Exam grading based on birthdate ….give me strength!!!
Here’s my take on this recent story that appeared in the national media
Summer-born need exam score boost http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/education-22469216
Are there really people sitting around thinking up this nonsense? Can you imagine the arguments? When would the cut off date be? How would it be quantified? Some things in the world are not perfect; there are probably only a limited number of parents who think about the academic year when producing children!
There is no doubt that somebody born on September 1st is likely to be at an advantage in comparison to a child born on August 31st however grade inflation is a ridiculous, divisive answer.
It would be fair to cite birth dates as a mitigating circumstance but grade changing is an unworkable answer. If younger children are struggling they should be helped and encouraged by their teachers. Do we tell younger students they don’t have to try so hard and older ones that their hard work will be less well rewarded.
Does an argument based on such spurious evidence as this carry any weight?
“More than 60% of September-born pupils achieve five A* to C grades, compared with less than 54%” Is it me or is that not virtually the same?
“August-born students are also around two percentage points less likely to go to university when they leave school, one percentage point less likely to attend a leading university and one percentage point less likely to complete a degree.” 1%? 2%? We are also told younger children, “… are more likely to start smoking younger than their relatively older peers.”
Give me strength!!!.
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