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13 minutes ago, ICTChris said:

Saw this shared from a bar in Aberdeen.  Annoying spelling mistakes aside, they are effectivelyh asking for some of their competitors to be shut down.  Has it been proven that the bars associated with the outbreak weren't enforcing social distancing properly?  It's possible that you could get infectiond happening in a bar but that it's no fault of the bar in question.

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The Hawthorn Bar, where the cluster is said to have started, stated on their Facebook page that they were visited by Environmental Health and given the go ahead to continue trading with their measures in place.

Somebody from NHS Grampian was on Original 106 FM this morning saying that they were aware of this cluster developing before the weekend, which is when the scenes outside Soul Bar occurred.  Obviously they weren't great, but the outbreak was underway before then.  

 

 

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4 minutes ago, sparky88 said:

Comparing a teachers' assessment of how a student will do in an exam to previous actual exam results seems daft to me. The two aren't the same. 

Why shouldn't teachers be expected to provide an objective evaluation of how many of their students are likely to pass a course taking past performance into account? It's an absolutely basic prediction task that they should be thinking about every year never mind just in response to a pandemic and if they can't do that then they're not fully intellectually equipped for their chosen profession. 

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Why not just let the unmoderated results stand for this one year? Students will have a hard enough time as it is.

They'd have an even worse time when employers look at the wild number of passes and A grades within the 19/20 cohort and just automatically file the education part of their CVs in the bin as unreliable nonsense - there will already be doubts about whether the grades show that marginal candidates are really up to the required standard. Further pandering is going to do them absolutely no favours in the employment shitstorm that is breaking out in the UK right now: it'll make their prospects worse and not better. 

If I were a student with a disappointing set of results then I'd be looking at college options to get through the next couple of years while enhancing my skills and qualifications. It's not as if they're barred from any sort of ongoing education as a result of this.

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11 minutes ago, CALDERON said:

The Hawthorn Bar, where the cluster is said to have started, stated on their Facebook page that they were visited by Environmental Health and given the go ahead to continue trading with their measures in place.

Somebody from NHS Grampian was on Original 106 FM this morning saying that they were aware of this cluster developing before the weekend, which is when the scenes outside Soul Bar occurred.  Obviously they weren't great, but the outbreak was underway before then.  

 

 

I used to drink in there - occasionally - if Covid-19 had happened between 1970 and 1973 IT COULD HAVE BEEN ME!

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2 hours ago, Monkey Tennis said:

I don't know how you've reached such a conclusion.

Teachers assess work to be 20% better than exam results show.

On going and continuous assessment is a much more reliable indicator than a single data point provided by an exam.

The exam system is unfairly assessing our poorest students and not reflecting their true ability.

 

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8 minutes ago, Jim McLean's Ghost said:

Teachers assess work to be 20% better than exam results show.

On going and continuous assessment is a much more reliable indicator than a single data point provided by an exam.

The exam system is unfairly assessing our poorest students and not reflecting their true ability.

 

^^^ idiot found

Though no doubt if you asked a teacher for their opinion you'd get a band 1 A just for taking part anyway. 

Edited by vikingTON
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1 hour ago, sparky88 said:

Comparing a teachers' assessment of how a student will do in an exam to previous actual exam results seems daft to me. The two aren't the same. 

Why not just let the unmoderated results stand for this one year? Students will have a hard enough time as it is. 

 

Teachers are required to provide estimates every year.  I'd be interested to see how this year's compare to previous years' estimate data.  I've not yet seen that anywhere.  Has anyone else? 

Letting this year's 'results' stand if wildly out of line (which they are) would be a huge mistake.  It would negate the achievements of those who've deservedly done well.  It would also have significant knock-on effects.  These effects would be felt in school, as well as in the wider world.  Lots of kids would suddenly be embarking on Higher and Advanced Higher courses for which they're not equipped.  To be honest, there'll be some of that anyway now, but without the downgrading, things would be worse.  

