Is that too much to ask?

You may remember that I put a FOI request into Ofqual following their letter to Pearson adjusting grade boundaries upwards ( my blog was here -> ( FOI Request )? Well I’ve had a response … actually scrap that … I’ve had a non-response.

To be honest all I want to know is how the decision was made. Despite my playing dumb at times, I’d like to think I’ve got some “smarts” really and I’d like to understand how the “experts” made the decision … like most maths teachers I actually do understand a little about data.

Let me say this loud, very feckin’ loud … NOT BECAUSE I WANTED THE GRADE BOUNDARY TO BE 69 (it would make me chuckle though!) but because if we don’t get transparency now what will happen next Summer?. I did have a moment this week when it was announced that the education select committee have called for an enquiry into primary assessment when I thought that the committee may as well pencil in an enquiry in their diaries for next September into the Summer 2016 GCSE results … come on, let’s be honest it’s inevitable isn’t it?

I am calling for transparency – it’s simple. In my “day job”, I am paid for out of the public purse, as are these government bodies. I’m flipping accountable and so should Ofqual, the DFE et al and to some extent the exam boards too (the fees we pay them are out of the public purse too). We have jack sh!t guidance from anyone (this isn’t a dig at the exam boards – it really isn’t – I understand that their hands are tied and they can’t give any detailed information because they don’t really have all the information either!) I am genuinely concerned that people in dark offices are liable to make decisions not understanding the implications and not understanding the background or big picture. There are about 550,000 students going into these exams in 8 months’ time who haven’t been subject to the KS1, 2 3 that these exams are meant to be the culmination of. This 550,000 (ish) people are real! They are not UPN numbers – they are young people with ambitions, hopes and dreams …. The next generation.

Effectively they are the end of 11 years of maths teaching for some – purists can bog off about wanting “all” to do maths until 18 .. it’s a pipe dream and I for one am not wasting my time or energy discussing and debating it. I love the idea but the reality is that we don’t have enough maths teachers to cope as it is. Let’s focus our energy on one issue at a time please. All this meddling is unsettling and isn’t good for the profession.

Please don’t get me wrong – I see the need for change. The way it has been introduced and managed has frustrated the nuts off me but the philosophy behind the changes I “get”. Whether they will make a difference in the scheme of things remains to be seen. We remain a political football and are at the whimsy of the politicians and think tanks it appears.

I want transparency to ensure that we get a fair deal for our students. I will not stand by and watch them get short-changed. We need to know that this first and subsequent cohort haven’t been “hard done by” with these GCSE changes – no one can seem to tell me how the proportion of grades are going to be awarded across the two tiers (remember maths is the only tiered exam and I suspect that it will be dealt with as an anomaly) or even across exam boards. I also want this transparency because we need to ensure that the proportion of grade 4’s awarded would have been the same % of grade C’s AT AGE 16. It makes a difference – for example in 2016 the percentage at grade C and above for those aged 16 was 70.5% whilst the “ALL” entries was only 61%. The fact is that this first entry will include very few over 16’s.

Going forward into 2018 the grading will be linked to 2017 awarding which means that it will then include over 16’s and they will “benefit” from the 2017 awards. Which is a dilemma for Ofqual to consider because it will then show an increase in “equivalent” grade 4’s to previous years grade C’s albeit a good pass will have changed to a 5, people will still be talking about equivalence for the next couple of years. Change takes time.

After all that gumpfh I could have just given the update as: there is no update. I am not holding my breath. It’s a good job I’m not as I seem to waiting for a few things from government bodies: we’re still waiting for the consultation to be published for the year 7 resits (have I said was a rubbish idea they are??) and I also have another FOI outstanding about the costs of the National Reference Tests! They remain on my “to-do” list and I can’t cross them off yet so come on people do me a favour and get a wriggle on!