exams2021 | Schools Week

Private schools under investigation for gaming teacher grades

Exam boards are investigating malpractice at some independent schools after ‘credible evidence’ they over-inflated grades

Advance sight of exam board questions might be ‘good learning experience’ for pupils, says Ofqual chair

Going through materials provided by exam boards to aid with teacher assessment this year might be “a good learning experience” for pupils, the chair of Ofqual has said, following a backlash over plans to publish them online. Ian Bauckham today defended the decision to publish the questions, following warnings that doing so could put more […]

Some students may need to repeat a year if they can’t get a grade, says exam board chief

Some pupils may need to repeat a year if they have missed too much learning to be awarded grades this year, an exam board chief has said. Jill Duffy, the chief executive of OCR, said a “small number” of young people might have “lost so much learning that it would be difficult to award them […]

Grade appeals should be made to exam boards not schools, say unions

Appeals against grades issued this summer should be made directly to exam boards and not to schools and colleges, a group of unions and professional bodies has warned. The ASCL and NAHT leadership unions, along with the National Education Union and NASUWT teaching unions, have teamed up with the National Governance Association and Association of […]

Ofqual loses Stacey’s input as 2021 committee disbanded

An Ofqual committee originally set up to oversee the summer exam series is to be disbanded as GCSE and A-levels have been cancelled. It means the experienced former chief regulator, Dame Glenys Stacey, will now no longer have a role in overseeing this summer’s grading system. As revealed by Schools Week , Stacey was to […]

Students make up half of respondents to ‘largest ever’ exams consultation

Nearly 47,000 students have responded to the government’s call to have their say on replacing exams this summer – making up half of all responses in what is thought to be the Department for Education’s largest ever consultation. It marks a huge increase from the student voice in last year’s consultation to replace exams, when […]

Exams price row: AQA says schools can now pay just half of fees upfront

One of the country’s largest exam boards has said schools can pay half of their fees now and the rest later after coming under pressure for increasing their prices. As Schools Week revealed today, AQA has increased fees for some of its subjects across GCSE and A-level by about five per cent. It meant an […]

Ofqual boss admits teachers face ‘heavier responsibility’ in exams replacement plan

Ofqual’s chief regulator has acknowledged teachers have been given a “heavier responsibility” under the proposals to replace exams this summer. But Simon Lebus, who started his interim role on the day that exams were cancelled, denied that the proposals put teachers in the firing line. In an interview with Schools Week, Lebus also warned over […]

Exams ‘fairest way’ to assess pupils, and replacing them ‘not straightforward’, warns new Ofqual chief

Ofqual’s new interim chief has said replacing exams is “not straightforward”, in a sobering statement this morning warning the sector of potentially more disruption and suggesting a plan is yet to be fully worked out. Simon Lebus, former Cambridge Assessment group chief executive, urged students to continue to engage “as fully as you can” in education […]