exams | Schools Week

Ofqual chief criticised over ’embarrassing’ claim teacher grades ‘more accurate’ than exams

The head of England’s exams regulator has been criticised over his “embarrassing” claim that teacher-assessment grades were “likely to give a much more accurate” reflection of students’ capabilities than exams. We can feel satisfied it’s likely to give a much more accurate and substantial reflection of what their students are capable of achieving One former […]

Boris Johnson told officials not to make school lockdown contingency plans, new report claims

Prime minister Boris Johnson told officials not to make contingency plans for schools last year in the event of another lockdown, according to an explosive new report. The Institute for Government said in a new analysis of the government’s handling of education during Covid that the failure to prepare such plans over summer and autumn […]

New £55k chair wanted to steer Ofqual through ‘unprecedented challenges’

The government is searching for a new Ofqual chair to steer the regulator through “unprecedented challenges” and shape the future of exams during a “period of significant change”. The successful candidate will be paid £55,120 per year for working two days a week. They will take over from current interim chair Ian Bauckham, an academy […]

Six things we learned about Ofqual from its annual report

Ofqual received more than 7,000 phone calls last August over the exams fiasco, new figures show. The exams regulator has published its annual report for 2020-21, and once again acknowledged its handling of standardised grades “had a detrimental impact on public trust and confidence in qualifications”. Here are five things we learned from the report. […]

Exams 2021: AQA to return 26% of fees paid by schools

Exam board AQA has confirmed it will once again return just 26 per cent of entry fees paid this year after saving £45 million. In a statement today the board said it was returning all of the money it saved to schools “because, as we’ve always said, we’d never want to benefit financially from the […]

Exam boards ask schools for staff contacts available ‘throughout the summer’

Exam boards have asked schools to identify staff who will be available “throughout the summer”, fuelling fears leaders won’t get a proper break during the holiday. If the exams officer…will not be available throughout the summer, we’d be grateful if you could provide details for additional contacts In a recent email to schools, OCR, which […]

DfE to cover 2021 autumn exam costs for students and schools

The Department for Education has confirmed it will reimburse schools for the cost of organising autumn exams and covering fees for students unhappy with teacher-assessed grades. The government says that given the “unique circumstances” of Covid, students and families should not have to cover exam entry fees if they decide to sit exams in the […]

Exam changes can’t compensate for Covid hit to disadvantaged pupils, says government

Changes to next year’s exams cannot compensate for pupils’ divided experiences during the pandemic, the government has said, even as research from its own exams regulator laid bare the disruption to disadvantaged children’s education. On Monday, Ofqual and the Department for Education published a consultation on measures to “help mitigate the impact of disruption” for […]

Exams 2022: What you need to know about plans for GCSEs and A-levels

The government has published its long-awaiting consultation on changes to GCSE and A-level exams in 2022. Many of the proposals put forward are similar to those proposed for exams in 2021 before they were cancelled. Here’s what you need to know. 1. Choice of topics for some GCSEs As was proposed for 2021 exams […]