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Next year’s GCSE and A-level exams should be taken later in the summer to give students valuable time to catch up, according to a Labor proposal that will likely have the backing of influential Conservative MPs and school leaders.
Before the new academic year begins for most schools this week, parallel education secretary Kate Green said the two sets of exams should be delayed at least a month and start in June instead of May.
“Students across the country who have missed vital teaching time will have to climb a mountain to prepare for the May exams unless the government intervenes,” Green said.
“Ministers received warning after warning of problems with this year’s test results, but allowed it to slip into a fiasco. This is too important for Boris Johnson to leave until the last minute. Students going back to school need clarity and certainty about next year. “
Labor’s intervention highlights another sore point between the Department of Education and Ofqual, England’s exam regulator. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has supported the idea of delaying A-levels and GCSEs from 2021, telling parliament in July that he was consulting with Ofqual “on how we can delay those exams, giving children extra time to to really learn and thrive ”.
But in a consultation paper issued several weeks later, Ofqual did not commit to delaying the exams, simply saying that it would “work with the DfE, the examination boards, the regulators in Wales and Northern Ireland and groups representing schools, universities and higher education to consider the best approaches, and we will confirm our decisions as soon as possible “.
Robert Halfon, the Conservative MP who chairs the Commons education committee, has also spoken out in favor of delaying exams. Halfon said Ofqual must decide before October whether testing will continue or even be replaced again by testing, to avoid a repeat of this year’s confusion.
Paul Whiteman, secretary general of the National Association of Teachers Principals, said the Labor proposal was worthy of consideration. “A delay is not without its problems. A consequent delay in the publication of results will put pressure on higher education providers, such as universities and colleges, as well as on employers. All of this will have to be sorted out.
“It is not just about timing. It is obvious that learning could be severely disrupted throughout the year and no one can say for sure that we will be able to take exams in the normal way in 2021, “said Whiteman.
A DfE spokesperson said: “We recognize that students who are required to take exams next summer will have experienced disruptions in their education, so we prioritize bringing 10th and 12th graders back to school in the final quarter.
“The exams will take place next year and we have been working closely with the industry, Ofqual and the exam boards to consider our approach.”
The call for delay came as schools rush to prepare their buildings and schedules for the new year, as well as organizing additional tutoring to help students catch up.
Schools also have just a few days to decide whether students should register for the October and November series of special tests that have been arranged for those who are not happy with their assessments this summer. Some students who took BTec’s vocational grades reported that they had not yet received their grades despite a promise from Pearson, the review board, that they would all receive them by the end of last week.
Many teachers have been skeptical of efforts to restrict the spread of Covid-19 within their schools. About 86% of those who responded to a survey organized by TES in July said they thought it would not be possible to minimize contact between students when schools reopened.
