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How bad could a school game the Covid situation?

The Ofqual consultation seems to have broken down entirely along school lines.

85% of respondents to the consultation said that they wanted students assessed only on what they had been taught by teachers. 10% disagreed. This is pretty much the split between state and independent schools.

66% of respondents wanted a minimum assessed content - however Ofqual deemed that this was impossible to determine - as such there will be no minimum assessed content.

So - in light of this, how badly could a school have gamed this situation?

Could a crap school have simply taught only one very small part of the syllabus, but taught that in-depth all year - maybe something that is very straightforward. Maybe it represents 3 or 5% of the syllabus. Their kids only get assessed on that part of the syllabus, they all ace it and get top marks. Schools that have done their best over lockdown have tried to teach as much of the syllabus as extensively as possible - they will naturally get closer to the marks they would normally get. Hence - schools are being rewarded for performing poorly.
Original post by Trinculo
The Ofqual consultation seems to have broken down entirely along school lines.

85% of respondents to the consultation said that they wanted students assessed only on what they had been taught by teachers. 10% disagreed. This is pretty much the split between state and independent schools.

66% of respondents wanted a minimum assessed content - however Ofqual deemed that this was impossible to determine - as such there will be no minimum assessed content.

So - in light of this, how badly could a school have gamed this situation?

Could a crap school have simply taught only one very small part of the syllabus, but taught that in-depth all year - maybe something that is very straightforward. Maybe it represents 3 or 5% of the syllabus. Their kids only get assessed on that part of the syllabus, they all ace it and get top marks. Schools that have done their best over lockdown have tried to teach as much of the syllabus as extensively as possible - they will naturally get closer to the marks they would normally get. Hence - schools are being rewarded for performing poorly.

You raise some good points lol. The system that they have chose definitely has its issues. Reflecting back on last year's CAG system, the government definitely seem to be playing to what everyone wanted rather than what they decided would be the best themselves. While this will inevitably lead to a significant grade inflation, I think that's preferable over many people missing their offers and getting rejected.

Its also important to note that we only knew about how this system would work in around February time. Schools would have been quite far into the course when the announcement was made, so they can hardly just trace back to older, easier topics and stick with those for the rest of the year. But I suppose they could technically slow down in teaching from February and teach the easier topics over the hard ones. However, these students who experience this will have a huge hole in their learning compared to those who have completed the course so it's a win-loss situation. While this is a key flaw in the system, people will be complaining whatever decision is made, and we simply need to trust that schools will commit to this process in a fair and honest way.

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