Open letter from TSR on behalf of students

Following the announcement from the governments across the UK this afternoon that Centre Assessed Grades (CAGs) will be used instead of the original calculated grades. We write this letter on behalf of students who have faced constant change, upset and upheaval while awaiting their exam grades in 2020. We will amplify their voices loud and clear. We will do everything we can to ensure they get the support and answers they deserve.

The grading scandal of 2020 has culminated with a scattergun series of misfired announcements, an A-level results day where even Ofqual didn’t know about the appeals process, and a situation where GCSE students are dealing with another last-minute announcement about their future and there are still so many unknowns for students, including BTECs, year 10s, year 12s and private candidates.

On top of which, we are yet to see any commitment to dedicated support of students’ mental health and wellbeing - neither in general terms, nor for students who have been negatively impacted by the calculated grades process.

We are calling for key decision makers to put students first, where they belong.

Now the government has committed to a u-turn on exam calculations, we are seeing relief, but coupled with serious confusion. In the hour following the announcement we saw hundreds of comments on our official thread, and numerous questions within the first 20 minutes:

So like, how can I appeal my CAG because I got given B when I never got less than A before?

Does anyone think will affect the October exams? ...Or Ofqual might just scrap the exams all together?

This decision isn't designed to help us, it's designed to get everybody to shut up and stop complaining. You can appeal on the grounds of teacher bias, but you won't succeed.

But now Universities will be oversubscribed?

We also acknowledge that those important pillars who usually provide students with essential guidance and support, have also not been given the information they need in order to do so.

From Ofqual scrambling to pull together a mock appeals process after Education Minister, Gavin Williamson’s, late night announcement, seemingly with a complete lack of consultation with educational experts or students themselves; to UCAS who had no prior warning about the changes; to the universities who were unable to respond to thousands of students; to teachers and parents.

There is no better example of this than today’s announcement, where, as far as we’re aware, no universities, schools or colleges have been given any information to support their students around another change in advance. We are yet again unable to see how decision-makers are working with those who are most directly affected, the students, who face potentially changing their path without nearly enough clarity and practical guidance.

We work closely with organisations in the education sector by sharing students’ experiences and voices. A key part of this relationship is also to share the information these organisations give us with students to provide much-needed guidance.

With today’s announcements, we know The Student Room is needed by students more than ever.

Standing alongside students, we call for;

•

Urgent clarity regarding grading in 2020 for all students (including impact on BTEC students and private candidates)

•

Urgent clarity for students with or without uni places in 2020

•

Urgent clarifications regarding ramifications for Year 12s and Year 10s

•

Urgent dedicated support for the mental health and wellbeing of students who have been negatively impacted by the grading scandal in 2020

At The Student Room, we demand that the voice of the young people impacted by these decisions are heard. We demand that students are consulted on reforms that impact their futures and crucially, we want to be part of the solution.

As such, we desire to work with Government bodies, exams boards and education providers to ensure that the student voice is at the heart of future policy decisions.

Sincerely,

The Student Room

(edited 5 years ago)

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Reply 60

MGrogan

Original post

by LiberOfLondon

What's the difference?

More about predicted grades. How they are decided, and how they are used.

A predicted grade is the grade of qualification an applicant’s school or college believes they’re likely to achieve in positive circumstances.

These predicted grades can then used by universities and colleges, as part of the admissions process, to help them understand an applicant’s potential, and provide students and teachers a target to benchmark students progress against.

The official guidance for ALL schools and colleges in deciding UCAS predicted grades is below, and should be followed seriously by all learning institutions so that there is some kind of consistent benchmark.

Predicted grades should be:
* entered for all pending qualifications, unless the assessment method or structure of the qualification makes this inappropriate – failure to do so can lead to complications or, in some cases, the rejection of an application
* in the best interests of applicants – fulfilment and success at college or university is the end goal
* aspirational but achievable – stretching predicted grades can be motivational for students
* determined by professional judgement – your expertise and experience are vital in informing predictions
* data-driven – while each school will have its own process, you should look at past Level 2 and Level 3 performance, and/or internal examinations to inform your predictions. Our Predicted Grades Accuracy Report (currently for A levels only) will also help inform your centre’s practice, by offering insight into the accuracy of your applicants’ predictions set within the wider context of the sector as a whole.
* finalised by the point of submitting an application – universities and colleges are only likely to consider the predicted grades received as part of the UCAS application. While they will make every effort to accommodate genuine errors in data entry, this may not always be possible for highly selective courses

Predicted grades should not be:
* affected by student, parental, guardian, or carer pressure – there are risks associated with inflating and suppressing predicted grades
* influenced by university or college entry requirements or behaviours – predicted grades should be set in isolation of an applicant’s university or college choice(s)
* affected by student behaviour or background – predicted grades should be made objectively and disregard external factors. Be careful to reflect on any preconceptions to mitigate against unconscious bias, particularly for protected characteristics (including sex, race, religion/belief, disability, sexual orientation, or gender reassignment)

Other factors
* Schools typically maintain various sets of predicted grades that all serve different purposes, and are made at different points in the year. For example, those given to awarding bodies are typically provided later in the year than those provided to UCAS.
* Applicants do not always have to meet the entry requirements with their predicted grades to receive an offer – universities and colleges will assess applications on an individual basis.
* Universities and colleges place differing levels of importance of predicted grades, and make use of them in a variety of ways throughout the application process.
* While many universities and colleagues endeavour to consider any errors in predicted grades, reconsideration of an application could be subject to a course still being open, or places still being available.

Reply 61

CatusStarbright

Volunteer Section Leader, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post

by MGrogan

Our predicted grades were not provided at start of course. They were issued well into the course when students were begining to review university options more seriously, attend open days, etc.

Well mine were issued in the September of year 13, so the start of my A Level year.

Reply 62

BlinkyBill

Original post

by Captain Marvel

This year has been a nightmare for students. I support this letter as the government has messed around with their futures. The whole process, from the beginning until now was completely confusing and super stressful, but most of all unfair! It's absolutely awful what they have to go through and not acceptable.

Thank you for your support. It has been such a tough time for students, and it's continuing for a lot too. I hear through some uni contacts that admissions teams in some unis are working non-stop trying to get students clarity as quickly as they can now they've had the CAGs sent over from UCAS.

We're currently using all the feedback we're getting from students on TSR to share with people like Ofqual, NCS, UCAS and unis, and sharing the info we get from them in return ASAP. We're hoping to be involved more long-term with sharing insight for ongoing support of students too - the grading process has had such a big impact on students' mental health.