To be clear, school and college leaders, including those here at Bradford Grammar, have no special knowledge about plans for Years 11s and 13s who were due to sit GCSEs, AS and A Levels later this year – or for that matter, any other public examination cohorts. We simply hope that plans exist. But we’re not sure, which is shocking. The power of prescience is also lacking. Clairvoyance is not on my job spec, for example. However, this hasn’t prevented some frankly unhelpful speculation, fuelled by leaks of anticipated future DfE policy, to test the waters of public / parental opinion (Am I being too cynical?).
To provide BGS families with something straightforward and digestible amongst the spice of media headlines and furore, I offer the following. These are the facts and key themes at midday on Monday 11 January, and I will try hard to be objective and brief:
Gavin Williamson has indicated in parliament that GCSEs, AS and A Level exams are now cancelled in England this summer. Teacher assessed grades of some sort will be the way forward, we have been told, and these are to be trusted “rather than algorithms”. Clearly, many young people in schools and colleges, including BGS, and private candidates too, are once again justifiably upset by the prospect of not having an opportunity to prove themselves, demonstrate their mettle, in a public test. Exam boards had been working on modifications to curricula and assessments to reflect the impacts of the pandemic on education. They were set to publish details of those topics that would be examined to enable exam candidates to tailor their preparations. Clearly, this is no longer required.
Scrapping public examinations does not necessarily improve fairness. Disadvantage does not just impact upon exam performance, but upon a range of educational aspects that teachers will most likely be asked to assess in the very near future to derive a summative grade. Removal of public exams does not level this field when so much schooling and teacher-pupil interaction has been missed by some children. But summative grades are needed and there is no time for a more creative solution, not when, for example, we are committed to the current UCAS cycle with specific tariffs to be achieved. If we had more time?
And that plan (Plan B given the long-acknowledged possibility of being in this position again) I mentioned above? No details have been released; consultation is expected; only “fine tuning” is now required we are told; and the clock is ticking. I don’t say this to add extra worry to the already full plates of BGS families and colleagues, but to offer transparency and the facts, which – are helpful if only to cut through the media noise.
Last time around, the use of internal mock exam results to underpin Centre Assessed Grades (CAGs) was instructed and then speedily dropped. We remember that mocks are formative assessments intended to inform and support learning. The structure, tenor and timing of mocks as a diagnostic, relatively low stakes and ultimately helpful, tool to help pupils in advance of summative public exams (a very different beast) should not be lost in current discussions. And some mocks in some schools with some examination year groups covering some syllabus content have already been sat. The key word in this clumsy, repetitive sentence will be obvious, as will the implications.
If not ‘mocks’ then how about the “mini exams” – marked by teachers and moderated by exam boards – reported in the Sunday Times this weekend? Again, at this stage, this is speculation, although the newspaper suggested that an announcement would be forthcoming from Ofqual this week. Inevitably, yesterday’s article raised more questions than it answered. The possibility of exam boards now having to create and administer a whole new series of mini exams to be sat in schools when COVID conditions allow (or at home?), rather than continuing with their already rejigged public exam series, is an interesting one. Particularly when that brings additional challenges, such as ensuring consistent marking and standardisation within and across centres.
The alternative? Presumably, a teacher assessed grade based on a range of evidence according to a framework (no ranking or algorithm this time, given the existing statements from the minister)? In this scenario, a significant advantage would be gifted to any pupil who sticks with their studies during lockdown. However, it is all too painfully obvious that some cohorts of young people in the UK face significant barriers not of their own making in this regard. And requiring teachers to conjure a programme of critical exercises to inform yet to be published CAG-type purposes (mooted in the press), will inevitably add to burdens and distract staff from the core activity of providing high quality remote education to all age groups. Flexibility of approach is of paramount importance in terms of delivery; but flexibility could be read as inconsistency and weaken the credibility of any grades awarded. Time is, perhaps, a more critical commodity, given the uncertainties to be addressed, and it could have been in more plentiful supply.
Finally, the last time we were in this position the suggestion was made that CAGs should be released to schools on a confidential basis to iron out any anomalies and injustices in advance of publication to pupils. I notice that it is reported in The Times today that The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) are making the case again today, along with confirmation that consultation between Ofqual and school leaders will commence this week.
This is the current state of play. Schools have little clarity for their pupils and parents, nor for any private candidates who had been expecting to sit public exams at our centres. We are grateful for the patience of our families as we continue to act in the best interests of our young people.
And now back to lateral Flow Testing beginning at BGS… onwards…
“Schools have little clarity for their pupils and parents, nor for any private candidates who had been expecting to sit public exams at our centres. We are grateful for the patience of our families as we continue to act in the best interests of our young people.”
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