Double dip dose of failure
Somewhere in the middle of March I snipped this comment. ASCL said that over a third of pupils failing to hit this standard means society must “surely question a system which sends out such a negative message to so many …
GCSE
Assurance of exams
I am not rushing to the defence of the exam boards, the perennial “results day” articles* rarely fail to direct some meagre attack or critique towards them. This year, the exam boards have put forward their own infomercials, here and here, to reassurance their various audiences. Furthermore, …
2016 GCSE Assessment Objectives
If you are a Curriculum Leader and have not yet seen the proposed Assessment Objectives (AOs) for your subject, then I recommend you do so. These AOs should act as the signpost rudder for your new KS3 curriculum, to ready …
More on GCSE reforms
When considering the 1-9 scales and fractured or phased introduce there are some interesting additional points raised by FFT. We are reminded that the “intervals between GCSE grades are not identical” and yet we still apply a consistent points scale …
Non examined assessment (in PE)
Arrangements for a number of new GCSE, A level and AS qualifications are “in train.” Awarding Organisations are preparing the content, Ofqual overseeing the assessment. On the issue of assessment, “controlled assessments” or “non-exam assessment,” it has been in the Ofqual crosshairs for a …
New and Improved GCSE grade system?
The Easter holidays? Holidays seems a little misleading, what with assessment announcements, policy documents and student revision sessions. What are we looking at? The current seven-point (A*-G) system will be replaced with a new nine-point scale. Crucially, Ofqual is / …
ASCL Leadership of Data Conference Feedback
I was very pleased to receive the ASCL delegate feedback today. Of the ten delegates that attended my ‘New to the data’ role, 6 rated the session as excellent, 3 good and 1 average. The comments really made me feel …
Drive to the finish line #2
Hard Facts An afternoon crunching numbers on the Office for National Statistics gives you the hard facts of the value of GCSEs qualifications. Based on hourly pay differences, year differences and an inflated 50 year work life, examples were contextualised and …