The best way to solve a problem is to first of all accept that you have one.
On January 4th 2021 Prime minister Boris Johnson said, “It is not possible or fair for all exams to go ahead this summer as normal.” So, did that mean some exams would go ahead? No one knew. The announcement lacked clarity and left far too much room for interpretation. Social media was abuzz, "Exams are cancelled!"
As a teacher I was worried. Worried students would start the textbook/uniform bonfires early, worried that revision notes would be discarded, and important content forgotten.
The current year 11 and 13 students were not able to sit an end of year assessment last year. Due to the necessary lockdown in March 2020 students missed out on their standard mode of learning and spent almost 6 months away from school. Online learning was a new experience for both teachers and students.
Without guidance about what to expect in 2021 educational institutes did the best they could preparing for exams. Students sat mocks in November/December 2020, different schools sat different mock exams because this is what schools do. January hit, another necessary lockdown was announced, along with the news about formal GCSE and A Level exams no longer going ahead.
Who cares if exams are cancelled though? Teachers can assess students and award grades like they did last time right? Well, no. I mean, we could go around handing out grades, but we shouldn’t. Teacher based assessment requires you to assess learning and evidence progress. I would argue there isn’t enough data/evidence to do this fairly. How about the mocks they sat in at the end of 2020? Students had just come back from almost 6 months out of school, I don't think that data is capable of telling us what grade a student would get in their summer exam. If a student got a question wrong was it because they didn’t understand that topic? Had they forgotten the knowledge they needed to answer that question? If they got a question correct does it mean they have an understanding of that topic or just that specific question? Did they guess the answer? The truth is that no one knows.
Teacher based assessment can be done don’t get me wrong. Finland for example, have no standardised tests but this requires trust. It’s taken a global pandemic for teachers in the UK to be “trusted” and honestly it feels more like an all-out-of-options-quick-who-can-we-blame panic, than trust.
So, what should happen? If teachers will be awarding grades, they need more data so assessments need to be held. I think the best thing to do at this stage would be for schools to do two sets of mocks:
· The first mock uses the exam papers that were supposed to be sat last year.
· The second set of mocks use the exams that were supposed to be sat this year.
Using the cancelled exams is the only way to ensure all schools are able to use the same assessments. Using the same assessment will give the government an opportunity to issue clear guidance about how to award grades. It also gives us information about what problems students might encounter when they go off to college and university. Identify the problems. Accept they are problems. Solve the problems.
Last year’s idea to use an algorithm wasn’t such a bad idea. I know some of you have steam coming out of your ears but hear me out. The bias in an algorithm is introduced by factors such as the people that create it, that is why it’s important to have a diverse team working on such issues. Spotting a bias within an algorithm is a good thing, you learn from the mistake and correct it. You don't sweep it under the rug and forget it ever happened. An improved algorithm would have been a good trick to pull out of the rabbit hat this year. Is it too late? Unfortunately, I think so.
As mentioned, if schools are to issue grades, they need more data. Could that mean mini-GCSEs and other assessments? Yes, if schools are to issue grades then that’s what it should mean. Without enough data how does a teacher justify saying that Student A would get a grade 7 and Student B a grade 6? What evidence is this judgement based on? We are teachers, professionals, not magicians.
Unfortunately, with new variants popping up like Whack-A-Mole collecting more data in a formal setting may not be feasible. In this scenario what should happen? Specific grades should not be awarded; I’d argue they can’t be awarded. Instead, students should be issued grades on a performance scale high pass, middle pass, low pass or fail. Alternatively, Pass, Merit, Distinction or Fail? This grading system along with a course suitability form should be filled out for their next phase of education.
So back to the question: will 2021 grades be fair? No. Were grades awarded fairly in previous years? No. Is judging a student’s ability on one exam fair? No. With months out of the classroom and not enough data fair grades are impossible to award. This is why there needs to be a well thought through plan. Otherwise, the impossible task of awarding fair grades will become a blame game. This isn’t politics, or at least it shouldn’t be, these are decisions that will impact a whole generation and the future of the UK. It’s important to accept that no one will have a complete approach. In order to reach the best solution for this year’s exams, a wide range of people need to be consulted which is what the government are attempting to do with the Ofqual consultation. What will come of the consultation? Who knows? But for the sake of a generation, I hope people are put before politics.