Coronavirus Sars-CoV-2/Covid-19 Megathread

[Josquius]

On schools, Scottish end of school  results are out today. And it seems a bit of a cluster fuck with kids in poor areas being downgraded as a matter of common course. One example -

BBC News - Medical dream 'in tatters' after results downgraded
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-53653683

Pretty crappy stuff. If last year it was 65% but t hi is year its 80% then so what. Best to err on the side of giving grades too high than too low. There shall forever be a disclaimer that this year wasn't exactly normal afterall.

[Tonitrus]

I am probably not understanding the grading scheme over here at all, but if I tried to translate it into "American", it sounds something like they just took a big "grading on a curve" hammer and arbitrarily slammed it down on everyone.

[Sheilbh]

I am probably not understanding the grading scheme over here at all, but if I tried to translate it into "American", it sounds something like they just took a big "grading on a curve" hammer and arbitrarily slammed it down on everyone.

I think the really pernicious thing is they made their adjustments based on the schools past performance/an average. So the downgrades disproportionately hits kids from poor backgrounds and they are in effect grading the school not the student. It also wouldn't capture, for example, schools that have successfully improved in recent years.

[HVC]

On schools, Scottish end of school  results are out today. And it seems a bit of a cluster fuck with kids in poor areas being downgraded as a matter of common course. One example -

BBC News - Medical dream 'in tatters' after results downgraded
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-53653683

Pretty crappy stuff. If last year it was 65% but t hi is year its 80% then so what. Best to err on the side of giving grades too high than too low. There shall forever be a disclaimer that this year wasn't exactly normal afterall.

Your uni chances are dictated at 16? that's what, the equivalent of grade 10 in NA? Here you weren't screwed until grade 12 (or 13, when it was still around). That seems odd.

[Tonitrus]

I am probably not understanding the grading scheme over here at all, but if I tried to translate it into "American", it sounds something like they just took a big "grading on a curve" hammer and arbitrarily slammed it down on everyone.

I think the really pernicious thing is they made their adjustments based on the schools past performance/an average. So the downgrades disproportionately hits kids from poor backgrounds and they are in effect grading the school not the student. It also wouldn't capture, for example, schools that have successfully improved in recent years.

So is it really just acting then as a merciless, arbitrary filter to ensure that there aren't too many students who qualify for University/higher education?

[Valmy]

Well one must protect the Universities...both of them.

[Sheilbh]

On schools, Scottish end of school  results are out today. And it seems a bit of a cluster fuck with kids in poor areas being downgraded as a matter of common course. One example -

BBC News - Medical dream 'in tatters' after results downgraded
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-53653683

Pretty crappy stuff. If last year it was 65% but t hi is year its 80% then so what. Best to err on the side of giving grades too high than too low. There shall forever be a disclaimer that this year wasn't exactly normal afterall.

Your uni chances are dictated at 16? that's what, the equivalent of grade 10 in NA? Here you weren't screwed until grade 12 (or 13, when it was still around). That seems odd.

Slightly different in Scotland than England, but my guess is her birthday is in the next month so she is 16 but her "school age" is 17. Because in Scotland you do National 5 at 16 (used to be Standard Grades). Then you do your Highers (normally 5) when you're 17, but increasingly you then need to do the Advanced Highers (called Higher Still when I was in Scotland).

But universities care about both your Highers and you Higher Stills - a bit like AS and A leven in England before that was abolished.

[Sheilbh]

So is it really just acting then as a merciless, arbitrary filter to ensure that there aren't too many students who qualify for University/higher education?

I mean possibly in Scotland - given the lack of tuition fees, student loans or grants they are stricter on admissions (of non-foreign students). And as I say this means that fewer students from a working class background go to university in Scotland than England and Wales.

Their argument is that there is always moderation of exams to make sure that markers are not over/under marking. This year they're relying on teachers to give a final grade based on the performance of students over the last year (basically their predicted grade). Their argument would be that those predicted grades were too high (and there's some evidence of that) so they needed some form of moderation.

The big issue I have is that they've done it based on the school's average performance. So in the example by Tyr that girl was predicted five As, she got five As in her mock exams but because of her school's average results they've been marked down in three subjects to Bs.

[HVC]

how would one even go about marking downing a fairer way? I mean it sucks that If a bright student goes to a crappy school they're getting penalized, but I can't think of another way? take their previous years grades?

[Sheilbh]

how would one even go about marking downing a fairer way? I mean it sucks that If a bright student goes to a crappy school they're getting penalized, but I can't think of another way? take their previous years grades?

I think so - and maybe looking at their performance in mock exams to see if the teachers are predicting something that seems very optimistic.

[merithyn]

There's always some asshole who decides that Aisle 9 at Walmart will be their great last stand for FREEEEDOM!

And there appears to be more and more of those assholes every day.

[HVC]

how would one even go about marking downing a fairer way? I mean it sucks that If a bright student goes to a crappy school they're getting penalized, but I can't think of another way? take their previous years grades?

I think so - and maybe looking at their performance in mock exams to see if the teachers are predicting something that seems very optimistic.

Comparing against mock exams for a few hundred thousand students? I don't think that's feasible.

[Josquius]

On schools, Scottish end of school  results are out today. And it seems a bit of a cluster fuck with kids in poor areas being downgraded as a matter of common course. One example -

BBC News - Medical dream 'in tatters' after results downgraded
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-53653683

Pretty crappy stuff. If last year it was 65% but t hi is year its 80% then so what. Best to err on the side of giving grades too high than too low. There shall forever be a disclaimer that this year wasn't exactly normal afterall.

Your uni chances are dictated at 16? that's what, the equivalent of grade 10 in NA? Here you weren't screwed until grade 12 (or 13, when it was still around). That seems odd.

Scotland has a different system to England. From what I gather there year 13 tends not to exist and instead you've an extra year at the start of university which is a sort of bridge year between school and uni.
I guess this girl was at the younger end of her school year or is a year ahead.
If anyone knows better than please correct me. Though I know this is fairly common in Ireland too.

[viper37]

There's always some asshole who decides that Aisle 9 at Walmart will be their great last stand for FREEEEDOM!

We had such a moment here too, but in a Tim Horton.  Canadian exceptionality & all that.
The mask is stupid, but making it a stand for freeeedom is much more stupid.

[Sheilbh]

how would one even go about marking downing a fairer way? I mean it sucks that If a bright student goes to a crappy school they're getting penalized, but I can't think of another way? take their previous years grades?

I think so - and maybe looking at their performance in mock exams to see if the teachers are predicting something that seems very optimistic.

Comparing against mock exams for a few hundred thousand students? I don't think that's feasible.

Surely they just need to do a sample and then adjust. I mean they moderate the actual exams of hundreds of thousands of students every year.