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Against my better judgement I'm going to post a LONG thread to be clear on my thoughts on the Ofqual decision on GCSE religious studies having had comments suggesting things that aren't true about my view.
I will delete it if it becomes too much!
I will delete it if it becomes too much!
Firstly,the whole of lockdown has been an unfair on most students.For some students or groups of students it has created a gap and for others it has widened an already existing gap.
It will have affected some students' mental health. It will have affected many students' progress.
It will have affected some students' mental health. It will have affected many students' progress.
Some have not had access to the resources needed to complete what is needed. Some have not had support at home. Some have had 'normal' timetabled online lessons delivered, others had no new content given for some time.
Each student/school has had a different experience.
Each student/school has had a different experience.
It will have a especially negative effect on some students e.g SEN, BAME, vulnerable, PP etc may be unfairly disadvantaged.
We don't yet know the full impact that all of this will have on these students.
All teachers have all students at the forefront of their minds in this.
We don't yet know the full impact that all of this will have on these students.
All teachers have all students at the forefront of their minds in this.
To add to this, some schools will go back in to lock down in 2020 and maybe in 2021. Some students will miss even more content and might not see their teacher again before the exam.
The GCSE RS was already a challenge for some. Some schools haven't given it the correct time. Some students/parents/schools don't value the subject. Some schools are usually teaching content up until the exam. Some don't have RS specialists but have teachers doing their best.
Some people feel that exams are unfair anyway;they test what a student remembers on the day, they affect student mental health etc Some think that exams don't give certain students the opportunity to show what they can do.Some don't like the format and/or the content of the GCSE.
Many people that have taught RS and History have said that there is more content in History. RS has set question types so students know 'what' is going to be asked. Some RS papers have option questions, others don't.
So what could Ofqual do to counter all of this?What could make things 'fair' or easier?
1) Reduce content being examined
It would give students less things to learn so it would reduce time needed for 'revision' (if you teach that way).
The problem with this what to remove?
1) Reduce content being examined
It would give students less things to learn so it would reduce time needed for 'revision' (if you teach that way).
The problem with this what to remove?
Different schools will have covered different content already. What if all the stuff I've already taught is removed? That wouldn't be fair on my students.
However, it wouldn't make it any easier or fairer for those students that haven't done the work that is still in the exam.
However, it wouldn't make it any easier or fairer for those students that haven't done the work that is still in the exam.
They've still got to sit an exam that will test the content that they missed out on.
2)Make some questions optional
Some papers have options anyway.This could be reduced e.g. have to do 3 options instead of 4.
Papers that aren't optional could have some questions as options.
2)Make some questions optional
Some papers have options anyway.This could be reduced e.g. have to do 3 options instead of 4.
Papers that aren't optional could have some questions as options.
However we have the same problem as above,what if the optional content is that which some students learnt and that which others didn't?
Optionality doesn't necessarily make the exam any 'easier' for students. The options presented may be ones that the student didn't learn.
Optionality doesn't necessarily make the exam any 'easier' for students. The options presented may be ones that the student didn't learn.
3)Make RS equal to history/geog
Geog fieldwork was removed for safety reasons. We don't have that.
Whether you agree or not, history has more content than RS.Theirs was reduced.
Ofqual took each subject in isolation not comparatively.
Geog fieldwork was removed for safety reasons. We don't have that.
Whether you agree or not, history has more content than RS.Theirs was reduced.
Ofqual took each subject in isolation not comparatively.
4) RS is being unfairly treated. Other subjects have had content reduced.
The document shows several other subjects that remain the same, it's not just RS.
Interestingly, regarding those subjects that do have reduced content, many teachers on here are not happy with it!
The document shows several other subjects that remain the same, it's not just RS.
Interestingly, regarding those subjects that do have reduced content, many teachers on here are not happy with it!
Ofqual has no power to change the time that schools give to a GCSE, student attitudes, non-specialist teaching, early entry, mental health impact of exams as a whole.They have no power over further lockdowns or if a student has a computer.Their decision couldn't be based on these
So our students will complete an exam, assessed in the same way as usual.Grades will be allocated in the same way.Some will deserve better grades.This is the problem with the exam system we have.But Ofqual wasn't going to reform the entire system.They made a decision within it
Why did Ofqual bother consulting if they 'didn't listen'? If you read the outcome they deal with issues of 'fairness' and 'volume of content' etc. It's useful to read their reasoning e.g. the majority of respondents were against optionality.
From all of this one solution that would make it fairer for all the students that have missed out would be to give different papers to different students/schools as identified by their school. How would this work?
Are there other solutions?I really can't see any that make it fair
Are there other solutions?I really can't see any that make it fair
So I think the whole situation is unfair. I am compassionate towards all of our students & I do understand the potential impact that lockdown may have had on our students.
But Ofqual's decision could not have changed this impact.
But Ofqual's decision could not have changed this impact.
Some have conflated the whole situation with the reality of what Ofqual can do. My opinion is based on what Ofqual can actually do.
Many of us are stressed about the whole thing and are worried about our students.We are frustrated at not knowing what will happen.
Many of us are stressed about the whole thing and are worried about our students.We are frustrated at not knowing what will happen.
We have all had to support our students as best as we can. Saying that the decision is OK doesn't mean I don't care etc. It's unfair to suggest otherwise.
It's just my opinion.
As I said at the start, I may delete this thread....
It's just my opinion.
As I said at the start, I may delete this thread....
