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Post-16 Education and the new GCSE Grades

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Good news for students but another example of DfE incompetence in the introduction of new GCSEs.

 

A Grade 4 is now to be regarded as a "Standard Pass" and should be used as a C-equivalent for 6th Form/College entry and employers.

Earlier advice was that a Grade 5 would be needed. A 5 is now to be regarded as a "Strong Pass".

 

Students attaining a 3 or below in English or Maths will have to continue with resits while in education or training.

 

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/new-gcse-pass-lowered-grade-5-4-dfe-u-turn

Edited by cgksheff

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If they refused to change them though and were not seen to be listening you would call them autocratic and out of touch....

 

They had the same tweaking the first year GCSE's replaced O-levels when I sat them - there was fiddling with them right up to the point of the exams when we had been doing the courses and coursework for two years already. It's kind of inevitable I guess.

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What interests me is that there will almost certainly be a '100 club', which will be the absolute gold standard for schools I suspect. You would, by my maths, need 12 GCSE passes, mostly at the top grades to reach that score. I can see that being a real target for the best schools.

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If they refused to change them though and were not seen to be listening you would call them autocratic and out of touch....

 

They had the same tweaking the first year GCSE's replaced O-levels when I sat them - there was fiddling with them right up to the point of the exams when we had been doing the courses and coursework for two years already. It's kind of inevitable I guess.

 

I probably wouldn't but I take your point.

 

I just think that they have moved a bit too quickly and are "winging it".

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Is this another consequence of #Brexit?
Nope, other way around, judging from studies of the electorate :D

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I have taught English as a foreign language in comprehensive schools, Russia, for three years. Here are a few of my thoughts...

 

Grading in education can be a touching subject.

 

In Russia, pupils are mainly exposed to one system, the five-point system. Although any mark from 5 to 1 is officially accepted, the latter is used less commonly. This stringent structure is much more liable to subjectivity of the teacher, which makes it more difficult to directly compare pupil performance.

 

Schools in Scotland, for instance, are now moving away from the Standard Grade system towards the following structure:

 

A: Best possible grade, excellent (around 70% and above)

B: Above average grade, very good (around 60% - 70%)

C: Minimum pass, improvement needed (around 50% - 60%)

D: Close fail, (between 45% and 49%)

F: Fail/No Award, (less than 45%).

 

England, Wales and Northern Ireland are still using a unified system for grading secondary school qualifications. Generally, the secondary schools in the UK are using an 8-point scale of A-B-C-D-E-F-G, and U as 'Unclassified', or simply 'Unsatisfactory'.

 

The four-point system is one of the most recognised grading scaling in the United States, 0 being the lowest and 4 being the highest possible score. This numeric system can also be converted to the A, B, C, D, F grading system, where an F is typically equal to a 0 (i.e. Fail).

 

Also of note, percentage pass marks for each grade change from year to year depending on performance levels.

 

If you passionate about learning in innovative ways, then you will want to know the pass-fail system. A pupil either receives a P for pass, no matter what their passing grade may have been, or an F for fail. This means differentiation between the individuals who scores a 'four' and a 'one' is impossible as the only information available is that they both passed. All in all, it helps you be a better teacher (some parents will love you).

 

Don't forget about the eleven-point system with letter grading or even a 12-point grading scale, adding A+ at the top. This is tedious but it does provide an absolute calibration for me, 'cream skimming' the brightest kids when they join year nine or higher.

 

The E-S-N-U System can be found sometimes in lower grades of state secondaries, introducing a more 'playful' approach to younger children, but not much beyond third grade usually. As you can imagine, this is a bit more abstract system. In it, E stands for 'excellent', S stands for 'satisfactory', N stands for 'needs improvement', and U stands for 'unsatisfactory'.

 

Please note that marking is best seen as a dialogue between you and the pupil. Grade descriptors or comment-based marking provide you with this dialogue and can help to enthuse them. Even more, comment-based marking helps you to formulate your positive response.

 

Also, traditionalists in my country insist that red inks make it easier for children to spot errors and improve. But I think that the ticks and crosses on their homework should be in more soothing shades like green, blue, pink and yellow or even in pencil. Very often English teacher's red-pen response can spoil everything!

 

What an interesting reply. Thankyou for taking the time to write it.

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