Tuesday 18 August 2020

"A" level schadenfreude

 I'm happy to admit to a huge level of enjoyment at seeing the government on the rack for the past few days as they struggle to justify the "A" level results debacle.  

Some will argue that it is unfeeling to to take pleasure in a farce that has caused so much upset to so many young people, not to mention their teachers and university admissions tutors.  But, unlike other government failures,  nobody has died, the young are pretty resilient and will get over it very soon.

If they'd had such things as grades, youngsters in 1348 (the Black Death) or 1665 (the Great Plague) would have been happy to trade a minor educational setback for another thirty or so years of life.  

 It is alarming that so many people fail to realise the seriousness of the situation the world is in as a result of this pandemic and, from international travel through education to going to the pub or having a party on the beach,  think they're entitled as of God given right to carry on with life as normal.

The Black Death probably carried off  60% of the population of Europe, the Great Plague a quarter of London's population.  Despite the wonders of modern science there is as yet no guarantee that the present pandemic will not have equally catastrophic results. 

We need more of the sprit of the Derbyshire villagers of Eyam.

Back to the "A" level results. I think it was right to make the attempt to moderate this year's results, based on teachers' expectations since the actually examinations were not held, so that they conformed roughly to those of previous yeas in order to curb grade inflation.  Unfortunately , the method of doing it, the now infamous algorithm, was flawed.  

Statisticians warned repeatedly whoever was supposed to be responsible that the chosen method would result in downgrading 39% of the results with a disproportionate effect on students from larger classes at state schools compared with  those in the smaller classes of the private sector.

With hubris the responsible authorities (and who they are is being vigorously muddied) ignored the warnings, resulting in five days of confusion which is sure to continue for  quite a while yet as the universities are forced to revise their offers.

The Scottish government saw the problem the moment their results were announced and took the immediate decision to revert to teacher predictions.  That demonstrates "the smack of firm government."  

An even firmer reaction from our own government would have been to heed the warnings, accept teacher  recommendations as the least worst option well before the imperfectly moderated results were announced, and simply regard any grade inflation as a "one off" in difficult circumstances.

 Our European neighbours suffered, of course, from the same problem but appear to have coped successfully and without the drama.  In Germany the exams went ahead as normal, but with smaller groups of students sitting 1.5 metres apart.  In France the famous Baccalauréat was cancelled for the first time since its establishment in 1808 and teachers' recommendations moderated by local juries were used.

GCSE results for the 16 year-olds should be announced later this week.  

 

Here the real question here is why we bother with an an external examination at all at this stage.  Its origins lie in the "School Certificate," then "Ordinary Level General Certificate of Education" (GCE) when the normal school leaving age was still 14, then 15, and the "élite"did an extra year, when the bulk either left to join businesses and  professions such as local government, accountancy, law,  and the even more élite studied for a further two years for entry to the universities

Now that the minimum school leaving age is 18 (until when all young people are expected to continue in some form of education, apprenticeship or other training)  there seems to be no point in an external assessment of a pupils' abilities or potential. Internal assessment would be perfectly adequate  for giving the guidance that young people need.  I believe that is what most other developed countries do.

Provided that grade inflation for examinations at 16 (if we must continue to have them) and 18 is consistent between regions, types of school and subjects there is nothing really worth worrying about.  It is an internal mater.

Much more serious is grade inflation in university results.  

 A degree from a British university is an international qualification which, for the moment at any rate, is highly regarded world-wide.  Witness the large number of foreign students who come here to obtain one.  If we allow this qualification to become devalued  by unjustifiable inflation  (some universities are awarding 80% of their finalists a First or 2:1, the top two grades of degree) then there is a danger that both our academic prestige and a useful foreign currency earner will be seriously undermined.

6 comments:

  1. , unlike other government failures, nobody has died, the young are pretty resilient and will get over it very soon.

    That's not true; the loss of schooling has already wiped out a decade's progress in social mobility, and maybe more. Those who have had their education disrupted have probably had their entire lifetimes earning potential severly cut.

    So no, they won't 'get over it soon'. It's a blight that will affect their whole lives.

    The Black Death probably carried off 60% of the population of Europe, the Great Plague a quarter of London's population. Despite the wonders of modern science there is as yet no guarantee that the present pandemic will not have equally catastrophic results.

    Well, except that the infection fatality rate of the coronavirus is at the highest estimated to be about 1% (and that's an average; there's a massive age differential, so that it's practically nil in healthy under-20s). Which is high, but the idea that it might wipe out 60% of the population is so far beyond reality as to not even be funny.

    Here the real question here is why we bother with an an external examination at all at this stage.

    One important reason is that it gives universities some solid, externally-assessed (hence comparable between schools, unlike predicted grades) information on which to base their offers before candidates have done A-levels.

    Much more serious is grade inflation in university results

    For once we agree. If this crisis can result in most of the clown-car universities that are devaluing the entire concept of a degree going bust, at least somethign will ave come out of it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. 1. I'm pleased to note that you're worried about the possible decrease in social mobility. I doubt if one year is gong to make much difference. And this cohort are unlikely to have their earnings cut for a lifetime. Lots of pupils miss out a year, change courses, change careers and go on to lead satisfying and fulfilled lives. The male UK generation who reached 18 in 1939 had an education gap of 5 yeas, commuted to 2 (and for a period 18 months) for National Service from 1945 to 1963. They mostly reached their potential.

    2. You're quite right: the effects of the pandemic at present are miniscule compared to those of the devastating historic plagues.I'm merely saying that we do not yet have a guaranteed path out of the wood. There have been flare-ups in countries which appeared to have eliminated the virus (eg New Zealand) and there are dangerous explosions of it in India, South America, and Africa. When the accounting is eventually done the effect on UK teenagers in 2020 will be well down the list of serious consequences.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're quite right: the effects of the pandemic at present are miniscule compared to those of the devastating historic plagues

      It's not just 'at present'. There's no conceivable way for this to end up killing more than about 1% of the population, even if every single person in the world were infected. That's bad, but it's not in the same league as anything like the Black Death or bubonic plague.

      Delete
    2. I hope you're right. Even so 1% of the world's population is quite a lot.

      Delete
    3. I hope you're right. Even so 1% of the world's population is quite a lot.

      It is.

      But that's the absolute highest estimate, taking the upper end of the guesses for IFR at the beginning (it's already getting lower as doctors get better at managing the symptoms, and effective treatments are discovered); and it assumes 100% infection rate, which is unrealistic (even in the carnage of New York City it probably topped out at about 20%). And then there's the massive demographic skew — the younger the population, the less people will die.

      So in reality it won't be anywhere near that.

      Delete
  3. I'm someone who has lived a life seemingly in the background, I must say this final indignity I have suffered almost too much to endure. You see, I have been sickly and weak since the day I was born and doomed to go through all my life a weakling. I seemed to have always suffered from one illness or another and could never play with the other children as I so desperately wanted to. Mother always made such a big fuss over me, also, making the situation worse as the other boys teased me mercilessly after they saw it. I was browsing  the internet searching on how i could be transformed into a powerful when i came across the email of a man named Lord Mark. who was a VAMPIRE so I told him that I has always dreamed of becoming a  VAMPIRES, All i did was just to follow the procedure that i was been told, and i bet you that procedure I took change my entire life to something i ever desire, freedom, sickness free, pains free, fame, influence, connections and even more that i can. Thanks to Lord Mark. Do you want a life full of interesting things? Do you want to have power and influence over others? To be charming and desirable? To have wealth, health, and longevity? contact the vampires creed today via email: Vampirelord7878@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete