http://helenmyers.blogspot.com/2011/08/gcse-and-level-june-2011-statistics-and.html
http://www.all-london.org.uk/2011_gces_numbers.htm
Helen Myers of the London branch of the ALL has commented on the recent GCSE results in modern languages. She picks up the key points, which, just to reiterate, are the fall in the number of entries again this year (one might have expected this to have bottomed out by now), the continuing issue of severe grading and the fall in the number of A* grades at GCSE, both in total numbers and as a percentage. The latter is incomprehensible; with a falling cohort we might have expected relatively more A* grades.
Then, of course, there's the continuing issue of a lack of A* grades at A-Level.
Am I missing something? Have the goalposts been moved a shade? One wonders how carefully the examination boards finalise their grading patterns and what factors come into play in their calculations. The results analysis sections of the boards' web sites are a great step forward, but there is room for more transparency if we are to have confidence in the system.
A new specification can take a while to bed in, so marking standards on those sections where judgment is required (Speaking and Writing) need to be looked at critically. Exam markers are human and, despite the boards' mechanisms to ensure accuracy, experience tells us that many errors are made, so re-marks will sometimes be the order of the day. This has been my experience so far.
Back to school on Thursday! Time to get into work mode.
http://www.all-london.org.uk/2011_gces_numbers.htm
Helen Myers of the London branch of the ALL has commented on the recent GCSE results in modern languages. She picks up the key points, which, just to reiterate, are the fall in the number of entries again this year (one might have expected this to have bottomed out by now), the continuing issue of severe grading and the fall in the number of A* grades at GCSE, both in total numbers and as a percentage. The latter is incomprehensible; with a falling cohort we might have expected relatively more A* grades.
Then, of course, there's the continuing issue of a lack of A* grades at A-Level.
Am I missing something? Have the goalposts been moved a shade? One wonders how carefully the examination boards finalise their grading patterns and what factors come into play in their calculations. The results analysis sections of the boards' web sites are a great step forward, but there is room for more transparency if we are to have confidence in the system.
A new specification can take a while to bed in, so marking standards on those sections where judgment is required (Speaking and Writing) need to be looked at critically. Exam markers are human and, despite the boards' mechanisms to ensure accuracy, experience tells us that many errors are made, so re-marks will sometimes be the order of the day. This has been my experience so far.
Back to school on Thursday! Time to get into work mode.
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