Grades Against the Machine
Newscast
BBC
4.4 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 18 August 2020
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A-Level and GCSE students in England will now be able to use their teacher-assessed grades, after an algorithm led to tens of thousands of students being marked down. But while the U-turn is being welcomed by many, what does this mean for the availability of University places? Adam catches up with Sue Hannan, Assistant Principal- Curriculum. at a College in Barrow-in-Furness, and speaks to Professor Malcolm Press, Vice Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University.
Studio Director: Emma Crowe Producers: Ben Weisz, Frankie Tobi Assistant Editor: Emma Close Editor: Dino Sofos
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. |
| 0:04.6 | Hello, we're doing an emergency episode of newscast |
| 0:07.1 | because you surely cannot have missed the huge U-turn |
| 0:10.1 | done by the government over the A-Level exam results that didn't have any exams going with them. |
| 0:16.6 | And I wonder if the moment the government decided to change their mind about how they were doing |
| 0:21.0 | this was on my broadcasting brother Chris Mason's |
| 0:25.2 | program, Any Questions on Friday when an A-Level student called up and spoke directly to the |
| 0:32.2 | Schools Minister Nick Gibb. |
| 0:33.6 | Hi there, I'd firstly just like to say I got a place this year at the top |
| 0:38.2 | veterinary school in the world, the Royal veterinary college. |
| 0:40.8 | They gave me a general office to achieve A, B, B to get in. I was |
| 0:45.3 | predicted in A and 2 B by my college as I achieved A, S, A, and B's in all my recent |
| 0:50.8 | marks and throughout all my tests this year. |
| 0:53.2 | Yesterday I was informed that I hadn't got into any of my chosen places |
| 0:57.2 | and then came to discover I had been awarded DDD. |
| 1:00.6 | I have no idea how this has happened. It's got to be a mistake as I have no idea how this has happened it's got to be a mistake as I've never been a |
| 1:05.4 | great-see grade student I feel like my life has been completely ruined as I |
| 1:09.5 | cannot get into any universities with such grades or even progress further in my life. |
| 1:14.0 | I've not just been downgraded two grades but three grades lower than one of my predicted. |
| 1:20.0 | Yes and that is rare. 60% of the grades awarded are the, what the teacher... |
| 1:28.0 | The system isn't working that, Gabe, for name is it? |
| 1:30.0 | I just want to come, I do want to come back to that, I do want to come back to that. 35% have been changed by about. |
... |
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