Schools should collect plan B exams evidence, government proposes

Schools should collect student performance evidence again this year in the unlikely event that exams are cancelled, the government has proposed. 

Although national closure of schools or cancellation of exams is now “very unlikely”, ministers say “good public policy means having contingency, even for extremely unlikely scenarios”.

The government faced fierce criticism for not having an “off-the-shelf plan B” when exams were cancelled in early 2021.

So in 2021-22, given the uncertainty with the pandemic, schools were asked to collect evidence during the school year including through internal assessments. But exams did go ahead as planned.

A three-week consultation on “futureproofing” exams proposes that teacher assessed grade (TAGs) would be given again in 2023 if exams are cancelled. 

But government is asking schools how the process could be “improved and streamlined” this year by creating the “minimum possible burden” but allowing a “broadly consistent approach” across all students. 

Ofqual and DfE plan to consult the sector again in the summer term on the long-term plan B guidance for exams. 

Guard against over-assessment

The draft guidance says schools would not be expected to run new or additional assessments beyond those run in a normal year – such as mock exams. 

Teachers would have to plan so evidence gathered for students assesses them on a wide range of content, similar to what they would expect in summer exams.

But they should “guard against over-assessment” if the plans go ahead. The normal assessment time should not exceed the total time students would spend taking exams for the qualification, plus any time spent on coursework. 

DfE and Ofqual said in 2021 and 2022 they saw examples of “over assessment” which “we consider to be unnecessary and counter to supporting students as they prepare for their exams”. 

Ultimately schools should feel confident they have enough evidence to show a students’ knowledge, understanding and skills. 

GCSE and A-level students should undertake tests in exam-like conditions “wherever possible” to ensure authenticity and prepare them for exams. But they can be in a classroom rather than an exam hall. 

Students should be told before the test, where possible, whether their performance would be used in evidence or not. They can also be told their grade for each assessment.

When marking, teachers should use exam board marks schemes and school leaders should support them to mark to the same standard. All work must be retained by the centre, but students can be given copies if it supports their learning.

Reasonable adjustments for disabled students should be applied to the tests, like in summer exams.

Workload ‘at front of minds’

More detail would be provided to schools on determining, quality assuring and appealing TAGs if exams were cancelled. 

The consultation says DfE and Ofqual “have learnt the importance of having resilience in the system”. 

But concerns were raised last year at the workload on preparing for a plan B in case exams had to be canned again.

Dr Jo Saxton, Ofqual chief regulator, said workload “was absolutely foremost in everyone’s minds” when creating the proposed guidance.

She told Schools Week: “The sector has had to adapt and learn a different process for something every one of the last few years, that’s partly why we work together to say, ‘Okay, one thing we’ve learned through the pandemic is, it’s actually part of the stewardship of the system to have contingency arrangements in place’.

“But let’s see if we can find a way of it not just being ‘this is for this year only’, can we get to a place that indicates that this is what a good contingency plan that should exist in perpetuity look like.”