A-levels | Schools Week

Exam board ‘proposed algorithm – then raised concerns about it’

An exam board which revealed that it warned ministers of flaws with the ill-fated algorithm had actually proposed the approach adopted by the regulator in the first place. Cambridge Assessment, which runs exam board OCR, had originally submitted the direct centre performance (DCP) model that was chosen and then developed by Ofqual as its algorithm […]

Schools given days to confirm autumn A-level resit venues

Schools requiring alternative venues for autumn A-level resits have less than two weeks to secure them and inform exam boards, the government has confirmed. In updated guidance issued this week, the Department for Education told schools and colleges to notify the Joint Council for Qualification’s centre inspection service by September 18 if they intend to […]

Ofqual to face grilling by MPs over exams fiasco

Leaders from exams regulator Ofqual will appear in front of MPs next week to answer questions about this year’s A-levels and GCSEs fiasco – but outgoing boss Sally Collier will not be with them. Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, will also “likely” face questions about the government’s handling of the crisis when he appears in […]

ASCL writes to Ofqual over ‘deflated grades’ fears

The Association of School and College Leaders has written to Ofqual and the government “as a matter of urgency”, amid concerns that pupils at schools that followed advice to mark down their own teacher grades have been “punished by that process”. Geoff Barton, ASCL’s general secretary, said that some of his members who deflated grades […]

Results 2020: What you need to know about this year’s appeals and Autumn resits

Ofqual has confirmed today its appeals and resits process. We take you through what you need to know… 1. The appeal routes open are now just for errors Schools and colleges can only appeal where there has been an administrative error with the CAG or rank order information. Ofqual said rank order information was vital […]

Exams 2020: Heads question mock exam ‘curveball’

The government’s last-minute decision to give some pupils the chance to use mock exam grades instead of their calculated results has placed schools on the back foot and exacerbated anxiety among pupils, according to headteachers. The Department for Education announced last night – less than 48 hours before A-level results day – that some pupils […]

Exams 2020: 40% of A-level grades ‘adjusted’, minister reveals

Forty per cent of A-level grades provided by schools have been “adjusted” during the standardisation process, Nick Gibb has revealed. The schools minister told the Today programme this morning that “the majority of students tomorrow will get the grade submitted by the teacher, and of those 40 per cent of grades that are adjusted, it’ll […]

‘We apologise to nobody’ – Gibb defends ‘eleventh-hour’ mocks change

The government will “apologise to nobody” for its last-minute change to the exams system which will offer some pupils the option to use “valid mock grades” instead of standardised results, the schools minister has said. Nick Gibb was defiant when he appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning to defend the change, which was announced late […]

DfE sets out plans to allow disappointed exam students to use ‘valid mock grades’

Pupils will be given the choice of receiving a “valid mock grade” instead of their standardised centre-assessment grade under new plans for GCSE and A-level results announced by the Department for Education. The government has finally confirmed its plans after the proposal to use mock exam grades was briefed out to some newspapers earlier tonight, […]