Ofqual English Gcse Grading

[Max Power]

I find it strange that teachers unions are thinking of taking legal action over a change in the standards for grading the GCSE English Examination.

 

Many kids leave school with a pass in English but can't choose the correct use of words such as, there - their, where - were, roll - role etc.

 

Surely there has to be a raising of standards at some point?

[sarahc]

Not halfway through the year though so people have no time to adjust. The new gradings should have been brought in in September.

[thebees]

Until they start teaching subjects rather than exam passing techniques, you will always have twats with A levels they really do not deserve

[wrighty]

I agree you shouldn't shift goalposts halfway through a game. But why do kids have the option of sitting in January? What was wrong with the system that all the exams were taken in May/June, with all results in August? In my day if you were bright you could take a year early and thereby compete with the kids a year older, but that was it.

[pongo]

why do kids have the option of sitting in January? What was wrong with the system that all the exams were taken in May/June, with all results in August? In my day if you were bright you could take a year early and thereby compete with the kids a year older, but that was it.

 

i have no idea how far back in time this goes but sitting o-levels in January certainly existed 30 years ago. It isn't some crazy new fangled bonkers thing. It certainly used to mean that people effectively had 2 extra terms to fit stuff in before university. For state pupils who wanted to get into Oxford or Cambridge there were definite advantages related to the extra slice of time - for example if they needed an o-level in Latin which was not typically on the lousy state timetable.