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Teachers will gain broad powers to decide test scores in England this year, in a move that was welcomed by school leaders but prompted warnings of “extremely high grade inflation” due to a lack of clear guidance.
The rules announced by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson will emphasize “fairness and flexibility” in the way each school decides to award A-level, GCSE and vocational grades to replace the summer exams that were scrapped by the government earlier. of this year. After the furor last summer, no algorithms will be used.
Instead, teachers will be asked to rate more than 1.2 million pupils in England “on what they have been taught” using tests of their choice, and schools will not be required to use the above results as a guide. . The approach is an attempt to overcome the huge disparities in learning loss among students, caused by school closings and disruption amid the Covid pandemic.
The Department of Education (DfE) will say that students will have the right to appeal against their assessed grades. Appeals will be free, and examination boards will decide between the tests provided by the schools and the students.
The plan, which will be published on Thursday by the DfE and Ofqual, England’s exam regulator, was very well received by directors as a vote of confidence. But the Education Policy Institute (EPI) said failure to provide detailed national guidelines could fuel a new outbreak of grades inflation.
David Laws, the former minister of education who chairs the EPI, said: “Without robust mechanisms to anchor overall results at a level that is consistent with previous years, there is a danger that the value and credibility of this year’s ratings will be be seriously undermined. “
Natalie Perera, EPI’s executive director, said the government was right for teachers to assess grades, but that there was “a significant risk” that schools would take different approaches.
“This could result in large numbers of students appealing their grades this year or extremely high grade inflation, which could be of little value to colleges, universities, employers and the youth themselves,” Perera said.
The evaluation document follows a public consultation by Ofqual that received more than 100,000 submissions, with more than half coming from students, reflecting strong interest in how A-levels and GCSEs would be awarded this year.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, which represents many high school principals, said it was vital that results be assigned consistently and fairly.
“This year’s ratings will not be tied to previous years, and the ratings may end up being higher overall than in normal times,” he said.
“This is not surprising because it is a different assessment system that takes into account a broader range of work than a set of exams and thus gives students more opportunities to demonstrate what they can do. This seems like the fairest approach in light of last year’s huge disruption. “
Colleges also fear that a repeat of last summer, when record levels of top A-level grades were awarded, will make it difficult for admissions officials to distinguish between a large crop of qualified applicants.
Application data for higher education courses starting in the autumn already shows an increase in demand for places in Oxford and Cambridge, as well as a 20% increase in applications for UK medical schools.
Universities UK, which represents some 140 higher education institutions, said: “The university admissions teams will do their best to ensure that this year’s applicants have the opportunity to realize their potential at university. They will continue to be fair and flexible in decision-making, including, as in any year, for those who choose to appeal their results during the summer. “
The DfE said schools and universities will establish their own trials and processes, and algorithms will not be used, a reference to last summer’s debacle using an algorithm developed by Ofqual to award grades that was quickly overturned after the protests.
Teachers will be able to rely on a variety of tests when determining grades, including the optional use of questions provided by examination boards, as well as mock exams, course work, or other work completed as part of a student’s course, such as essays. or tests in class, ”the department said.
In announcing the new rules, Williamson said asking teachers to evaluate awards would be “the fairest possible system” for students. Simon Lebus, Ofqual’s acting chief regulator, said: “The goal is that it is generally not more difficult for students this year to receive a particular grade than students from other years.”
Because the DfE has not established national standards, the only control of grade inflation will be at the school level, with examination boards requested by Ofqual to police awards through random sampling and specific scrutiny of schools with sets of unusual results.
The decision to make the test boards’ written tests optional caused consternation in the NASUWT teaching union. “A golden opportunity has been lost to ensure a consistent, reliable and manageable approach to adjudication. The warm words about pressure on teachers and school leaders from the government are little consolation for this serious misjudgment, ”said Patrick Roach, the union’s general secretary.
A-level results will be released on August 10 and GCSEs two days later, on August 12, two weeks earlier than usual to allow more time for appeals from college applicants. Vocational qualifications as BTecs will be announced at the same time. External examinations and evaluations will continue on technical and vocational qualifications when necessary to demonstrate professional standards.
Ofqual and the DfE have gone to great lengths to ensure that out-of-school students, such as homeschooled children, receive grades, after many were excluded last summer. A full suite of A-level and GCSE exams will also be offered next fall.
