I’d just rather not have to live with them while they go through the learning process!
However if they are going to go and follow any kind of “professional career” then understanding how to cope with stress, deadlines for things you aren’t properly prepared for, decisions being made on opaque assessment criteria etc is probably all good for them in the long term.
True. Getting categorically told you're not having exams back at Christmas, then just before Easter 'tough luck, there will be exams in a few weeks, what do you mean, you've not been revising?' sounds like a couple of workplaces I've experienced.
To be fair, mine kept going through lock down and home schooling, but I think he took his foot off the gas without a bit of healthy competition in the live classroom environment and got cocky/careless.
He's now realised that if you aim high, it's easy to fall short.
Anyway, just to add to the atmosphere at home, MrsMC has discovered that 14yo daughter has lied about some silly minor thing, and is planning on coming down like a ton of bricks later. Before going away for the weekend to do her caring turn for her parents, leaving me with two stressed and pissed off teenagers.
F.M.L 🤣
We have double the stress at the moment as we have Kid A doing A level assessments and Kid B doing GCSE assessments.
Pressure is on Kid A as he needs an A in physics, and his last monitoring grade showed a B1.
Kid B just needs 5 GCSE’s to get to art college, but with the last 12 months disruptions, has had massive anxiety episodes since starting year 11 in September.
I think the whole house will breath a sigh of relief in June.
2 going through it here (A levels / GCSEs). The one who is usually laid back is now stressed which manifests itself as grumpy / sarcastic, not helped by one uni not having got back to her yet so she can't make a choice on where to go or even what she needs to aim for. The younger one is also stressed but on the verge of 'F$%k it' and giving up / not caring as they should do enough to get into sixth form. Role on the end of May.
Ahem.
I did an exam on Monday.
It took 13 hours.
I've got assessments due. I'm 43, and got my phd 20 years ago. they set them and I demand to know what they think they are playing at.
I did an exam on Monday.
It took 13 hours.
Did you not twig when everyone else left the room after two?
Yep got a year 11 being 'weighed' daily it seems. I've never seen her so stressed - its criminal.
The UK education system is as disfunctional as its ever been and thats only partly down to Covid. Over successive goverments they have completely destroyed any vestige of 'love of learning' and created an Orwelian hell of continous assesment and observation for both pupils and teachers. I think its boardering on pschological torture now.
Over successive goverments they have completely destroyed any vestige of ‘love of learning’ and created an Orwelian hell of continous assesment and observation for both pupils and teachers. I think its boardering on pschological torture now.
I agree with the spirit, though having seen how things are handled at several different schools now, I sometimes wonder how much of the stress is teachers and parents projecting their own concerns onto already stressed children.
It certainly needs a root and branch overhaul, but we know how much additional chaos they create in their own right.
not helped by one uni not having got back to her yet so she can’t make a choice on where to go or even what she needs to aim for
Edinburgh? If so, my daughter got her offer through this morning so there should be something soon.
In our house:
* I teach A-level physics and GCSE (resit) maths, so am on one side of the system;
* My wife is deputy head in a primary so avoiding this mess, but dealing with different messes;
* Eldest daughter doing 4 A-levels;
* Youngest in Y10 with one TAG for a vocational course.
Fun times! Oh, and I'm Election Agent and candidate in a pair of council by-elections happening next week for extra fun times.
Anyway, just to add to the atmosphere at home, MrsMC has discovered that 14yo daughter has lied about some silly minor thing, and is planning on coming down like a ton of bricks later. Before going away for the weekend to do her caring turn for her parents, leaving me with two stressed and pissed off teenagers.
Not going to tell you how to parent. But Mrs Poly often over reacts to silly stuff kids do, so when I see her brewing up that sort of stuff, I say "let me deal with it", she gets to go off on her weekend without feeling she's just upset the kids, daughter and I get to have a civil conversation about how what she did nearly ended humanity, agree what we are going to do to fix it and what she's going to say to her mother on return. This "calmer" approach means daughter comes to me when she has a problem.
The UK education system is as disfunctional as its ever been and thats only partly down to Covid. Over successive goverments they have completely destroyed any vestige of ‘love of learning’
There isn't a "UK education system" there are 4 separate devolved systems. I'm not sure if the devolved ones are in a better state than England, because all the political parties like to claim the incumbent has always destroyed the system wherever they are. I'm not sure when there was ever a "love of learning" approach - perhaps for some but definitely not for all. However I suspect many teachers and governments would actually quite like to do away with big exams at the end of a course, but it then needs a structured system for assessment and moderation not reinvented on the hoof. The issue as I see it is the media/populus quite like exams - we had them so so should you.
We have also just heard from Edinburgh Uni this week. Son just needs one more B to do Sports Science there. Spoke to teachers this week and they're happy with his work which has improved compared to last year. He has an unconditional offer from Napier so we're fairly stress free. Apart from the taxi service of mum and dad being back to pre pandemic levels with sporting activities which has cramped our style a bit. But at least we don't have to worry about training getting in the way of studying too much.
However I suspect many teachers and governments would actually quite like to do away with big exams at the end of a course, but it then needs a structured system for assessment and moderation not reinvented on the hoof.
As a teacher, I like exams as it removes the emphasis away from the teacher "making sure" the students get high marks in coursework and on to the students doing the work.
I don't think they need to be at the end of the course, however. For A-levels, we could have modular exams sat in the January and May of each of the two years of study to pick an example not particularly at random...