 

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On 04/08/2020 at 16:45, Billy Jean King said:

My son has been awarded exactly what was submitted, at least the paper certificates tell you that I.e. no adjustments.

 

I'm intrigued by this.

How do you know what the school submitted?  What are you seeing on your son's certificate? 

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36 minutes ago, Jim McLean's Ghost said:

Teachers assess work to be 20% better than exam results show.

On going and continuous assessment is a much more reliable indicator than a single data point provided by an exam.

The exam system is unfairly assessing our poorest students and not reflecting their true ability.

 

If coursework and continuous assessment were given more weight, what is there to suggest parents with more resources wouldn't just shift those resources towards improving their children's coursework and continual assessment?

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9 minutes ago, Gordon EF said:

If coursework and continuous assessment were given more weight, what is there to suggest parents with more resources wouldn't just shift those resources towards improving their children's coursework and continual assessment?

That would just get gamed too by unprofessional / under pressure teachers. It needs to be absolutely mercilessly moderated. 

Nat 4 had no exam and ultimately decreased in value in everyone's eyes because of this. Kids who could never pass it miraculously completing the assessments after a day with the pt. Might have changed in the last 2 years but it was a real issue when I jacked it

Edited by madwullie
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5 minutes ago, Gordon EF said:

If coursework and continuous assessment were given more weight, what is there to suggest parents with more resources wouldn't just shift those resources towards improving their children's coursework and continual assessment?

They alredy pay for tutor and exam prep. Whatever system is in place they will take advantage of.

This year shows that the difference between the richest and poorest students is closer when continuous assessment is used.

The exam system is entrenching inequality. That is clear. And it should be changed.

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1 minute ago, Jim McLean's Ghost said:

They alredy pay for tutor and exam prep. Whatever system is in place they will take advantage of.

Well yeah. But if there's no exam, why not just employ tutors to do your child's coursework for them instead?

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1 minute ago, Jim McLean's Ghost said:

They alredy pay for tutor and exam prep. Whatever system is in place they will take advantage of.

This year shows that the difference between the richest and poorest students is closer when continuous assessment is used.

The exam system is entrenching inequality. That is clear. And it should be changed.

Yeah, kids that are getting AAAAA right now in a lot of cases get it because they have access to stuff that poorer kids can never get. 

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1 minute ago, madwullie said:

That would just get gamed too by unprofessional / under pressure teachers. It needs to be absolutely mercilessly moderated. 

It would provide far greater scope for 'gaming' and for the application of pressure by middle class parents.  Imperfect though exams are, they have an integrity that - as we've seen this week - alternatives lack.

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Just now, Gordon EF said:

Well yeah. But if there's no exam, why not just employ tutors to do your child's coursework for them instead?

If it's written work the teacher should be invested enough in the kids output that it obvious it's not their work 

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Just now, Monkey Tennis said:

It would provide far greater scope for 'gaming' and for the application of pressure by middle class parents.  Imperfect though exams are, they have an integrity that - as we've seen this week - alternatives lack.

True, but the current system is gamed heavily in the rich kids' favour through tutors, all the other well known advantages of an affluent upbringing. At least with continuous assess the poor kids can access the outside advantages too (being kind of facetious here, but it is half a point) 

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1 minute ago, madwullie said:

If it's written work the teacher should be invested enough in the kids output that it obvious it's not their work 

Some might be, some won't be. Is bumping little Sebastian down from an A to a B with no hard evidence going to be the hill many teachers choose to die on?

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2 minutes ago, Gordon EF said:

Some might be, some won't be. Is bumping little Sebastian down from an A to a B with no hard evidence going to be the hill many teachers choose to die on?

Anywhere I've worked it's not been possible to bump kids up or down without hard evidence and long long discussions. That's why teachers this year couldn't really knock x% off because they felt the kid might crumble in the exam, or conversely (and is a chat you have more often) have faith that they'll pull it out in the exam despite medicore performance all year

Edited by madwullie
Xrra infi
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