GCSEs

I worry about the fact that the parameters change over time, so that an employer trying to judge the suitability of an applicant cannot compare a GCSE taken this year to one taken say 4 years ago.

I also think that there should be just one exam board so that results are comparable across the country.

It is really about the way you make assessments. Do you have a certain required standard to pass (like the driving test) or do you limit the number passing to the best x per cent. I think our O levels were judged by the second method so the number getting a Grade 1 was a constant (although it did depend on the exam board, some were easier than others).
What you can't do is change the standard half way through the year.

Yes nfk - but they want it both ways. Give schools a really hard time because they are not reaching the required standards - not fair to keep changing the standards. Otherwise how can you know if schools are doing better, teachers working harder, and more effectively etc. I have no real problem with them moving the goalposts in terms of what means "failing" for a school as long as they are keeping the basic standards the same. Otherwise it is like moving 2 goalposts at the same time. You move them further away AND you make the goal a metre narrower.
In the States they have a concept we don't "high school graduation" which means you have to reach a certain standard of education before you get your high school leaving certificate. It is more divisive than our system but easier for lay people to understand.
Trouble is the politicians have a constant eye on the daily mail headlines.

I suppose it's a phsychological thing. If too many achieve a grade then that becomes the norm rather than the exception and also, being British, it's not seen as more achieving that standard but that the standard must have dropped. (does that make sense?)

It's completely unfair to change the marking standard half way through the year although around here seem most seem fairly happy with theresults. Perhaps it's time to unify the different examining boards?

I like govegrind I have to say, the name, not the man.

Apparently not!

nanadogs Standards apparently are high when only a small number of people are able to get good results!

In the Olympics, although only a the same number get medals, more & more competitors now qualify for the heats and the medal winners achieve new world records. We don't say that those standards have fallen because the best get better and more achieve the qualifying standards.. but apparently it's not the same in school exams!

A question...

When grades go up it is said that standards are slipping, so if grades go down does that mean standards are improving?

To you and me Jess it is blindingly obvious! Sadly Govegrind and his cronies want an academic elite and the rest to be educated to a 'standard' fit for the 19th century.

Actually it is beyond crazy. Just heard the daft woman (polite term) on the radio as in OP.
They cannot have it both ways. Either they want increased percentages of kids getting A-Cs or they don't. If they don't, you set the exam grade system to limit the numbers of good grades. if you want teaching and attainment to improve you keep the standard steady, so you can measure how many kids reach them.
Quite simple really.

The examinations regulator Ofqual is to "look closely" at concerns over grade changes to English GCSEs, according to the BBC news tonight.

Quite crazy fiddling around with the English results like that. My school just happened to enter everyone in January. Not because they are brilliant pupils or anything - it was just what was planned. Phew is all i can say. As it is we have made progress - another best ever year, another 6% getting the magic 5 a-cs including english and maths. Absolutely crucial for schools in the lower half of intake. If we had just happened to enter them all in May we would have been measured as having made less progress. All kinds of knock on effects from this .

Very true, nana! It really is not fair on anyone.

Then C/D boundary in English was raised after student work had been moderated, which is unforgivable and underhand.

The mark to gain a C has gone up by about 9 between January and June. Am happier for this to happen to coincide with the start of a school year so those starting a course know what is expected but seems hugely unfair to change expectations at the end of the course!

It makes me angry every year, when teachers and students work so hard to get good results, and then the press reports that standards have gone down. I have seen some A-level papers that were harder than my degree finals.
Now they have reduced the number of C grades and increased the number of D grades, which doesn't sound too important until you realise that schools' funding is based partly on the number of pupils achieving five A -C grades. Has the government leant on the examining bodies to save some money? That one grade difference could destroy the hopes of many good students.