BACA Punishing Students for Good Grades

[dazzer6666]

My lad wanted to go to Aldridge because of the sport focus (cricket in particular) but the reaction of his teachers at the time was so bad he was put off. Went to BHASVIC instead - and suffers (like they all do) the 'going on report' thing any time an assessment falls below his 'MEG'. This means if your A Level prediction is an A, and you get a B in an assessment, you go on report. Normally have to hit MEG in the next two assessments to move off report, and also attend extra lessons in the meantime. If you get another below MEG grade, your report status changes - starts at green, then amber, then red.

 

[mona]

You are correct, God knows why I thought it was Brian. Still has its name in the title though.

Isn't Brian Aldridge a character in the dreadful Archers?

 

[beorhthelm]

...This means if your A Level prediction is an A, and you get a B in an assessment, you go on report. Normally have to hit MEG in the next two assessments to move off report, and also attend extra lessons in the meantime. If you get another below MEG grade, your report status changes - starts at green, then amber, then red.

so im curious what exactly does "on report" entail and if the status changes green, to amber, to red what does that mean? whats the worse case? doesnt seem productive to me, my 16-17 yo self would have deliberatly underscored to avoid the hassle of putting a target on the next exam.

 

[dazzer6666]

so im curious what exactly does "on report" entail and if the status changes green, to amber, to red what does that mean? whats the worse case? doesnt seem productive to me, my 16-17 yo self would have deliberatly underscored to avoid the hassle of putting a target on the next exam.

Sorry 'on report' is really the wrong phrase. It means you are on an 'action plan'. Green being the least serious (you missed one assessment by one notch off your MEG normally), amber means you were either a way off, or 'failed' another and red another. As soon as you are on an action plan you are immediately under pressure on your next test, and have to attend an extra lesson each week. Typically seems like half the class are on action plans at any point in time. Each time you get put on one parents get a letter. You get off the plan by achieving your MEG in subsequent exams.

Not sure whether it's productive or not to be honest. bHASViC set very high standards (they clearly have a very deliberate weeding out policy in maths at the start of the first AS year for example - loads dropped out and the pressure on the students was a bit out of order frankly) but I guess their results justify their processes.

Don't think you can underscore deliberately, as they set your MEG at the start, and constantly revise it.

 

[Publius Ovidius]

This is all to do with the latest fad, Key Performance Indicator ( KPI ). They have been introduced to replace the old system of levels to monitor a pupils progress. It is supposed to be a more accurate method to judge student performance. I have a meeting on Monday to explain all, so I should know more about it.

One of the main criticisms of the old format is that it did not push the more able students e.g. schools are so obsessed with the 5 GCSE ( Maths and English incl ) that a top end student who was deemed to be easily capable of achieving this may have not been as much as possible as all the attention went on the C/D boundary pupils. In response to the OP maybe his niece was put on a performance report to make sure she reaches her potential. If that is the case then this should have been fully explained to her. She is rightfully upset, not a good performance from the school.

All businesses work to KPI which is followed by CSI! Continual service improvement

 

[jgmcdee]

Not sure whether it's productive or not to be honest. bHASViC set very high standards (they clearly have a very deliberate weeding out policy in maths at the start of the first AS year for example - loads dropped out and the pressure on the students was a bit out of order frankly) but I guess their results justify their processes.

I hate this attitude (the college's, not yours). This isn't setting high standards, it's ensuring good grades by pre-selecting only those who are obviously able to make the grade before they sit the exam. They then trumpet that "90% of students gained an A-C pass" (or whatever) when in fact they mean 90% of the students who sat the exam, ignoring the swathes who they forced to drop out or didn't let take the exam in the first place. Educational establishments that do this have, in my opinion, lost their way.

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

So sad to hear this is now in schools. We have it at work and it's totally destroyed morale, treating experienced staff like kids, constantly measured against targets and has staff working against eachother rather than as a team.

The workplace is now full of managers who 'manage' as in don't do the work and have little interest in learning either, just stats to collect. meaningless stats too, like sickness based over 12 months so even somebody who died in January still appears on our stats when compared to other offices!

It'll all end in tears.