exams 2021 | Schools Week

The 2021 summer exams plan: everything you need to know

Exams regulator Ofqual has this afternoon published its proposals for replacing exams this year. In short: the regulator is proposing grades for this year will be determined by teachers and, following “quality reassurance”, results will be issued by exam boards, who will “remain accountable for the results”. Exam boards will record the grades on certificates […]

Ofqual publishes 2021 summer exams consultation

The exams regulator Ofqual has published its consultation on alternative arrangements for the awarding of GCSEs and A-levels this summer. It follows a decision last week to cancel exams due to take place in 2021 amid partial school closures. The consultation document proposes that students’ grades in each subject “will be based on their teachers’ […]

Union anger as schools face long wait for plan B after exams cancelled

Ministers have been accused of a “dereliction of duty” as schools face a near two-month wait for the government’s plan to replace GCSEs and A-levels with teacher assessments. Few details were released this week after the exam cancellations were announced on Monday, apart from the government saying it will “trust teachers rather than algorithms” and […]

Teacher assessment grades to replace GCSE and A-level exams in 2021

GCSE and A-level students will receive teacher assessed grades in 2021 following the partial closure of schools – but the grades won’t be adjusted by an algorithm. Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, confirmed in the House of Commons today that GCSE, AS and A-level grades will not go ahead this year, and that the government […]

The Glenys Stacey Q&A: ‘I think there’s a long backwash to this pandemic in education’

As she prepares to leave the role of Ofqual chief regulator for the second time, Dame Glenys Stacey spoke to Schools Week about the continuing impact of Covid on education, and why she’s not leaving the organisation behind for good. Stacey, who came out of retirement to fill the role vacated by her successor Sally […]

Tell us how grade inflation can be ‘washed out’, MPs urge Williamson

MPs have demanded to know how 2020 grade inflation will eventually be “washed out” of the exams system. In a letter to education secretary Gavin Williamson, education committee chair Robert Halfon said he was “keen to know your current thinking” about how grade inflation can be ended “once you deem it is appropriate to do […]

Nick Gibb grilled by education committee over exams: 7 things we learned

The schools minister Nick Gibb faced questions about exams in 2020 and 2021 when he appeared in front of the Parliamentary education committee this week. The hearing followed the announcement last week of a package of measures that are meant to make exams in 2021 fairer. Here’s what we learned. 1. Lack of transparency […]

Ofqual chief issues sobering warning over ‘intractable’ problem of regional learning loss

The gap in learning loss across different regions is “one of the most intractable issues” and any potential solutions are “fraught with difficulty”, Ofqual has warned. The sobering assessment on the potential for government to come up with a plan to make exams fair for pupils in the hardest hit Covid areas follows the government […]

Exams 2021: Contingency plans revealed as ministers attempt to avoid another fiasco

The government will ensure grades for next year’s exams are as generous as those awarded this summer, under a new package of measures announced today to try and avoid another exams fiasco. Under the plans, pupils will also get advance notice of topics in certain subjects, be allowed to take in exam aids such as […]