The Moonster Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 44 minutes ago, VladimirMooc said: What about people who did give a shit about the attainment gap before and are concerned that the SQA and Scottish Government’s approach has just cemented and baked in that gap? Some of the responses here highlight the absolute worst of Scottish political debate. Yes, some unionists have jumped on this as a stick to beat the SNP (that’s just politics, and would be the exact same the other way round). But there are quite clearly serious issues at hand here that have been mishandled and - whisper it - you are actually allowed to criticise the Scottish Government without being a Union Flag-waving British nationalist. The way in which some SNP voters take any criticism of the Scottish Government as a personal affront is one of the weirdest and most unhelpful aspects of Scottish politics. And I say that as someone who is in favour of Scottish independence. I think the problem is that those people are generally the loudest. I'm not sure this is a problem exclusive to Scottish politics either, you'll have the same type of people south of the border defending everything they Tories do, and probably the same type of people in France defending their government. I totally agree these people aren't helpful but are generally best ignored. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 1 hour ago, Gaz said: Contrary to popular opinion I'm seeing chucked around online, the SQA doesn't have thousands of employees working around the clock 24/7, 365 days a year (given it relies on ordinary teachers to be markers over the summer holidays, I thought this would have been obvious, but apparently not). The appeals process will be... interesting. That was my impression of the organisation as well. The SQA had to rely on teachers, schools and local authorities to do a lot of the heavy lifting for them in this process and I can only imagine the 'aw FFS' moment when they finally got all the projections, entered the data to produce nationwide results and saw the ridiculous near 20% pass rate hike. The idea that their employees could then wade into every set of figures and only slap down the genuinely botched ones is far-fetched from a logistical standpoint. It's why the blame largely rests at the door of those teachers, schools and local authorities who either didn't know what they were supposed to be doing or didn't care as it might bump their shite performance up a level. Though the SQA should still have hammered the grades down lower instead of keeping a (completely ineffective) sop. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk blues Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 Where I am they come up with some bizarre ideas - people riding a motorcycle have to install a perspex/plastic screen between the front/back riders - even if they are husband and wife etc! One week from now we will have to wear a mask AND a face visor when travelling on public transport. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 59 minutes ago, VladimirMooc said: What about people who did give a shit about the attainment gap before and are concerned that the SQA and Scottish Government’s approach has just cemented and baked in that gap? If by 'baked in' you mean 'reflect the reality of what would happen in an ordinary exam and qualification cycle, based on reliable historical data (with an additional sop to pupils all round by inflating the pass rates)', then sure. The job of the SQA is to make their qualifications rigorous and respectable to employers and higher education institutions by accurately representing student attainment. It is not to accept that poorly performing schools from the bottom fifth of the SIMD index would suddenly be firing out 80% pass rates instead of the usual 60% this year because equality. That would make a complete and utter mockery of the qualifications system. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heedthebaa Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 Does exam results really matter that much, I left with 10 CSEs and look at me now 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 1 minute ago, heedthebaa said: Does exam results really matter that much, I left with 10 CSEs and look at me now I know you're being facetious, but yes, when you're under 20 they mean a great deal for most people. When you're 30 and have further education / training / professional qualifications behind you, not so much. I'm not going to get asked for my school exam results if I go for another job, but I needed those results at the time to open the door to further education. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotThePars Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 8 minutes ago, heedthebaa said: Does exam results really matter that much, I left with 10 CSEs and look at me now The 19th worst poster on P&B. Maybe if you'd got a PhD you'd be top 5. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon EF Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 Raging that the Scottish Government didn't take the opportunity of a global pandemic which caused exams to be cancelled to fix all the problems with standardised testing and inequalities in education tbqhwy. #ResignSturgeon 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thereisalight.. Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 2 hours ago, D.A.F.C said: MPs now admitting the 'just let anyone in or out uk' was actually a massive mistake rather than having no effect on virus spread. Couldn't make this up. 2 hours ago, mizfit said: I think everyone apart from MP’s was saying it back in March. Both governments did a whole lot wrong during the covid situation, but this is the most astounding imo. We couldn’t travel more than 5 miles unless it was for work or emergency situations, yet anybody could fly in and out of the country untested and not having to quarantine. Just can’t fathom why they thought that was ever a good idea 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Have some faith in Magic Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 Aberdeen about to get restrictions imposed. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigkillie Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 2 hours ago, Bell™ said: If the SQA left the top-ranked students with the predicted grades and dropped everyone else based on their teachers' arbitrary ranking, then the lowest-ranked students would have had an even larger drop in grades than they did, meaning a larger failure percentage. We'd then have an even greater disparity in the grades of the lowest achievers to the top. I don't understand what you mean here. My point is that the SQA appear to have arbitrality decided how many As, Bs, Cs and Ds each school should have had. Therefore the actual grades the teachers predicted are (or should be) less important than the ranking that the teacher gave out. If a teacher chose to give everyone As then yes more students would be bumped down, and if a teacher chose to give everyone Ds then more students would be bumped up. However, even if you choose to disagree with me on that, there is still absolutely no evidence to support the initial nonsense point of view that "the blame here lies squarely with the teachers in traditionally poorer performing schools who saw it as an opportunity to raise that schools profile by submitting over inflated grades and thus screwing their few over performing pupils in the process". That is quote I was specifically taking issue with. Unless I have misread the documents about the process, there is no reason that a teacher being overconfident in the grades of mid-ranking students should affect the grades of the very clearly excellent students. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.V.T. Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 Aberdeen lockdown 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doulikefish Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 Aberdeen getting shut again. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 40 minutes ago, hk blues said: Where I am they come up with some bizarre ideas - people riding a motorcycle have to install a perspex/plastic screen between the front/back riders - even if they are husband and wife etc! One week from now we will have to wear a mask AND a face visor when travelling on public transport. The personal face visor is definitely my 'no, this is going too far' moment. At least when it is used as a substitute for a face covering like in the UK, which would be sensible if you were handling a mildly corrosive acid splashing up at your face but serves next to no purpose for droplets/airborne virus particles, as a lot of them will just move in or out through the yawning space beneath the visor. The staff in a busy pub using visors rather than masks because they're more practical to speak with and work are not enhancing the safety of themselves or others. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
101 Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 1 minute ago, virginton said: The personal face visor is definitely my 'no, this is going too far' moment. At least when it is used as a substitute for a face covering like in the UK, which would be sensible if you were handling a mildly corrosive acid splashing up at your face but serves next to no purpose for droplets/airborne virus particles, as a lot of them will just move in or out through the yawning space beneath the visor. The staff in a busy pub using visors rather than masks because they're more practical to speak with and work are not enhancing the safety of themselves or others. I have no idea why people are wearing them - they don't count as face coverings as like you say the enormous space between the bottom of the mask and chin offers no protection. Better with an old school lead diving helmet. Much more stylish for a start. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin.Hood Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 NicolaSturgeon announces that some lockdown restrictions will be re-imposed in Aberdeen. 5 mile travel limit, people advised not to go there. Can’t go in to each other’s houses. All indoor & outdoor hospitality to close by 5pm. Fae twitter ^ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Wilkos Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 I was supposed to be travelling from Stockton to Aberdeen this weekend for my Grandmother's funeral. f**k knows what's happening now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
effeffsee_the2nd Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 NicolaSturgeon announces that some lockdown restrictions will be re-imposed in Aberdeen. 5 mile travel limit, people advised not to go there. Can’t go in to each other’s houses. All indoor & outdoor hospitality to close by 5pm. Fae twitter ^Thank f**k. Anything to get away from this schools chat 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throbber Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 8 minutes ago, doulikefish said: Aberdeen getting shut again. Good riddance I say! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bernardblack Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 Pretty stern warning to the rest of the country 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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