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East Renfrewshire 'delays' CfE exams

Last post 10/02/12 at 17:48 by lookinglost, 36 replies
Post started by xmal on 31/01/12 at 19:22

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  • xmal avatar
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    Posted by: xmal 31/01/2012 at 19:22
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    Well done to them for having the guts to be the first to stick their heads above the parapet.

    Click here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-16821153

  • iheartpbandj avatar
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    Posted by: iheartpbandj 31/01/2012 at 19:26
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     well said
  • Dominie avatar
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    Posted by: Dominie 31/01/2012 at 19:45
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    "East Renfrewshire Council also plans to continue with the traditional exam timetable, putting pupils forward for eight exams in their fourth year of secondary school and five exams in fifth year. Preparation for the exams begins several years in advance." There's the reason. They want their pupils to be able to study 8 qualifications but that's not possible if they leave the decision until next year when the kids reach the end of S3. Who'll be next then?
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    Posted by: GuessWho 31/01/2012 at 21:33
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    NLC have already forced all schools to change to Nationals for current S2.

    No debate or canvassing of individual schools' views.

    If a department even suggests to run Int 1 or Int 2  (which will still be available for a few more years) for current S2 the HT will warn them off and if it gets past HT level the authority will provide "support" for nationals......but no extra funds to sort out resources.

    Meanwhile we have all the materials in place for Int 1 and Int 2 and none for the Nationals.....
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    Posted by: braemar 31/01/2012 at 22:00
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    I was told that one  NLC school is still doing standard grades courses for their S2's so that they can be presented for the final standard grade exams in S3. The S1's will be the first CfE cohort one year behind everyone else. So it seems not all schools in NLC are doing CfE courses with their S2's

     I wonder if the ER decision is something to do with the amount of preparation the authority has done in training their staff for CfE considering they spent a lot of time changing over from Standard Grades to Intermediates not that long ago.

     

     
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    Posted by: Cthulthu 01/02/2012 at 00:01
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    No, the ER decision is to do with the fact that the Nationals are sh*te.
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    Posted by: airy 01/02/2012 at 07:55
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    Cthulthu:
    No, the ER decision is to do with the fact that the Nationals are sh*te.
    Are they? Nat 5 sounds awfully like Int 2 to me, although the idea of Nat 4 makes me want to cry. If there's any possibility of a pass I shall endeavour to drag all my pupils through Nat 5 rather than give them the equivalent of a "well done" sticker from teacher.
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    Posted by: Cthulthu 01/02/2012 at 16:13
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    You can try! National 5 is meant to be the same level as Credit. Currently, in English for example, 43% of candidates get a Credit award, and that's with grades being inflated by the folio and the fact that Talk grade Credits run at 55%. So, as things stand, nearly 60% of pupils will be doing National 4, which could involve reading blogs and emails, and has no compulsory literature element. The only way to avoid the majority of the population getting an entirely worthless qualification will be, of course, to make National 5 easier. Those who pass, then, will all want to do Higher, which will have to be made easier to avoid a catastrophic failure rate...and slowly we go down. Lower Still.
  • airy avatar
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    Posted by: airy 01/02/2012 at 19:28
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    Cthulthu:
    You can try!
    I can indeed. Nat 4 needs credibility and it needs more than pass/fail if it's really to replace General. Employers and colleges use a General 3 as a benchmark and why that wasn't taken into account is beyond me. The first time I heard the SQA talk about Nat 4 it was being pegged to a General pass (ie. a 4) but now we're consigning the very kids who need a qualification employers take seriously to leaving school with a pat on the head.
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    Posted by: Dominie 01/02/2012 at 21:11
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    airy:
    Cthulthu:
    You can try!
    I can indeed. Nat 4 needs credibility and it needs more than pass/fail if it's really to replace General. Employers and colleges use a General 3 as a benchmark and why that wasn't taken into account is beyond me. The first time I heard the SQA talk about Nat 4 it was being pegged to a General pass (ie. a 4) but now we're consigning the very kids who need a qualification employers take seriously to leaving school with a pat on the head.
    Something which the incoming General Secretary of the EIS was totally comfortable with when he was on the CfE Management Board. The SSTA rep tried to reverse this decision. LF voted with the rest of the Board.
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