Now that we have been back in school for half a term or so we have received our target grades, guidelines for what levels we should be achieving. Now, many people have a relaxed attitude to these targets; Kirkbie Kendal has a good history of students achieving grades higher than their target grades, so why worry? But not everyone feels this way. Some students, when given their target grades are either disappointed, or worry that they can’t achieve this particular grade. I think I fall under this category; I feel almost pressured by my target grades to attain these grades, or higher. Of course, there are those who were hoping for a higher target grade; they were presumably hoping for an A/A* but are given a B or possibly a C Grade. I think this could really knock self-esteem, leaving students doubting themselves because of this.
Now, I’m not saying scrap all target grades and be done with it, but perhaps show students what they have to do to achieve certain grades. Although the grades aren’t chosen at random, as the system accurately ‘predicts’ a person’s GCSE grades, I think many students are still left in the dark about why they have been given these grades and what they can do to improve them or work up to a certain standard. I am aware school already helps us outline what we have to work at to get the desired result, but perhaps if we focus more on how to acquire good grades along with the target grades, student’s will feel less like they’ve been thrown in at the deep end. This works for both disappointed students and worried students, as well as those who aren’t bothered so much.
I know target grades aren’t set in stone; they’re simply a target, a guideline, but I think if lessons make it more clear what it is we have to put the effort into to work at a certain standard, it would help many students, including myself.
I think this could work in other schools too, as I'm sure the situation is the same; some people confident with their target grades, others not so much. If the grades were explained better, and we were given more advice and help on how to achieve our set grades, students all over the country would be, in general, much happier.
