Friday, 20th September 2019

[PorFavor]

Good morfternoon.

[refitman]

Again, thanks Sky for the QT review.

[RogerOThornhill]

Morning all.

I saw a brief clip of that Camilla woman from the DT slagging off the Lib Dems revoke Article 50 position and she clearly hasn't heard of the convention that no government can bind the hands of a future one.Or that a government voted in can, within reason, do anything they want even though a majority of voters who didn't vote for them don't want it.

[HindleA]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... r#comments" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[HindleA]

[youtube]7Yof84Prt_o[/youtube]

[HindleA]

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2 ... ifications" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[HindleA]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/201 ... ants-lives" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RogerOThornhill]

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2 ... ifications

I;m always a bit puzzled by the "x % of children leave without the required number of GCSEs" since I thought that GCSEs were norm-referenced i.e. pretty much the same % of passes as previously whereas SATs are criterion-referenced i.e. to a set marking scheme.

Therefore, aren't we always going to get a % not getting 5 GCSEs no matter how well they all did?

I might be completely wrong of course...

[HindleA]

https://ofqual.blog.gov.uk/2017/03/17/m ... nceptions/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[HindleA]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... are_btn_tw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[HindleA]

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/ ... p_AppShare" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[HindleA]

NHS statistics is a Labour activist.

[adam]

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2 ... ifications

I;m always a bit puzzled by the "x % of children leave without the required number of GCSEs" since I thought that GCSEs were norm-referenced i.e. pretty much the same % of passes as previously whereas SATs are criterion-referenced i.e. to a set marking scheme.

Therefore, aren't we always going to get a % not getting 5 GCSEs no matter how well they all did?

I might be completely wrong of course...

In theory all students doing a range of different subjects could get 5 higher level passes on norm referenced criteria so long as the norm referencing is 'ring-fenced' subject by subject.

There are different issues about what 'higher level passes' means - what used to be A*-C is now 5 and above officially (which is a high C grade) but sometimes 4 and above in other discussions by government when they want to suggest things are better. Additionally the points values to schools, which they also get judged on, his shifted so that a lot more points than before are awarded to schools for 8s and 9s (High As and A*s) and lower points than before are awarded to schools for 5s than for 'old' Cs(even though it's tougher to get a 5 than it was to get a C).

[citizenJA]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/201 ... ants-lives

On 13 September, the Commons public accounts committee issued a scathing report on the controversial sale of thousands of railway arches to a joint venture between Blackstone and Telereal Trillium. The MPs accused Network Rail of selling off a profitable asset for short-term gain, with a loss of income of at least £80m and potentially up to £160m a year. They also said the sale would mean fewer rights for future tenants, as well as denying existing tenants the option to extend their leases.

...private equity behemoth Blackstone, now reported to be the biggest landlord in the world.... manages assets worth £123bn, including property in parts of Berlin, Toronto, Madrid, Dublin and Stockholm, where it is the biggest private owner of low-income housing.

UN special adviser on housing and human rights Leilani Farha says the commodification of real estate by private equity investors in recent years had made housing for many people increasingly expensive and precarious. She has written to Blackstone and to government officials in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Sweden and the US, accusing the company of undertaking “aggressive evictions”....

The links in the article are worth checking out.
Blackstone - perfect Dickensian name

[citizenJA]

NHS statistics is a Labour activist.

I love it.

[citizenJA]

Good morning, everyone.

[RogerOThornhill]

In theory all students doing a range of different subjects could get 5 higher level passes on norm referenced criteria so long as the norm referencing is 'ring-fenced' subject by subject.

There are different issues about what 'higher level passes' means - what used to be A*-C is now 5 and above officially (which is a high C grade) but sometimes 4 and above in other discussions by government when they want to suggest things are better. Additionally the points values to schools, which they also get judged on, his shifted so that a lot more points than before are awarded to schools for 8s and 9s (High As and A*s) and lower points than before are awarded to schools for 5s than for 'old' Cs(even though it's tougher to get a 5 than it was to get a C).

But if that "5 GCSEs" includes English and Maths which I think is how it is always defined, isn't there still a problem?

[PaulfromYorkshire]

I liked this comment:

Alex Andreou @sturdyAlex
1h
The Telegraph paywall fade-out is the literary equivalent of walking away from an angry drunk in a pub, as someone so astutely observed a couple of years ago.