Not going to tell you how to parent
Feel free - you're system is what usually happens here, but MrsMC took it personally today. Luckily she'd calmed down, and I will be "good cop" en route to gymnastics training this evening.
SQA are determined to ruin my health.
Spent an age writing an advanced higher question paper. Correct balance of questions, type of questions, grade levels and topics.
And the bastards are still saying no exams although the best vehicle of assessment is an assessment under exam conditions, covering the whole course, being of exam length, and an exam balance BUT definitely not allowed for them to sit exams. All exams must undergo verification and moderation and all results must be in by 25th June.
I think they'll be struggling for markers in the coming years as everyone is just broken.
SQA are determined to ruin my health
I hate them. And I really mean that. I hate what they do to kids, I hate the power they have over my professional life and I particularly hate how totally unaccountable they are. Im loosely pro independence but the evil corp that the SQA has become under the SNP is a real sticking point in them getting my vote.
I don't take issue with anything you say there. Certain sections of both the populous and the media (Sunday Times I'm looking at you) would be quite bereft without the stick of exam results to beat the poor begotten classes with. Private schools would wither on the vine without the holy Grail of 9s and 4 As leading to a guided Russell group path to glory.....you can't have any old idiots running the country you know, it has to be properly educated idiots.
SQA are determined to ruin my health
Wait till they drop the appeals process on us...
The nature of which process they will determine, despite having tried to abdicate all responsibility for this year's results.
I've marked and been a verifier and my contract with them said I'm not allowed to negatively comment on the SQA but they can't stick that where the sun don't shine. I've had good kids in tears because basically the evidence they will accept would be post Christmas ie more than 1 unit. They don't seems to understand the closing of schools.
They changed the rules last week.
I’ve marked and been a verifier and my contract with them said I’m not allowed to negatively comment on the SQA
Did I mention that I hate them? As an organisation they're a black box, edicts come out that have huge impacts on pupils and teachers but the workings of the machine are never revealed and it's a one way street, feedback is rarely listened to and if changes are made because of it there's never any acknowledgement.
The SQA are one of the worst things about Scottish education and if things are going to change their stranglehold needs to be broken but it's hard to see that happening.
Had my doctorate examination recently. I actually preferred it doing it online that in person.
Apart from the taxi service of
mum anddad being back to pre pandemic levels with sporting activities which has cramped our style a bit.
Amen! I'm almost more enthusiastic that he passes his driving test than I am his A levels. Not only do I do the lion's share of the taxiing, I have to do all the driving practice as his mum only has an auto license.
Yay, first big GCSE melt down last night. Induced by thinking she doesn't know enough for the multitude of tests next week. Having been told no exams back in January, what that actually means is more tests with upto 3 'not exams' each day and no study leave for last minute cramming. I feel it may have been better to have kept the exams, at least the kids knew where they stood with those rather than the mess they've got now.
its an utter shit show up here. The SQA have done basically **** all and the kids are not getting a fair shot. They will all be sitting different exams and have different grade boundaries. As they are doing the exams at different times some will do it before others and be able to share the questions. They have been well and truly shafted by the SQA. We are doing all the extra work of making the exams, marking the exams and moderating the exams plus any complaints will be levied against the teachers and all we are getting is £400 before tax while the SQA saves millions.
Kids are stressed and suffering.
Yeah, really feel for all our y11/y13 this year. They're all losing the plot.
Exam boards and the gov have been next to useless in advising us how to deal with the situation. We've got partially complete NEA (coursework) marked, but nobody will give us a clear answer on how. Exam board released their material which turned out to just be a pack of all the existing exam questions sorted into topics, which we do annually anyway. No new questions to use. Staff are making silly mistakes with the assessments because they're so snowed under, which is making it even worse for the kids. Exam boards still taking the best part of £100k off the school for exam entries, despite doing sweet fa. It's a state.
All we can do is try and keep the kids updated and just keep reassuring them that they will get the grade they deserve. I can't imagine any school basing centre assessed grades purely on the outcome of these ****ed together, half arsed assessments. It's not fair at all.
Of course, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place if the governing bodies actually trusted teachers and hadn't spent the last 20 years developing a culture of linking job security/pay/OFSTED explicitly to exam results.
As a department we are sending names of kids that we think are having their mental health impacted by this shit show, the not list is shorter.
In Scotland coursework doesn't count apart from the subjects where it counts. In an absurd twist (to those of us not specialists) is all kids were to work from home on computers/laptops/mobile devices BUT computing is a subject where the kids had to be in to do assignments.
Let's not forget SQA are always out of kilter with teaching. Couple of years ago we were getting course and assessment updates in November. Most teacher I know had had their classes sit an assessment before that point.
Our youngest is in S4.
Seems to be more laid back than ever. More hacked off that she's not getting study leave!
Parents evening last week all seems good, only subject she has trouble with is English but I think that is down to the teacher.
We are just letting her get on with it, seemed to work with our other two!
**** me. Currently sitting through my son's school's webinar on GCSE assessment and gradings. 45 pages of pre-submitted questions from South Manchester's most entitled and opinionated parents all boiling down to :
" What can I do to ensure Marmaduke gets the results I think he deserves, and who can I shout at if he doesn't?"
So much wish they had just done the bloody GCSEs
(PS, I'll be so pissed if my little darling doesn't get at least a 9 in his German 😜. )