[adam]

In theory all students doing a range of different subjects could get 5 higher level passes on norm referenced criteria so long as the norm referencing is 'ring-fenced' subject by subject.

There are different issues about what 'higher level passes' means - what used to be A*-C is now 5 and above officially (which is a high C grade) but sometimes 4 and above in other discussions by government when they want to suggest things are better. Additionally the points values to schools, which they also get judged on, his shifted so that a lot more points than before are awarded to schools for 8s and 9s (High As and A*s) and lower points than before are awarded to schools for 5s than for 'old' Cs(even though it's tougher to get a 5 than it was to get a C).

But if that "5 GCSEs" includes English and Maths which I think is how it is always defined, isn't there still a problem?

Excellent point. Yes - because, as you say, in norm referenced assessment there will always be an agreed percentage of students who fall below target, so as soon as you specify particular subjects that have to be included it becomes an impossible target.

[adam]

The government now seem to be insisting that the EU commission keep the 'non-papers' it has submitted to them secret and does not share them with national governments.

[RogerOThornhill]

Susan Oosthuizen has just started one her threads...

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[PorFavor]

Susan Oosthuizen has just started one her threads...

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I, of course, initially read it as "sealions" - which threw me a bit.

[PorFavor]

The government now seem to be insisting that the EU commission keep the 'non-papers' it has submitted to them secret and does not share them with national governments.

Fresh Brexit talks row as UK asks EU to keep its proposals secret (Guardian)

Front page (UK News) - online Guardian. For some reason, I can't lift the link. Sorry.

[PorFavor]

Ah! It's decided to co-operate.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... als-secret

[AnatolyKasparov]

Ah! It's decided to co-operate.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... als-secret

Unlike our government, it would seem.

[gilsey]

Ah! It's decided to co-operate.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... als-secret

The EU might comply on the not unreasonable grounds that 27 EU govts incapacitated by rofl would not be a good look.

[gilsey]

I saw this blog a few weeks ago but couldn't find it to link here, basically about how volatile GE result would be on current polling numbers.

https://freethinkecon.wordpress.com/201 ... cians-mad/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

it is about the crazy volatility the system induces, which in the hands of risk-seeking politicians is bound to encourage similarly crazy, risk-seeking behaviour.

Update basically confirming that Swinson is deluded.

https://freethinkecon.wordpress.com/201 ... ssion=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[PorFavor]

Ah! It's decided to co-operate.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... als-secret

The EU might comply on the not unreasonable grounds that 27 EU govts incapacitated by rofl would not be a good look.

It's all very schoolboy whispering behind the hand stuff, isn't it? Completely missing the basic point of the EU, of course.

[AnatolyKasparov]

I saw this blog a few weeks ago but couldn't find it to link here, basically about how volatile GE result would be on current polling numbers.

https://freethinkecon.wordpress.com/201 ... cians-mad/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

it is about the crazy volatility the system induces, which in the hands of risk-seeking politicians is bound to encourage similarly crazy, risk-seeking behaviour.

Update basically confirming that Swinson is deluded.

https://freethinkecon.wordpress.com/201 ... ssion=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yes, it really is wide open.

As the Labour leader has just said about the possibility of becoming PM - its a daunting prospect, but not one that we should be afraid of.

[PaulfromYorkshire]

Apparently Lenny Henry was presenting at a conference today and introduced himself as Justin Trudeau

[AnatolyKasparov]

Apparently Lenny Henry was presenting at a conference today and introduced himself as Justin Trudeau

Its not the outrage that just might do for Trudeau Jnr, but the ridicule.

[PaulfromYorkshire]

I can't stop chuckling about this - exemplary comedy from Mr Henry

[PaulfromYorkshire]

Eoin Clarke is Tweeting that there will be a conference vote to abolish the post of Deputy Leader.

[AnatolyKasparov]

According to other sources tho, it didn't reach the necessary two thirds majority at the NEC (needed for such constitutional amendments to be put forward)

[citizenJA]

Goodnight, everyone.
love,
cJA

[RogerOThornhill]

I would imagine the only real surprise about John Humphreys inevitable BBC-bashing is that he voted Remain.

https://storify.com/services/proxy/2/uM ... 281%29.png" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The rest of it is "establishment right winger sees liberal bias everywhere" non-shocker...